It's our favorite weekend for saucy snacks and prime commercial viewing. . . Oh, and football. What are your plans for game day? Will you host a viewing party potluck? Or, will you keep it small, perhaps with a bowl of chili and topping bar. No matter your plans, you need some sustenance to fuel your cheers and jeers. A few signature qualities come to mind when we think of game day snacks: Ones served hot or warm are ideal, they should carry some spice, and—because it's still sweater weather—make them a little indulgent.
We're unleashing gourmet ingredients to level up this year's game day snacks. With specialty cured meats, Charleston-made hot sauce, and craft pickles, these snack recipes will score the touchdown.
Dressing Up Game Day Snacks
BLT Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
Serves 6 to 8
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup blue cheese, crumbled
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup tomatoes, diced
Salt, to tate
Black pepper, to taste
8 ounces Pine Street Market Heritage Bacon, diced into lardons
1 head of romaine, cut into palm size pieces
Directions
- Preheat grill to 350
- Make blue cheese dressing: In a large mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, blue cheese, garlic, lemon, and Worcestershire. Leave at room temperature
- In a separate bowl, toss tomatoes with salt and pepper. Leave at room temperature to let marinate, about one hour.
- Place cast iron pan over grill, add bacon and grill until crispy, about 8 minutes.
- Assemble: Spread blue cheese dressing on piece of romaine, add tomatoes and bacon.
Grilled Oysters with Compound Butter
With Lillie’s of Charleston
Ingredients
8 ounces butter
3 tablespoons Lillie’s of Charleston Low Country Loco Hot Sauce
1 clove garlic
1 lemon, zested and cut into wedges
4 dozen oysters, shucked
Garnish with green bell pepper, basil, and oregano
Directions
- Make butter: In a food processor, combine butter, hot sauce, garlic, lemon zest and pulse until butter is a uniform shade of pale pink. Set aside mixture in refrigerator.
- Prepare oysters: Heat grill to high, and set oysters on the grill grate, cooking about a dozen at a time. Top each with about ½ teaspoon of butter, taking care not to overfill the shell. Cook until the butter and oyster liquor bubble but the oyster is still plump, about two to three minutes. Transfer hot oysters to a platter lined with crumpled foil (to help keep the shells upright) and serve immediately with more hot sauce and lemon wedges.
Fried Pickle Chips
Ingredients
Peanut oil, for frying
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 eggs, whisked in a bowl
16 ounce jar of Pickled Pink Sweet Gourmet pickle slices
Directions
- In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat 2 inches of peanut oil to 350.
- Place the flour and cornmeal in separate bowls, and mix in salt and pepper to each. Dredge individual pickle slices through flour, then egg, then cornmeal. Put aside until ready to cook.
- Working in batches, fry the pickles until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
