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Tailgate Recipes to Delight Your Football Friends and Family!

By August 27, 2015March 19th, 2019MSG in Cooking, Savory Cuisine Corner
game day food

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!


seasoning foodMSG 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 

Veggie Dill Dip

Delicious as a vegetable dip, but also great on crackers, fish, and baked potatoes.
Course Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 14

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

  1. In a medium bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, MSG, seasoning salt, parsley, and dill. 
  2. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Recipe Notes

Recipe courtesy of AllRecipes.com

 

Coney (Hot Dogs) Sauce

Coney (Hot Dogs) Sauce

Rumor has it that this amazing recipe is similar to the sauce they serve on hot dogs from street carts in New York. Supposedly, it first showed up at Coney Island, and then grew in popularity until hot dog vendors throughout NYC served it.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 12

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

  1. In a medium skillet over medium high heat, sauté the ground beef for 10 to 15 minutes, or until well browned.   
  2. Break up with a fork until fine.

  3. Add the water, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, chili powder, MSG and salt.

  4. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, or until heated thoroughly.

Recipe Notes

Recipe courtesy of AllRecipes.com

Photo credit: Flickr user, Steven Depolo

 

Beef Jerky Cheese Log

Beef Jerky Cheese Log

A super easy recipe for a cream cheese and chopped beef (beef jerky) log rolled in scrumptious pecans.
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Servings 12

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

  1. Combine the cream cheese, dried beef, Worcestershire sauce, green onions, and MSG; mix well, and refrigerate until chilled.
  2. 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

Easy Baked Chicken Wings

Dip chicken wings in egg and flour, then pour on an easy sauce made with soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and MSG, and bake for an hour.  Serve cold or heated up on your hibachi to kick off the football season with your first tailgating celebration!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 6

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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

BBQ Dry Rub

A totally dee-lish dry rub for seasoning pork and chicken for the tailgate barbeque.
Course Seasoning
Cuisine American
Servings 30

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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

This recipe has probably been passed down for generations. These BBQ sandwiches are so good they almost melt in your mouth! Cook in advance and then bring a pot to heat up the meat on your grill at your tailgating extravaganza. Serve on hamburger or sub rolls.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 8

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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

Cornbread Salad

Cornbread salad (not just for Southerners!) is sort of in the same family as potato salad and will definitely be a hit at your tailgating barbecue.
Course Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 10

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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).
  3. Optional: add whole corn kernels, sprinkled on top or mixed into the salad.

Recipe Notes

Recipe courtesy of Cooks.com

 

Chicken Sesame Salad

 

Chicken Sesame Salad

A refreshing light pasta salad with a delicious Asian flair.
Course Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine Asian
Servings 6

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

  1. Boil the chicken breasts until cooked through. 
  2. Cool and shred (do not chop). 

  3. Combine with all the other ingredients and toss.

Recipe Notes

Recipe courtesy of Cooks.com

Photo credit: Flickr user, Alpha

The MSGdish Team's goal is to provide timely and important information about glutamate, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and the many culinary creations inspired by “umami" while connecting these topics to facts about food, taste, and health. The MSGdish Team is comprised of TGA staff professionals who are recognized as experts in science-based nutrition communications. Read more on the About page.

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