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Tuesday, November 3, 2026Nov 3

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Side Orders: Try these meatballs at tailgating or TV watch parties

Photo by Little Coyote / Little Coyote's tailgating packages are available with 24 hours' notice. The basic package includes chicken wings, braised beans, sausage, stuffed avocados and corn tortillas.
Photo by Little Coyote / Little Coyote's tailgating packages are available with 24 hours' notice. The basic package includes chicken wings, braised beans, sausage, stuffed avocados and corn tortillas. Photo by Little Coyote / Little Coyote's tailgating packages are available with 24 hours' notice. The basic package includes chicken wings, braised beans, sausage, stuffed avocados and corn tortillas.

This is the time of year when friends gather for parties at home or tailgates at a stadium. It’s football time, and watch parties are the name of the game.

So what will you be making or taking for the game? At a recent football party, I put a little Asian flair in my offerings and made turkey meatballs with a soy-based sauce that were gobbled up quickly.

(READ MORE: The party before the party: Chattanoogans know how to tailgate)

A favorite Korean dish, bulgogi, inspires the meatball sauce. It’s a sweet-savory sauce that works well with almost any protein you put with it. I made the meatballs with ground turkey, but ground beef and chicken also work beautifully. I thought turkey would give it a little bit of a different edge, and it did. It’s a little more healthful than ground beef, which none of us need in great quantities.

(READ MORE: Volcano Korean BBQ among four local restaurants Chinese emigrants have opened in shuttered Chattanooga eateries)