How to Keep Food Hot for a Tailgate Party

Do you know how to keep food hot at your tailgate party? Your friends will appreciate warm queso dip and hot pulled pork for sure, but they’ll be even happier to go home without food poisoning. Knowing how to keep food warm at a tailgate party is about safety, too.

So, once you’ve got your recipes, snapped your tailgate grocery receipts in the Fetch app and have everything prepped, check our tips below for how to keep food warm at your tailgate party.

Earn rewards on tailgate food and snacks using Fetch

Snapping those receipts is step 1 to getting your tailgate food and supplies complements of Fetch. The next step is to take advantage of all the ways to earn even more points:

• Favorite Offers: Find offers on particular products or shopping at specific retailers to earn extra points when you snap your receipt. Favorite the offers you find in the app to create a shopping list that maximizes your points.
• Boosted Brands: You’ll find brands that earn you extra points in the app, just look for a flame next to their logo. The bigger the flame, the bigger the boost in your points.
• Fetch Shop: Earn points on nearly every dollar you spend in Fetch Shop. Let someone else do the grocery shopping for you or pick up a slow cooker from Walmart or Target.

5 ways to keep food warm at a tailgate party

Leaving food out for too long at room temperature undoes the work you’ve done to cook and kill bacteria. If any of your food will spend more than an hour away from a refrigerator, grill or oven, you need to pick one of these 5 ways to keep food hot at your tailgate party.

Hot and cold cooler

Most hot/cold coolers can keep food cool down to 40°F or warm up to 140°F. You might even find one that’s able to be powered by your truck if you find yourself struggling to find an outlet.

Portable oven

We know what you’re thinking: “if I were at home, I’d just set the oven on low to keep things warm.” You can bring the oven with you, opening up more menu options and giving you another way to keep food warm at your tailgate party.

Insulated bags

Insulated bags are great for keeping food hot as you bring it from your kitchen to the party, but they’re also great to keep things warm as the party goes on. Just remember to close the bag up after you put your extra burgers and hot dogs in it to keep them warm.

Slow cooker or hot plate

If you bring food in a slow cooker, you should use that slow cooker to keep things warm; that goes for everything from bacon-wrapped smokies to buffalo chicken dip to pulled pork. A hot plate set on low can also keep chili or queso dip warm (just be sure it’s in a stovetop-safe container).

Cover with foil

If you’re reading this with a party already underway, you might be looking for how to keep food hot at a tailgate party right now. You might have an insulated bag or a slow cooker, but if you need to keep food warm in a pinch, wrap or cover it in foil.

Food safety tips for your tailgate party

Most people know they need to cook beef, chicken and pork to specific temperatures for them to be safe, and we hope you know how to avoid cross-contamination. It’s just as important to keep your food warm after cooking, though. Here are some other food safety tips for tailgating.

• Prep your food in advance and use insulated coolers or warmers to get from your house to the party.
• Keep all raw foods away from cooked foods.
• Have a cooler for food that’s different from your drink cooler.
• Pack plenty of paper towels and hand sanitizer.
• Keep your raw meat utensils and cutting board(s) separate from cooked foods.
• Don’t forget your food thermometer (145°F for pork, 160°F for hamburgers, 165°F for poultry)

Buy the tailgate supplies you need to keep food warm with gift cards from Fetch

Packing the pantry with tailgate snacks and supplies is the gift that keeps on giving. Fund your next tailgate by turning those points into gift cards from:

• Amazon
• Cabela’s
• Dick’s Sporting Goods
• Kroger
• Meijer
• Target
• Walmart
• Sam’s Club
• …and more!

Plan your tailgate party with Fetch 

You’ve already got the Fetch app downloaded, right? Open it up to check out the current offers and boosted brands and make your tailgate party shopping list (don’t forget to add a slow cooker or a hot plate to keep your food warm). Remember to use Fetch Shop to do all your shopping in one place so you can focus on the rest of the planning.