CLAY COUNTY – Tom Estevez knows meat. When the assistant lab manager for the University of Florida’s Meat Retail Store looks for a steak to throw on a grill to impress his tailgating buddies, he knows just what he’s looking for. Now that football season is here, grilling, he said, is all about imagination, seasoned with smoke and fire.

“You get that cool snap in the air, and you know it’s grilling season,” he said. And local meat, such as that found at the UF Meat Retail Store and similar local shops, offers a fresher selection and a lower carbon footprint than a grocery store steak or hamburger.

But beef, chicken and pork don’t have to be the only stars of the show. Florida’s fresh produce can also bring a smile to football fans’ faces.

Ahead of Saturday’s games, get your refrigerator ready for prime time with these tips and tricks for making the most delicious Florida-friendly tailgate seen on this side of the Florida-Georgia line.

Steaks: The cut can vary, but stick with some of the old favorites: ribeye, tenderloin or sirloin. The key, Estevez said, is to find a cut with a good amount of marbling and a good balance between meat and fat.

A crowd favorite, the “Gator griller,” is a boneless shoulder steak that is heavily marbled, tender and flavorful, he said.

With any steak, the key will be in the cook time, and that comes down to the grill master’s skills. “Don’t stress test it. Don’t overcook it,” Estevez said.

Hamburgers: The UF Meat Retail Store sells ground beef, as well as pre-made hamburger patties – in five-pound bags for the serious tailgaters. “The bigger the game, the bigger the hamburger sales,” Estevez said.

With hamburgers, you want good-quality ground beef, and you don’t want the meat to be too lean, or it will dry out on the grill, he said. He sticks with an 80% meat, 20% fat mixture.

Pork: A pork tenderloin on the grill, first marinated with fresh Florida tangerines and garlic, is as close to heaven as one can imagine, Estevez said.

Marinades can make or break this meat, so pick out flavors that complement pork well. One combination could be ginger, lime and garlic. Another option is coconut milk, cumin and salt.

Corn: Corn on the grill is a fan favorite (Give me a C!), but did you know UF/IFAS has been instrumental in breeding sweet corn? Specifically, the Florida Staysweet, a sweeter variety of corn, was bred by a UF/IFAS researcher. Two additional modern varieties, the Yellowstone and Everglades hybrids, are also commercially available and are hardier plants with sweeter kernels that have a “more creamy, corn taste,” according to UF/IFAS documents.

Fruit salad: What tailgate would be complete without an offering of fruit? Sweet oranges and local strawberries would pair well with blueberries, apples and grapes.

UF/IFAS plant breeders have developed both citrus varieties and several strawberry cultivars.

Snacks: Enjoy boiled peanuts or create a peanut butter dipping sauce for raw vegetables or chicken skewers. In Florida, approximately 50% of the peanuts produced are used to make peanut butter, the perfect base for a savory dip or sauce.

“Did you know peanuts have more protein than any other nut?” said Andrea Nikolai, a family and consumer sciences agent and registered dietitian for UF/IFAS Extension Polk County.

“Eating Florida-grown foods helps our local farmers and bolsters our local economy, and it also involves shorter food-transportation distances,” Nikolai said. “This means the food is often fresher with more flavor and nutrients and fewer food-safety risks.”