Can I say Super Bowl? Will I get a letter from the NFL??? Oh well, let’s go with it! Super Bowl LVI (56 for those non-Romans in the crowd) is set to feature the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams. Imagine traveling back in time 5 years and telling people that matchup???
Anyway, when it comes to Super Bowl food I primarily look for three things:
- What food is the city known for?
- Is it good gameday food?
- Will I have to spend all day cooking or will I have time to watch the game?
I can’t always get all three of these to play nicely but they are at least some guidelines to go by. And I would rather have a food that is iconic with the city even if it means I will have to be in the kitchen or out at the grill. So sometimes there is a balancing act.
So here are the foods I am planning on making for this upcoming Super Bowl.
Cincinnati Bengals – Cincinnati Chili
Notice I didn’t say I have to actually like the food? Cincinnati chili is pretty much an abomination but most people I have talked to about it love it. If you have never had it before imagine a sweet chili with cinnamon, cocoa powder, allspice, nutmeg, and clove. It is generally served on top of spaghetti noodles too.
If you hear “Cincinnati Chili” and think of what most of us think of as chili it isn’t really in the same ballpark. Cincinnati chili was originally developed by Greek immigrants, specifically from Northern Greece. It is somewhat similar to Saltsa Kima which is a Greek meat sauce. I kind of liken it to the sauce you would put on a sloppy joe but with more of those warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.
Skyline Chili is the most popular Cincinnati Chili restaurant in the Cincy area and they have outposts Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Florida. Gold Star and Empress are two other popular chains. All told there are more than 250 chili parlors serving Cincinnati Chili.
Generally speaking there are some standard serving variations of Cincinnati Chili:
Two-Way – Spaghetti topped with the chili
Three-Way – Spaghetti topped with chili and cheese
Four Way onion – Spaghetti topped with chili, onions, cheese
Four Way Bean – Spaghetti topped with chili, beans, and cheese
Five-Way – Spaghetti topped with chili, beans, onions, and cheese
Cincinnati chili is also a great topping for hot dogs and is kind of similar to a Detroit coney dog. Oyster crackers are very common as a topping too.
Cincinnati chili is a great gameday food and you can easily make it ahead of time and have it bubbling away in the crock pot. Just cook up a batch of spaghetti noodles to go with it. If you want to cook the noodles ahead of time you can keep those warm in a crock pot too but you will have to coat the noodles with some butter, oil, or even a scoop or two of the chili to keep them from sticking together.
I have never personally made Cincinnati chili but a friend who is coming over for the game is bringing some. There are dozens of solid recipes out there. This Cincinnati chili recipe from The Chunky Chef seems to be as good a starting point as any. You can also order some Skyline Chili from Amazon.
LA Rams – Knockoff In-n-Out burgers
Very few foods scream “Los Angeles” like a double double from In-n-Out. Sushi might have been a decent choice but very few people can really make sushi well at home. But a nice cheeseburger? That is something that is accessible to most people.
In-n-Out started in Baldwin Park, CA just east of LA in 1948. Most In-n-Out restaurants are located in California with a few restaurants in Nevada, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, and Colorado. Southern California residents are pretty fanatical about In-n-Out and will defend In-n-Out as the best fast food burgers.
Now when I am talking about an In-n-Out burger I don’t just mean a standard cheeseburger. In-n-Out burgers hit different than a cheeseburger off the grill. The sauce on the burger is one thing that sets them apart as well as their simplicity. Nothing fancy on these burgers really. Just lettuce, tomato, pickles, American cheese, sauce, and onions. If you want to go “animal style” you will carmelize the onions and add some mustard.
When I go looking for recipes Serious Eats and Kenji are usually my first search. And they did not let me down. This recipe: In-N-Out’s Double-Double, Animal Style Recipe is pretty much perfect. Kenji did a pretty awesome breakdown of what makes up the sauce as well as the fat content of the meat.
You will probably have to grind your own meat to get these right but it will be worth it. Chuck roast is probably the best cut to use for these but you still might need to add a bit of extra fat to get to that 60/40 ratio. I am trimming up some briskets this weekend so I will save some of the fat I trim off those.
The sauce and burger patties can be made ahead of time. And you can cut your vegetables up the day before. The only thing to do on gameday is cook up the burgers and assemble.
So get your pot of Cincinnati chili on and fire up that cast iron pan to cook up a bunch of Double Doubles on gameday.
Oh, you want to know what I would cook if the other 30 teams were in the Super Bowl? Well, here you go. This list changes year to year but here is what I am thinking right now. Some of these are very simple and obvious but others take a bit more thought. And my ideal food matchup? Buffalo vs. Philly:
- Arizona Cardinals – Sonoran Hot Dogs
- Atlanta Falcons – Peach Pie
- Baltimore Ravens – Crab Cakes
- Buffalo Bills – Buffalo Wings – Probably the easiest call of the bunch
- Carolina Panthers – Carolina pulled pork
- Chicago Bears – Italian Beef – Chicago dogs are also acceptable
- Cleveland Browns – Pierogi
- Dallas Cowboys – Texas Chili
- Denver Broncos – Green Chile
- Detroit Lions – Detroit Style Pizza
- Green Bay Packers – Fried Cheese Curds
- Houston Texans – Smoked Brisket
- Indianapolis Colts – Fried Pork Tenderloin Sandwich
- Jacksonville Jaguars – Camel Rider Sandwich (Every sandwich shop in Jacksonville has this on the menu. It is basically a sandwich stuffed in a pita pocket.
- Kansas City Chiefs – Burnt Ends. KC style ribs are fine as well
- Las Vegas Raiders – Shrimp Cocktail – This might have been the hardest one to figure out
- Los Angeles Chargers – Can I do In-n-Out again??? Well, let’s go with Donuts instead
- Miami Dolphins – Stone Crab – Cuban roast pork would be good as well
- Minnesota Vikings – Juicy Lucy Burgers – Swedish meatballs would be a good second choice
- New England Patriots – Lobster Rolls – Clam Chowder is also acceptable.
- New Orleans Saints – Jambalaya or Gumbo
- New York Giants – NY Pizza
- NY Jets – NY Hot Dogs – Street Meat is also a great option.
- Philadelphia Eagles – Cheesesteaks – Soft Pretzels would be good to make as well.
- Pittsburgh Steelers – Primanti Brothers sandwiches
- San Francisco 49ers – Sourdough Bread – Maybe Rice-a-Roni???
- Seattle Seahawks – Fish and Chips – Seattle style teriyaki could be a decent option
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Cuban Sandwiches
- Tennessee Titans – Nashville Hot Chicken – Memphis dry ribs would be acceptable too
- Washington Football Team – Chili Dogs
