Game day party food: why tamales beat wings for a Cowboys crowd

Good game day party food has to survive four quarters, two halftime refills and a room full of people who are not looking at the table. I have fed a lot of Cowboys watch parties in Dallas and the northern suburbs, and I have watched a lot of wings go cold and sticky by the end of the first half. Tamales do not do that. Here is why, and how many to order.

The short answer: Tamales beat wings for a football crowd because they are eaten with one hand, have no bones and no sauce to drip on the couch, and stay hot in their husks for the whole game. Plan three big tamales per fan for a full broadcast: a dozen people need three dozen tamales, $180 at our menu price, plus chips, salsa and queso on the side.

I am not against wings. I am against wings at a party where nobody is standing near the food. What follows is the case for tamales, the menu around them, the math for 8 to 50 fans, and how to time delivery when the game is on a Sunday and our kitchen is not open.

Why wings lose in the fourth quarter

Wings are a restaurant food. They are great for twelve minutes after they leave the fryer, and then they are a plate of bones and cooling sauce. At a house party they have four problems.

• They need two hands and a napkin. One hand for the wing, one for the bones, and then nothing left to hold a drink or point at the screen.
• They go cold fast. A wing has almost no mass. Ten minutes on a platter and it is room temperature; forty minutes and the sauce has set into a glaze.
• The sauce goes everywhere. Remote, couch, the dog. Buffalo sauce on a gray sectional is a stain your guest remembers longer than the score.
• Somebody has to fry them. Either you stand at the stove through the first quarter or you pick up a box of wings that were fried an hour ago, which is the worst of both.

A tamal solves all four. It is wrapped in its own husk, so it stays hot and moist for hours. It is eaten with one hand. The meat and salsa are inside the masa, not on your fingers. And it arrives cooked, so nobody in your house is working during the game.

Game day party food that lasts a whole broadcast

This is the spread I recommend for a watch party: our tamales as the main event, and a few easy things you set out yourself. It is the same table I suggest for parties and celebrations all year:

• Pork tamales in red salsa. A football-party favorite. Big, packed with meat, with a little kick from the red chiles. If you order only one filling, order this one.
• Chicken tamales in green tomatillo salsa. Chicken breast, a brighter flavor, and the choice for guests who want something lighter or who are not eating pork.
• Chips, salsa roja, salsa verde, guacamole and queso. These come from your pantry or the grocery store. The queso is the one thing on this list that needs a slow cooker on warm. Everything else sits at room temperature happily.
• Toppings: crema, cotija, cilantro, limes, pickled jalapeños. A guest who wants heat adds it; a guest who does not, does not.

Both fillings are made with gluten-free corn masa, so the friend who cannot eat the breaded stuff on most game day tables has a full plate here. Prices are on the tamale menu: a half dozen for $30 and a dozen for $60. If you want ideas for the rest of the table, I keep a running list of what to serve with tamales, and most of it is chips and something to dip them in.

How many tamales for a game day crowd

A football party is a long meal, not a lunch. Guests arrive before kickoff, eat during the first quarter, eat again at halftime, and pick at the table through the fourth. So I plan three tamales per person instead of the two I plan for a lunch, and I do not lower it for a mixed crowd, because the people who eat two are balanced by the brother-in-law who eats five.

Round up to the next dozen. Two-thirds pork, one-third chicken is the split that comes out even at most parties I feed. If it is a playoff game or a division rival, add a dozen; people stay through the end and eat through overtime. Leftover tamales freeze beautifully, and I explain the wrap-and-thaw routine in how to freeze and store tamales, so ordering a dozen too many is never a mistake.

Timing the food when the game is on Sunday

Here is the honest part. Most Cowboys games are on Sunday, and our kitchen delivers Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday between 9 AM and 2 PM. We are closed on Sunday, Monday and Thursday. So the plan depends on the kickoff.

Sunday kickoff: Saturday delivery, Sunday steam

Order for Saturday, delivered or picked up at our Plano kitchen. You keep the tamales in the fridge overnight, in their husks, and on Sunday you steam them for about 15–20 minutes in a pot with a rack, or reheat them covered in a pan with a splash of water. They come out as if they had just been made, which is the one advantage of a food that is steamed to begin with. I wrote a whole guide on reheating tamales for a crowd with the pot, oven and slow-cooker methods and how long each takes for three dozen.

Saturday kickoff: Saturday delivery or pickup

Order for Saturday delivery or pickup; our kitchen runs from 9 AM to 2 PM, so for a later kickoff the tamales wait in the fridge and get a short steam before the game. Once they are hot, they go into a slow cooker or a chafing dish on warm with the lid on, and they stay hot through the fourth quarter.

Monday night: Saturday order, evening reheat

Our kitchen is closed on Monday too, so order for Saturday, refrigerate, and steam at 6 PM on Monday. Same routine as Sunday, one more day in the fridge, which tamales handle easily.

Thanksgiving: order early

The Cowboys play on Thanksgiving, and the two weeks before Thanksgiving are the busiest on our calendar. Read our holiday tamales page and order online as soon as you know your headcount; choose the Wednesday before for delivery or pickup, and the tamales reheat on the day while the turkey rests. Next day orders must be received and confirmed by us before noon the previous day. Only confirmed orders will be delivered as requested.

Whatever the day, keep the tamales in their husks until a guest picks one up. The husk is the insulation. Once a dozen are unwrapped on a platter they cool in twenty minutes; wrapped in the carrier they hold for hours.

Setting up a living room, not a buffet

A watch party has one rule: the food should not compete with the screen. Put the table behind the seating or in the kitchen, never between the couch and the TV. Three things make it run itself.

1. Two hot spots. Tamales in the carrier or a slow cooker; queso in a second slow cooker. Both on warm, both with lids, both refilled at halftime.
2. One cold spot. Chips, salsas, guacamole and the topping tray on a side table or the counter. Guacamole gets a lid between plays.
3. Drinks somewhere else. A cooler by the back door keeps the drink line out of the food line and out of the sightline. Guests in Dallas know the drill: grab a plate, grab a drink, find a seat before the snap.

Small plates and lots of napkins. A tamal fits on a small plate with a spoonful of salsa and a few chips, and a small plate is easier to balance on a knee. Set out forks, tongs and a serving spoon before the first guest arrives; the rest of the common questions are on the FAQ page.

And if it is a small group, a half dozen or a dozen from our online store, delivered or picked up during kitchen hours, is the fastest way to a Saturday afternoon on the couch. A bigger party orders the same way, just more dozens. Questions? Call or text (469) 888-8398.

Ready to order for kickoff?

Count the fans, multiply by three and round up to whole dozens. Then pick the day that fits the schedule: Saturday delivery or pickup for a Saturday game, a Saturday order and a Sunday steam for a Sunday game, or an early holiday order for Thanksgiving. Three dozen for twelve people, thirteen dozen for fifty. In the store you choose chicken or pork, a half dozen or a dozen, delivery or pickup and the date, and you pay online; delivery fees are shown at checkout. Order online, set out the chips and the toppings, and nobody in your house misses a play.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best game day party food for a big group?

Food that stays hot without attention and can be eaten with one hand. Tamales are my answer: they arrive cooked and wrapped in the husk, they hold heat in an insulated carrier or a slow cooker for the whole game, and there are no bones, no dripping sauce and nothing to cut. Add chips, salsas, queso and a topping tray, and the table takes care of itself while everyone watches.

How many tamales should I order for a football party?

Plan three big tamales per person for a full game, because guests eat before kickoff, again at halftime and keep picking through the fourth quarter. That is two dozen for eight people, three dozen for twelve, five dozen for twenty and thirteen dozen for fifty. Round up to whole dozens and freeze whatever is left; a playoff game or a rival matchup earns an extra dozen.

Can I get tamales delivered on a Sunday for the game?

Our kitchen is closed on Sunday, so for a Sunday kickoff we deliver hot on Saturday and you reheat on game day. Keep the tamales in the fridge in their husks overnight, then steam them for 15–20 minutes or heat them covered in a pan with a little water. Because tamales are steamed to begin with, they reheat without drying out and taste the way they did on Saturday.

How do I keep tamales hot through a four-hour game?

Leave them in their husks and keep the lid on. The insulated carrier they arrive in holds heat for hours on its own; a slow cooker on warm with a little water in the bottom or a chafing dish over a water pan does the same for an evening. Take out a dozen at a time onto a platter and refill at halftime instead of unwrapping everything at kickoff.

Are tamales a good option for gluten-free guests at a party?

Yes. Every tamal we make uses gluten-free corn masa, and both fillings, pork in red salsa and chicken breast in green salsa, are safe for most gluten-free guests. Our kitchen is not a certified gluten-free facility, so if a guest has celiac disease, call or text (469) 888-8398 before you order and ask us your questions.

What should I serve with tamales at a watch party?

Keep it simple and mostly cold: tortilla chips, salsa roja, salsa verde, guacamole and a slow cooker of queso. A topping tray with crema, cotija, cilantro, lime wedges and pickled jalapeños lets each guest dress a tamal the way they like it. Put the drinks in a cooler away from the food so the lines do not cross.