12 Hacks for Your Super Bowl Party

Buffalo Wing Secret

We’ve got the secret to crispy chicken skin: salt! If you’re making buffalo wings, sprinkle chicken with about a tablespoon of coarse salt and place it uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. The salt and the dry air in the refrigerator will draw out moisture—the enemy of crispiness—and you’ll have extra-crispy wings. And make sure to add the sauce at the end!

Make Sour Cream Last Longer

To help sour cream last longer, add white vinegar right after you open it (1 teaspoon for a small container and 2 tablespoons for a large container). You won’t notice the taste, and the sour cream won’t go bad as quickly.

How to Make a Lot of Hot Dogs at Once

It may sound surprising, but you can actually cook hot dogs in the slow cooker. If you cook them for four hours on low, they’ll taste like they were cooked on a roller grill at the ballpark! Don’t add any additional water to the Crock-Pot, as the hot dogs will release water as they cook. This is a great time-saving tip for a barbecue when you’ve got lots of other things to prepare like hamburgers, salads, toppings, and sides!

Secret to Tender, Tasty Chili

Marinate the meat for your chili in beer. It’s a great tenderizer for tough, inexpensive cuts of beef, and it will add great flavor. All you need to do is soak the meat for an hour before cooking, or marinate it overnight in the refrigerator.

What to Do with Leftover Beer

Leftover beer makes great fertilizer for potted plants! Pour it all into a bucket and use it for watering your plants until you use it all up.

Keep Burger Patties Together

Keep your hamburgers from breaking apart on the grill by sticking them in the freezer for five minutes before cooking. The brief shock of cold will help them keep their shape.

Burger-Making Tip

Here’s a simple tip: If you wet your hands with cold water before shaping hamburger patties or meatballs, the mixture won’t stick to your fingers.

Make Better Burgers

The secret to juicy burgers is simple. Just let them sit, covered, at room temperature for an hour before you cook them. This is safe to do as long as it isn’t too hot (over 80ºF) where they will be resting. 

Having a Super Bowl Party?

Having a Super Bowl party? Consider having two TVs—one of which is reserved for the hardcore fans only. A lot of people will come to the party just looking to socialize (and maybe watch the halftime show), so let them watch away from the football freaks, who will want to be able to catch every moment of pig-skinned glory.

Tips for Party Prep

Having a party and need an extra trash bin for your guests? Just repurpose your hamper. (Your dirty clothes will be fine in a garbage bag in the closet until tomorrow.) If you have a lot of card tables, use cleaned-out coffee cans as holders for adjoining legs from different tables. It keeps them together, and makes the tables more stable.

Condiment Carrier

Six-packs are a must-have at a barbecue—and not just for the beer. Turn an old six-pack container into a holder and carrier for condiments like ketchup, mustard, and relish. You can even stick napkins and plastic utensils inside.

Chill Drinks Faster

Because salt lowers the freezing point of water, your beverages will cool more quickly if you use salt in your cooler. Simply layer ice with salt, throw in the bottles and cans, and wait for them to chill.

How to Fix a Stinky Cooler

The easiest way to keep your cooler smelling fresh is to add a few drops of vanilla extract to a damp rag or paper towel, then wipe down the inside of the cooler before you put it away. The alcohol in the vanilla works as a disinfectant and your cooler will smell great!

DIY Noisemakers

Wanna make some noise to support your team? Check out these easy, DIY noisemakers!

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