Grocery Basket
bacon, jalapeños, tomatoes, lettuce, endive, olives, pickles, prosciutto, mayo, bread
Category
Finger Foods
Cook Time
10 minutes
Planning a tailgate is a lot like packing the kids’ lunches. The goal is to make the perfect amount of delicious food that also travels well to your destination (unlike those soggy tuna fish sandwiches your mom used to make). The keys to doing this successfully are spacing, salting, cutting, and par-cooking.
If you’re newer to tailgating or aren’t super confident in your game day travel foods, this is the perfect recipe to cut your teeth on. It’s fast, simple, and makes everyone happy. It’s hard to go wrong with a build-your-own-sandwich bar, after all.
Ingredients
1 pound thick cut bacon*
4 jalapeños
2 large tomatoes, sliced into ¼–½-inch rounds
1 head Boston lettuce (or crispy lettuce), pulled into individual lettuce pieces
1 endive
¼ pound olives (we like a pitted mix)
¼ pound pickles
Prosciutto or bresaola, sliced (optional)
1 bottle mayo
1 loaf sandwich bread of choice
Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Roast bacon and jalapeños (whole) on a foil-lined baking sheet for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest on a paper-towel-lined plate until cool.
Line an aluminum baking tin with paper towels. Place cooked bacon, jalapeños, and all other ingredients, save for the mayo and bread. This is your serving dish, so make it look as eye-pleasing as possible. Cover.
Transport to your tailgate with the bread, mayo, and a plastic knife for serving & spreading. Have fun!
Recipe Note
Pro Tip:
Unless we’re wrapping hot dogs, we prefer to buy thick cut bacon. The signature texture, crunch, chew, and smokiness of bacon is best conveyed in a thick cut.