Tailgate Food That Will Impress Your Boys

Image via Complex Original

Any recipe with "chocolate fantasy" in the name (and there are many, trust us) sounds pretty girly, but when you taste one of these portable brownies, you'll understand what all the flowery language is about—they straight-up rock. A brownie with crust on all sides and a super dense, moist, chocolately crumb is pretty much the best brownie ever. Get the recipe at Food52.

A whole beef fillet, covered in salt, wrapped in cloth, and tossed onto the flames sounds like a dumb move by someone with a bit too much money. But when you see how perfectly tender and rare that tenderloin comes out, you'll be convinced it was worth every penny. Especially when your tailgating neighbors start throwing cash at you in exchange for a slice. Get the recipe at Food52.

Green hatch chiles (in season right now—get 'em before they're gone!) get roasted over the fire, gutted, filled with cream cheese, wrapped with bacon, sprinkled with black pepper, and baked. Make a triple batch or you'll have a brawl out in the parking lot. Get the recipe at Food52.

It doesn't take a whole lot to make corn taste good. Heck, you can eat it raw. But charring it on the grill (or at home under your broiler) adds that smokiness we can't get enough of this time of year. And avocado makes everything better. Just be sparing with it—you're not making corn-studded guacamole. Get the recipe at Food52.

Recipes with components that do double duty win extra points, always. Here, the braising liquid for the ribs gets boiled down into a thick glaze that you coat the ribs with before grilling them. The prosecco in the glaze adds a bit of sugar to the sauce so you're left with ribs that are smoky, spicy, and just a bit sweet. Get the recipe at Food52.

Bacon wrapped hot dogs aren't new, but the bean sprout slaw on these puppies certainly is. It lightens up everything with a bit of crunch, just enough to convince you that you can eat two. But then you wouldn't have room for the beef cheek tacos coming up on this list, now would you? Get the recipe at Food52.

Yellow barbecue sauce, a.k.a Carolina Gold, is just about the best thing to come out of the South since the barbecued meats that get slathered with this sauce. Even if you don't normally like mustard, you'll like this sauce as much as sun on game day. Get the recipe at Food52.

Yes, it's a salad, but it has croutons in it and big bites of bacon, so you're not going to hear any whining. The best part is you can mix everything up before leaving home, since it gets better as it sits. Get the recipe at Food52.

Beef cheek is exactly what it sounds like, and when braised low and slow, it turns into the most tender meat you'll ever eat. Borrow your mom's slow cooker, set it and forget it, and then keep it warm in a pot on the grill for heaping into (the best-ever) tacos. Get the recipe at Food52.

Forget tradition—paella you can make on the grill is a million times tastier than the stovetop stuff. It still gets that crust of rice on the bottom, but here it's infused with smoke. Don't worry about arranging the top as artfully as the photo—it's the taste that makes this impressive. Get the recipe at Food52.