Ole Miss Tailgating: Grilling Tips for the Grove in Oxford

By Bill Bulloch, the Sausage Sommelier — backyard griller, Roswell, Georgia

Tailgating in the Grove at Oxford is a full-day affair, and the grilling has to last as long as the day does. The challenge is the same as any long tailgate, turned up a notch: a portable setup far from your home grill, a crowd that comes and goes for hours, and food that has to stay good — and safe — from the first arrivals to the last. The cooks who do it well plan the whole day, not just the first round off the grill.

Plan for a long day

A Grove tailgate runs for hours, so pace the cook the way you would pace anything long. Set up with time to spare, get the grill settled before the crowd arrives, and hold back part of the food for later in the day rather than cooking everything at once. Bring shade, drinking water, and seating — a cook who is comfortable cooks better. Plan your fuel for the whole day, not just the first cook: running out of charcoal mid-afternoon, with a crowd still grazing, is a preventable problem.

The setup: portable and tidy

Keep the setup portable and tidy: a grill you can carry and set up quickly, a folding table for prep and serving, coolers that actually keep ice, and a clear cooking zone separate from the social area. Set the grill on stable, level ground, away from foot traffic and tent fabric, with room to work on both sides. A heavy ceramic kamado cooks beautifully at home and is a hard thing to haul — if you bring one, secure it for transport and give it a solid, level spot. Bring long tongs and a spatula, a chimney starter, fire starters, a spray bottle for flare-ups, and a thermometer. Cooking on an unfamiliar grill in wind and sun is exactly when a thermometer earns its keep.

Make-ahead food wins

Do the slow cooking at home. Smoke pork shoulder, brisket, or ribs where your grill holds a steady temperature and you control the timing, then chill the meat, transport it cold, and reheat it gently on site over indirect heat or in a covered pan. Reheated barbecue tastes like barbecue, and it frees you from babysitting a fire all day. On site, cook the quick things fresh: smoked sausage, sliders, skewers, and chicken thighs. Sausage is the ideal tailgate food — already cooked, holds well, grills in minutes, and feeds a crowd from a small footprint.

Quantities and waves

Cook for a few more people than your RSVP count, and cook in waves. A first round when the crowd arrives, a second round later in the day, and food stays hot and fresh instead of sitting out. Sausage, sliders, and skewers are easy to cook in waves; a single giant cook that all finishes at once is how food ends up sitting in the heat for hours. Keep the menu short — three things done well beat eight things done badly when you are cooking for a crowd on a portable grill.

Food safety in the heat

Heat is the hardest part of a long tailgate. Keep cold food on ice until it goes on the grill, and get leftovers back on ice promptly — perishable food should not sit out for hours in the sun. Keep raw meat separate from cooked food and ready-to-eat food, and keep a separate set of tongs for raw and cooked. Bring a water jug, soap, and paper towels if there is no wash station nearby. When in doubt about something that has been sitting out, throw it out. Check current guidance from a public food-safety authority if you want the details.

Grilling for a crowd that grazes

A grazing crowd eats in small visits, not in one sitting, so serve food that works in small portions: sliced sausage, sliders, skewers, and bite-size pieces that people can take and come back for. Keep one option that is not meat — grilled vegetables or a hearty side — so everyone at the tent has something to eat. Slice sausage on a bias for serving, which shows off the grind and stretches a link across a platter. Good mustard, crusty bread, and grilled onions and peppers are all the accompaniment a tailgate spread needs.

Teardown and pack-out

Plan the end of the day before it starts. Bring trash bags, and leave the spot cleaner than you found it. Let coals cool completely before disposal — never dump hot coals — and follow the site's rules for ash and charcoal. Pack leftovers onto ice quickly rather than letting them ride home warm. A tidy teardown is part of being invited back.

Frequently asked questions