With football season around the corner, why not start planning your winning tailgating party now and consider scoring a touchdown with your friends and family by making a few easy and delicious recipes that have “more savory goodness” than the usual tailgate fare! Don’t just pass the same old boring sub sandwiches and chips on game day! Kick it through the uprights and score big points by serving some of these unique tailgate recipes that are sure to make you the MVP on game day! The recipes can be cooked in advance and then simply served cold or warmed up on your portable tailgating grill.
And yes, they all feature our favorite ingredient – MSG – which is in the Hall of Fame of flavor enhancers for savory food!
MSG Recipes: Tips for the Tailgating Chef
- In MSG recipes only a small amount of MSG is needed to optimize umami taste; using more won’t do you any harm but, as with salt, the food might not taste as good.
- Approximately one-half teaspoon of MSG is an effective amount to enhance the flavor of a pound of meat or four-to-six servings of vegetables, casseroles or soup.
- In addition to the savory flavor enhancing properties that MSG brings to foods, the sodium content of a recipe can be reduced by using MSG in place of a proportion of salt. In fact, total sodium content can be reduced by almost half without diminishing the taste because MSG contains one third of the amount of sodium as table salt.
- Popular brands for MSG that you can most likely find in your local grocery store in the spices/seasonings section: Accent, Ajinomoto or Vedan brand
Featured Tailgating Recipe Ideas, with More Savory Goodness (MSG, also known as “umami seasoning”)
click on the underlined recipe to jump right to it:
- Veggie Dill Dip
- Coney (Hot Dogs) Sauce
- Beef Jerky Cheese Log
- Easy Baked Chicken Wings
- BBQ Dry Rub (for barbeque pork and chicken)
- Slow Cooker Barbecue Beef Sandwiches
- Cornbread Salad
- Chicken Sesame Salad
Veggie Dill Dip
Ingredients
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp umami seasoning MSG
- 1 tsp seasoning salt
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 ¼ tsp dried dill weed
Instructions
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In a medium bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, MSG, seasoning salt, parsley, and dill.
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Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Recipe Notes
Recipe courtesy of AllRecipes.com
Coney (Hot Dogs) Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1/2 tsp. chili powder
- 1/2 tsp. MSG
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Instructions
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In a medium skillet over medium high heat, sauté the ground beef for 10 to 15 minutes, or until well browned.
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Break up with a fork until fine.
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Add the water, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, chili powder, MSG and salt.
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Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, or until heated thoroughly.
Beef Jerky Cheese Log
Ingredients
- 2 8 oz. package cream cheese
- 1 2 oz. package dried beef, chopped
- 1 ½ Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 4 green onions chopped
- 1 pinch MSG
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
Instructions
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Combine the cream cheese, dried beef, Worcestershire sauce, green onions, and MSG; mix well, and refrigerate until chilled.
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Mix together the chopped pecans and parsley. Roll cheese into log or ball, and roll in pecans and parsley to cover.
Recipe Notes
Recipe courtesy of AllRecipes.com
Photo credit: By Severein [CCO], via Wikimedia Commons
Easy Baked Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken wings
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour for coating
- 3/4 cup oil for frying
- 1/4 cup margarine
Sauce:
- 6 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 6 Tbsp. water
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup vinegar
- 2 Tbsp. MSG
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pour egg (beaten) into a shallow dish or bowl; do the same with the flour. Heat oil and margarine in a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Dip wings in egg, then flour, then fry until browned and crisp. Lay browned wings in an 11x14 inch baking dish.
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To make the sauce: In a small bowl combine the soy sauce, water, sugar, vinegar and MSG. Blend well and pour sauce over chicken. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour.
Recipe Notes
Recipe courtesy of AllRecipes.com
BBQ Dry Rub
Ingredients
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp. MSG
- 1 Tbsp. ground oregano
- 1 Tbsp. ground basil
- 3 Tbsp. lemon pepper
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 5 Tbsp. onion powder
- 1 Tbsp. paprika
- 1 Tbsp. chili powder
- 2 tsp. ground mustard
- 1 ½ tsp. white pepper
- 1 ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
Instructions
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Stir together the sugar, salt, MSG, oregano, basil, lemon pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili powder, mustard, white pepper, and cayenne pepper in a bowl until evenly combined. Store in an airtight container.
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To use, apply generously (about 1 tablespoon per serving), and rub into chicken or pork. Allow to stand for 30 minutes prior to cooking.
Recipe Notes
Recipe courtesy of AllRecipes.com
Slow Cooker Barbecue Beef Sandwiches
Slow Cooker Barbecue Beef Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 1 3 pound boneless chuck roast
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 18 oz. bottle of your favorite barbeque sauce
- ½ tsp. Accent® Flavor Enhancer
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
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Place roast into slow cooker. Sprinkle with garlic powder and onion powder, and season with Accent, salt, and pepper. Pour barbeque sauce over meat. Cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours.
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Remove meat from slow cooker, shred, and return to slow cooker. Cook for 1 more hour. Serve hot.
Recipe Notes
Accent® has 60% less sodium than salt (salt contains 194mg sodium per 0.5g) and may be a terrific alternative to salt for people watching their sodium intake.
Recipe courtesy of AllRecipes.com
Photo credit: Flickr user, rick
Cornbread Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pkg. cornbread mix
- 6 slices crisp fried bacon crumbled
- 5 fresh onions chopped
- 1 medium bell pepper chopped
- 3 medium fresh tomatoes diced
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- Season with salt, pepper, and Accent® Flavor Enhancer
Instructions
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Bake cornbread. Cool and crumble and place in large bowl. Add in onions, bell pepper, diced tomatoes, and bacon. Stir until well combined. Season with salt, pepper, and Accent.
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Add mayonnaise to salad and stir until fully mixed. (You can always add a little more mayo if you want the salad to be moister.) Cover and refrigerate at least two hours before serving. Garnish with some canned corn (drained).
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Optional: add whole corn kernels, sprinkled on top or mixed into the salad.
Recipe Notes
Recipe courtesy of Cooks.com
Chicken Sesame Salad
Ingredients
- 5 chicken breasts
- 8 scallions finely chopped
- 4 oz. slivered almonds
- 1 pkg. Chinese noodles
- 1 large head of iceberg lettuce
- 4 stalks celery finely chopped
- 1 pkg. sesame seeds lightly toasted
Dressing:
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp. seasoned salt
- 6 Tbsp. white vinegar
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. Accent® Flavor Enhancer
- 8 tsp. sugar
Instructions
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Boil the chicken breasts until cooked through.
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Cool and shred (do not chop).
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Combine with all the other ingredients and toss.
