Game Day Merry Menu With Holiday Classics

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Happy Holidays all you foodies and grilling enthusiasts! It’s the weekend before Santa comes, and it’s time to get your gameday merry menu set. Today, we are featuring grilled ham, grilled turkey breast, down-home pinto beans, and our ever-popular cheesy garlic smashed potatoes. Your gameday merry menu will be sure to please your tailgate guests with these delicious holiday classics.

Game Day Merry Menu with Holiday Classics

This tailgate party will involve a two-day grilling schedule in order to complete this amazing menu. Either that or you will have to light the grill (or grills) very early on Sunday. We recommend you grill the ham the day before your guests arrive because you will need the ham bone to create the down-home pinto beans. Follow the directions for grilling the ham and carve it up the day before. Save the ham bone for the down-home pinto beans on Sunday morning.

Grilled Ham

Ingredients & Equipment

  • 1 ham (butt or shank portion)
  • 1 can of pineapple slices (reserve the juice)
  • Cloves (optional)
  • Mustard (optional)
  • Lawry’s Seasoning Salt
  • Black Pepper
  • Brown Sugar
  • Honey
  • 6 ounces 7 Up or Sprite lemon-lime soda
  • Wood Toothpicks

Take your ham out of the wrapper. Using a sharp knife, cut ½ inch deep crisscrossing slices across the top of the ham.

As optional steps after scoring the meat, squirt some of the mustard and rub it all over the ham. Also optional depending on your taste, take the cloves and place one in each crossing intersection of the slits on top of the ham.

Season the ham with the Lawry’s and pepper. Sprinkle the brown sugar across the top of the ham. Take the pineapple slices and secure them to the top of the ham with the toothpicks. Drizzle honey across the top of the ham, and add more brown sugar. Pour the reserved pineapple juice into a large cup; add in two tablespoons of honey and brown sugar. Mix well, then add in the lemon-lime soda. This will make a delicious drizzle for the ham as it cooks.

Grill Time

Grill the ham indirectly using around 20-25 coals on opposite sides of your grill. After your charcoal is that perfect grey, place the ham in the center of your grill with the lid vent to one side of the ham. The ham should take around 2-2.5 hours to be warmed thoroughly. Every 20-30 minutes, take your reserved liquid and drizzle it over the top and front of the ham. This will help keep the exterior moist.

Remove the ham from the grill and allow it to rest for 15-20 minutes. Carve up the ham into slices and place it into a foil pan and cover with foil. If you have any drizzle left, pour that in with the ham. On game day, take the foil pan and place it in your oven an hour before serving time. Set the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit to warm the ham for serving.

Grilled Turkey Breast

What You’ll Need

  • 1 Turkey Breast
  • Olive Oil
  • Lawry’s Seasoning Salt
  • Black Pepper
  • Cajun Spice (optional)
  • Meat Thermometer

Take your turkey breast out of the wrapper and rinse with water; then dry off with paper towels. If your bird has a pop-up timer installed, remove that and dispose of it. Place the turkey breast in a large foil pan and drizzle it all over with the olive oil and desired spices.

You will be grilling the turkey breast the same way as the ham with 20-25 coals on both sides of your grill. Once the coals are ready, place the turkey in the middle of your grill breast side up. An average size turkey breast should take between 2.5 and 3.5 hours to finish. Your bird will need to reach an internal temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit to be done.

When using the meat thermometer, always check the thickest part of the bird without hitting any bones. As soon as it hits 180 degrees, remove the bird and cover in a large foil sheet.

Allow your turkey breast to rest for 20-30 minutes before carving.

Down-Home Pinto Beans

This recipe can be made with pinto beans, navy beans, or great northern beans. All of them are delicious, but my favorite bean to use is the pinto.

The Necessities

  • 2 lbs of dry pinto beans
  • Lawry’s Seasoning Salt
  • Granulated garlic
  • Black pepper
  • Chili powder or Cumin
  • 1 large stock pot
  • 1 ham bone

Take the pinto beans and place them in a colander. Rinse the beans with water, making sure any rocks are removed. Even though most bags of beans say that “they are cleaned,” be sure to check for anything that doesn’t belong. Once the beans are rinsed and checked, place them in the large stock pot. Add in enough water to completely cover the beans about an inch above. Add in your spices and stir the beans.

Next, cover the bean pot and simmer on medium-high heat. You’ll notice the bean pot beginning to boil, which means it’s time to stir again.

As the beans simmer, they will swell and meet the top of the water. This means it’s time to add in the ham bone and 2 cups of water. Continue simmering on medium, being sure to stir every 10 minutes. As the beans simmer, they will absorb the water so be watchful so that they do not get too dry. Add water as necessary.

After an hour, remove the ham bone and allow it to cool. Continue simmering your beans and adding water as necessary.

After the ham bone has cooled, remove any remaining ham and place it back into your bean pot. The ham pieces will add even more flavor to the beans while they finish.

After 1.5 to 2 hours, the beans should be soft and the sauce thickened from the starches of the beans. Check the flavor of them and add additional spices as needed. Serve the pintos with cornbread or over rice.

Cheesy Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients & Equipment

  • 3-5 lbs of golden potatoes
  • 1 full garlic clove
  • 1/2-1 cup of milk
  • 1 stick of butter
  • 1 lb shredded cheddar cheese
  • sturdy foil pan
  • salt & pepper to taste

Take the garlic clove, separate each piece of garlic and remove all of the skin, exposing the yummy garlic pieces. Chop up the golden potatoes into small cubes with the potato skin still on. Place the potato cubes and garlic pieces into a large pot of water with 2 tablespoons of salt. Boil the potatoes and garlic until the potatoes are done, then drain. Add in the stick of butter and allow to melt.

Use a potato masher or electric beater to smash the potatoes, adding the 1/2 cup of milk as you go. Once you have the potatoes ready, add in a half pound of the shredded cheddar cheese. Stir in the cheese so it’s spread evenly throughout; then season to taste with the salt and pepper.

Next, take the potato mixture and place into the sturdy foil pan. Take the remaining shredded cheddar and sprinkle it on top of the potatoes, and cover with foil.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit; then remove the foil cover. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes to brown up the cheese.

I usually serve my cheesy garlic smashed potatoes with gravy from Popeye’s Chicken. They are absolutely delicious without gravy too, so it’s your call.

Game Day Menus

We have featured many delicious recipe ideas this football season. We will continue bringing you other incredible tailgating menus up to and including the Super Bowl. Listed below are the previous game day menus. Click on the links to check them out!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

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