Green & Gold Griddled Vegetables: The Ultimate Wisconsin Tailgate Side

Around here, green and gold aren't just colors.
They're practically a food group.

When tailgate season rolls around, the grill gets loaded with brats, burgers, wings, and whatever else can reasonably be cooked while standing outside in team gear. But every great tailgate needs something on the table that isn't brown, covered in cheese, or served inside a bun.

Enter Green & Gold Griddled Vegetables.

Green bell peppers and zucchini bring the green. Yellow bell peppers bring the gold. A hot Pit Boss griddle gives everything a beautiful sear, while fresh lemon, lime, and 

Mad Dog & Merrill® Gramma Hazel's Premium Seasoning turn a few simple vegetables into a side dish worthy of game day.

It's colorful. It's easy. It's fresh.
And technically, you're eating vegetables at a tailgate.
Your mother would be so proud.

A Green & Gold Side Dish Made for Game Day

Tailgate food has one very important requirement: it shouldn't be complicated.
Nobody wants to measure 17 ingredients while trying to watch the pregame show, keep track of the cooler, and explain to someone why they're standing directly in front of the television.
That's why this recipe works.

You've got:

• Green bell pepper
• Yellow bell pepper
• Zucchini
• Oil
• Fresh lemon
• Fresh lime
• Gramma Hazel's Premium Seasoning

That's it.

A few minutes of slicing, a hot Pit Boss griddle, and you're cooking.
Better yet, the colors naturally fit a green-and-gold football theme without needing food coloring, elaborate garnishes, or anything else that makes people suspicious of the vegetables.

Why the Pit Boss Griddle Works So Well

A griddle is perfect for vegetables because you get direct contact between the food and the hot cooking surface.
Instead of worrying about zucchini slices making a dramatic escape through your grill grates, everything stays right where you put it.

The wide cooking surface also gives the vegetables room to spread out.
That's important.
If you pile everything into one giant vegetable mountain, the moisture released during cooking gets trapped and the vegetables start steaming instead of developing that beautiful griddled exterior.

Give them some breathing room.
Vegetables need personal space too.

Green & Gold Griddled Vegetables

Ingredients

• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 lemon
• 1 lime
• Mad Dog & Merrill® Gramma Hazel's Premium Seasoning, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat your Pit Boss griddle to medium-high heat.
2. While the griddle heats, slice the green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and zucchini into pieces that are relatively similar in size. This helps everything cook evenly.
3. Add approximately 2 tablespoons of cooking oil to the hot griddle and spread it across the cooking area.
4. Place the sliced peppers and zucchini onto the griddle. Spread them into an even layer rather than piling them together.
5. Season generously with Gramma Hazel's Premium Seasoning.
6. Squeeze fresh lemon and lime juice over the vegetables.
7. Cook the vegetables, tossing and turning occasionally, until they develop some color and become tender while still maintaining a little crispness.
8. Taste and add additional Gramma Hazel's seasoning or fresh citrus if desired.
9. Remove from the griddle and serve immediately.

Don't Cook the Life Out of Your Vegetables

There is a fine line between a beautifully cooked zucchini and a zucchini that has completely surrendered.
We're looking for tender-crisp vegetables here.
You want the peppers to soften while retaining some bite. The zucchini should be tender and lightly browned without becoming mushy.

Medium-high heat helps.
The hot griddle quickly cooks the exterior and develops some caramelization while allowing the vegetables to retain their texture.
Keep everything moving periodically, but don't continuously stir. Let the vegetables sit against the hot griddle long enough to develop some color before flipping or tossing them.
Those browned edges?
That's flavor.

Fresh Lemon and Lime Make the Difference

The citrus might seem like a small addition, but don't skip it.
Fresh lemon and lime juice cut through the richness of everything else you're probably serving at a tailgate.

Think about the usual suspects:
Brats.
Burgers.
Wings.
Cheese.
More cheese.
Something wrapped in bacon because somebody had an idea.
A bright, citrusy vegetable side is exactly what that table needs.

The lemon adds familiar acidity while the lime brings a slightly sharper citrus note. Together with Gramma Hazel's seasoning, they give these vegetables plenty of flavor without burying them under a heavy sauce.

Prep Them Before the Tailgate

If you're taking your Pit Boss griddle on the road, do the chopping at home.
Slice the peppers and zucchini ahead of time and store them in a sealed container or food-safe bag in your cooler.
Pack the lemon and lime whole and slice them when you're ready to cook, or juice them ahead of time and keep the juice refrigerated.
Bring your oil and Gramma Hazel's seasoning, and you're ready to go.

No cutting board flying around the parking lot.

No knife disappearing underneath the folding table.
No trying to slice zucchini while somebody next to you is celebrating a touchdown from a game that hasn't actually started yet.
Preparation is your friend.

Make It a Full Green & Gold Tailgate

These vegetables are designed to play nicely with just about everything else coming off the grill.

Serve them alongside:

• Grilled bratwurst
• Smash burgers
• Smoked chicken wings
• Grilled chicken
• Steak sandwiches
• Pulled pork
• Grilled sausages
• Loaded potatoes
• Mac and cheese
• Your favorite game-day dips

You can also pile the vegetables directly onto a brat, burger, chicken sandwich, or steak sandwich.

Now they're not a side dish.
They're a topping.
We've expanded their job description.

Easy Variations

Once you've got the basic Green & Gold combination down, there are plenty of ways to play around with it.
Add sliced yellow squash for even more gold.
Throw in green onions toward the end of cooking.
Add sliced jalapeños if your tailgate crowd likes a little heat.
Toss in asparagus for another green vegetable that handles the griddle beautifully.
You can even add cooked potatoes if you want to turn this into a more substantial griddled vegetable hash.

​Just remember the assignment.
Green. Gold. Delicious.
Anything beyond that is bonus yardage.
Green, Gold & Griddle-Ready
Game-day food doesn't have to be complicated to be good.

​A handful of fresh vegetables, some citrus, Gramma Hazel's Premium Seasoning, and a hot Pit Boss griddle are all you need to put a colorful Wisconsin-inspired side dish on the tailgate table.

The peppers bring the color.
The zucchini brings the green.
The citrus keeps everything bright.
And the Pit Boss brings the heat.
Serve these Green & Gold Griddled Vegetables next to your favorite tailgate main dish and enjoy the rare game-day accomplishment of eating something green that isn't a pickle.