BBQ Chicken Feast leads the way this week for your NFL Game Day Menu. Grilling up a BBQ Chicken Feast has been a tradition that has been around forever. Your tailgate guests are going to love the chicken as well as our two delicious side dishes. We have our Easy Mac & Cheese and also Great Northern Beans from scratch.
BBQ Chicken Feast
For this week’s Game Day Menu we are grilling up chicken that is bone-in, not boneless. Anybody can grill boneless chicken breasts, but it takes a Grillmaster to grill real chicken! The two pieces of chicken on the menu are breasts and drumsticks. The breasts, when done right, are incredibly juicy and delicious. The drumsticks are for your guests who prefer dark meat or the youngsters who like holding a chicken leg in their hand while licking their lips. No matter which is chosen, they will absolutely enjoy the meat falling off of the bone.
BBQ Chicken Feast Ingredients
- 4-6 bone-in chicken breasts
- 4-6 bone-in chicken legs
- Lawry’s Seasoning Salt, Cajun spice, black pepper, and granulated garlic.
- Your favorite BBQ sauce
- Meat thermometer
The secret to grilling up an incredible BBQ chicken feast is indirect grilling. You will want to set up a pile of 20-25 charcoal briquettes in the center of your grill. Stack them into a pyramid and light them up. After the coals are ready, place your chicken on the grill grate away from the center. Season both sides of the chicken and close the lid leaving the vent fully open.
Grill the chicken for 15-20 minutes and turn them all over. Wait 15-20 more minutes and turn them over again while also rotating the chicken 180 degrees. This move will help them get more even heat while grilling.
Grill the chicken for 15-20 more minutes and then flip them over. It is at this time that you will want to check the temperature of the chicken. You are looking for an internal temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the meat thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken trying to stay away from any bones. If the temp is not close, grill for an additional 15 minutes and check again when flipping the chicken. The chicken breasts and drumsticks should finish at about the same time, especially if the drumsticks are large.
BBQ Chicken Sauce Time
Continue to grill the chicken until the internal temp reaches 175 degrees. It is at this point that you will need to slather the chicken with BBQ sauce on both sides. Close the grill lid and grill for an additional five minutes. Next up you will flip the chicken so that the BBQ sauce can get caramelized all over. Grill five more minutes and then check the temps again.
Any pieces that are not yet at 180 degrees can continue to grill as you remove the chicken that is at 180. Try and grill these pieces for another 5-10 minutes and then remove them from the grill. They should be at the proper temperature and the BBQ sauce glistening with goodness.
Easy Mac & Cheese
Boxed Mac & Cheese dinners are a fantastic shelf-stable item to keep on hand at your home. You can make Mac & Cheese straight-up as the directions say, and your guests will probably enjoy what you bring to the table. We all know you do not want to make plain old boxed Mac & Cheese. You want that next level of Mac & Cheese, not the boring regular stuff.
Making that next level mac & cheese requires a little more work than using the numerous boxed brands alone. We will list the ingredients and directions below for our Easy Mac & Cheese. While we do use boxed Mac & Cheese as the base for our fantastic side dish, your family will wonder if you made it from scratch. It is just that good!
Ingredients
- 1-2 boxes Kraft Deluxe Mac & Cheese Dinner
- 4-10 ounces heavy cream
- 8-16 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese
The secret of the Easy Mac & Cheese recipe is its simplicity. We use the Kraft Deluxe Mac & Cheese Dinners which have a creamy cheese mix as opposed to the powder mix. That alone makes these mac & cheese dinners so much better than the ones with the powdered cheese.
Easy Mac & Cheese Time
Follow the directions and cook one or both of the mac & cheese packages in a large pot on your stove. After mixing in the creamy cheese mix, leave the burner on low. Next up you will drizzle in half of the heavy cream and half of the shredded cheddar cheese.
Gently stir everything together as the cheese melts and mixes into your dish. After it is melted, add in the remaining cream and the remaining shredded cheddar cheese. Continue to stir as the added shredded cheese melts and joins the party. Your guests are going to think your Mac & Cheese is incredible.
Now if you want to go the distance and create the ultimate Mac & Cheese from scratch, you can use the old school Fannie Farmer’s Recipe. That is the most delicious Mac & Cheese ever created and should be brought out for special occasions only.
Great Northern Beans From Scratch
This bean recipe is not difficult to pull off and it is definitely a down-home classic. The recipe can also be made with pinto beans or navy beans. All of them are delicious, but today we are going with the Great Northern Beans.
Ingredients
- 1-2 lbs of dry Great Northern beans
- Lawry’s Seasoning Salt
- granulated garlic
- black pepper
- one small red or sweet onion chopped
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large stockpot
- 4-8 slices of bacon chopped
Place the chopped bacon, onion, and olive oil into the pot. Saute them for a few minutes until they are nearly done and the onions are not yet caramelized. While they cook, take the beans and place them in a colander. Rinse the beans with water, making sure any rocks or debris are removed. Once the beans are rinsed and checked, place them in the 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 pot and simmer on medium-high heat. You’ll notice the 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. You should now reduce the heat to medium. Continue simmering on medium, being sure to stir every 10 minutes. As the beans simmer, they will absorb the water so be careful not to let the beans dry out. Add water as necessary.
After an hour-and-a-half to two 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 beans with cornbread or in a bowl alongside your BBQ Chicken Feast and Mac & Cheese.
NFL GameDay Menus 2020
This NFL season has not been easy for those of us who host weekly football viewing parties. No matter how many people you plan on hosting, we will be bringing you delicious menu ideas each week this season. With the COVID-19 pandemic raging again let’s be safe people! Reduce your guest list to a safe number, be sure to maintain social distancing, and use curbside pickup whenever possible!