Many people from the Gator Nation have traveled to countries in Central America like Belize, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama etc. for vacation, volunteering, and surfing and more. Those of you who have been to these places know that the food can be great! A lot of the dishes are often compared to Mexican to food, but don’t tell a Tico (Costa Rican) that! So as your unofficial Costa Rican Gator Nation representatives, we have compiled a list of four of our favorite Central American recipes that will bring a taste of the tropics to your next tailgate.

Beer is a staple at almost every tailgate in the world and especially in the south. For me, though, there are only so many Buds, Miller and Natty lights that I can drink in one day. They just stop working after a while. So, why not give that plain American lager a much needed spiced up twist? That’s where the Michelada comes in. The Michelada is the perfect wake-me-up breakfast drink for those early games, or an ultra refreshing cool down for those hot mid-afternoon tailgates.

Michelada Ingredients

Michelada Directions

Start by rimming a nice tall glass of ice with rock salt. Then pour in the lager of your choice. If you can’t get Costa Rica’s Imperial or Pilsen beers, a nice Mexican beer will work just fine (Dos Equis, Corona, Modelo etc.) Add a couple tablespoons of Tabasco (or your favorite hot sauce), half a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, a half of lime, and a pinch of salt. Keep ‘em flowing all day long or mix them in whenever you need to stray away from those Frat-tastic keg beers.

Once you have gotten the day started with some ice cold Micheladas, you need to get something in the belly to absorb all that beer and help out with the lingering heartburn that may result from drinking too much hot sauce. So, on to our next Central American tailgate item…Ceviche. 

Now, I’m sure all of you know what ceviche is and many of you have had it before. Ceviche is a staple that is enjoyed all over, from Mexico to Central and South America as well as the Caribbean. So, why not bring it to your Gainesville tailgate? Again, another refreshing treat to enjoy on a nice, hot Florida day cheering on the undefeated Gators! Ceviche is super easy to make and only requires a few ingredients. I recommended that you make the batch a few hours before heading out to the game so it has time to “cook” and absorb the lime and other great flavors. There are many different ceviche recipes out there…here is a basic one to follow and then you can add whatever you would like. 

Ceviche Ingredients

Ceviche Directions

First take your fish and soak it in salted water for 10 minutes or so and rub some limejuice on it to clean it. This step helps to wash off a milky residue on the fish. After the fish has been cleaned, chop it up into small chunks. Throw the fish into a bowl and cover it completely with the limejuice. Then, add the chopped onions, garlic, cilantro, tomato (optional), bell pepper, avocado (if desired) and hot peppers (if desired). Mix it all together in the bowl and then salt to taste. After everything is mixed and all the fish is covered in the lime juice set it in the fridge for 2-4 hours mixing it a couple times. Just don’t forget to grab it out of there before you head out to the tailgate! 

Once you’re ready to serve it, throw a scoop of the ceviche over top of a leaf of lettuce on a small plate. OR, if you’re heading to one of those fancy, southern style, over the top Ole Miss style tailgates you can serve it in pretty martini glasses if that’s your thing.

All right, so we’ve covered the refreshing drink and appetizer, now let’s move on to the main course of the tailgate…..Lomito Jalapeño or Lomito Pica Pica depending on whose restaurant you go to. In our home of Nosara, Costa Rica, the little local restaurants, Dos Lorenas and El Basilico have the best we’ve ever had! Lomito Jalapeño is a delicious Costa Rican dish that’s a favorite of locals and tourists alike. Lomito is the spanish translation for tenderloin and it is served in a delicious, sweet and spicy jalapeno cream sauce. It is a great dish to share and it’s easy to make a bunch of it to serve up at your tailgate. 

Lomito Jalapeño Ingredients

Lomito Jalapeño Directions

First, take your beef and season it with salt and pepper and/or a grill mate spice of your choice, and then throw it on the grill. While that is cooking, slice up your onion and caramelize it in a saucepan. Add the whipping cream sauce and white wine to the pan and let that cook down for a few minutes. Once everything cooks together and the consistency becomes more liquefied, add your diced jalapenos. You want to put these in last so that they retain their crunchiness and spice. Also, by throwing them in late, they don’t have time to make the rest of the sauce too unbearably hot. By now, your beef should be cooked to perfection (medium rare is preferred). So, take it off the grill, slice it into half-inch thick pieces. Finally, plate the beef and pour the sauce over the whole thing. Serve with a fork, knife and straw to suck up every last drop of that jalapeno, creamy goodness!

If you want to serve this dish with a side, rosemary and olive oil potatoes are a great option, and what Chef Chandy serves at El Basilico here in Nosara. There are a couple different ways that you can prepare those. Either bake them in the oven, or boil and then fry them in a pan with olive oil, garlic and rosemary. Both are equally as great, but you know the South loves anything that’s fried! Serve this Costa Rican specialty up at your party with or without the side and I guarantee it will and will blow your fellow tailGATORS mind! Pura Vida!

Now, after all those Michaladas and full plates of good food it would be easy to sit back in that Wal-Mart, Florida Gator camping chair and have a little siesta, but NO you can’t do that! You need to cheer on the Gators! So, to complete your whole Central American themed tailgating experience you need to make sure that you send everyone off into the game all fueled up with energy and ready to go! There will be no falling asleep in the stadium or in your living room lazy boy after one or two infamous Sube Fuego Shots. Sube Fuego literally means “Rise Fire” aka “Get fired up” in English. This is exactly the shot you need to take down right before game time to get you going!

Sube Fuego Ingredients

• ¼ of the finest Central American coffee grinds (Nicaragua, Costa Rica and El Salvador coffee is the best)
• ¼ cup of sugar
• slice of lime
• 1 shot of the vodka of your choice 

Sube Fuego Directions

Okay, so, first take those delicious coffee grinds and sugar and separate them half and half onto each side of a small plate. Then, pour your shot of Fuego Agua (vodka). Take your lime slice and dip half of it in the ground coffee and the other half in the sugar. Now, the moment you’ve been anticipating all day…right before the kickoff, cheers to another Gators win, slam the vodka shot and quickly grab and suck on that caffeine infused lime! GAME ON!!!

Erik Antonson is a Gainesville native, and now lives in Nosara Costa Rica, running the Surfing Nosara Surf Report, and selling Nosara Real Estate