Everything’s Big In Texas

Texas.
Million acre cattle ranches.
Ten gallon hats.
Global oil companies.
Huge hair.
What else is big in Texas? Food.

Texas is one state that seems to have their cuisine wired to feed big crowds. The food’s not tricky; it’s generally something dead simple like 5 pounds of pork butt and an open flame coupled with enough drinks to not care if you actually eat anything. Maybe everyone in Texas has adjusted their cooking to a culture that supports dropping by just to say “hey ya’ll.”

Cooking for crowds has some key criteria. First of all, you’ll need adequate cookware. A barbecue can fit copious amounts of meat. Sheet pans — for those famous Texas sheet cakes — make oven-cooking pounds of vegetables an easier task. Secondly, you’ll want to pick recipes that scale easily. Most cooks know that modifying a recipe for large-quantity cooking isn’t just about multiplying measurements. If you do only that, you’re bound to have a bad result — unless it’s taco meat. Or rice and beans. Or onion dip.

Being friendly comes easily to the Texan transplants I know here at home. Maybe it’s because they always have something to share with a crowd. Embrace the state of big: Try this menu on for size, or create your own Foodily menu in honor of the Lone Star State.

What recipes do you turn to when cooking for a crowd?


Andrea Cutright is the CEO of Foodily.

Photo of Big Tex by Steven Martin