Father's Day Dinner Ideas & Recipes

Breakfast with Dad

Begin the day with dad by preparing an impressive breakfast, D’Artagnan style. If he likes to cook, you can share the work and make it a joyful experience. But if not, surprise him with a proper breakfast, complete with eggs and smoky bacon or juicy chicken sausage. For an adventurous father, try wild boar sausage, which always makes breakfast a little more interesting. Perhaps your father is the type to have already mowed the lawn and done his errands by the time you’re ready for breakfast. This is a dad who deserves brunch, so mix up a Bloody Mary, or brew some coffee, and whip together a quiche or frittata with crumbled applewood smoked bacon or wild boar sausage inside. And let’s hold the jokes about real men and quiche for the moment. Real men deserve real food.

The perfect brunch might feature another French-inspired menu item: the classic Croque Monsieur –essentially a hot ham and cheese sandwich, dressed with creamy béchamel sauce. If you are feeling inspired, spread truffle butter on the baguette before baking in the oven. Magnifique!

Father's Day Gift of Meat

When it comes to gifts, there are silly tokens that make dad smile, and then there’s meat. We are equal-opportunity meat lovers—gender aside—at D’Artagnan. But somehow it seems right and proper to offer dad a hefty piece of Kobe-style Wagyu beef striploin, especially if you are willing to help with the cooking (and eating!) on Father’s Day. There are more manageable pieces of beef, certainly, and for a kitchen with a shortage of sharp knives, our individual Wagyu beef bone-in ribeye steak is a special cut that makes an impressive gift and requires no butchering. For low-fat dads, there are plenty of enticing game meat options like a rich buffalo ribeye steak or juicy venison rib chops, both of which offer full-flavored, lean red meat.

For a gift with a personal touch, and immediate usefulness if you are grilling together on Father’s Day, make a versatile spice blend or meat rub with some of dad’s favorite flavors. We always include porcini powder in seasoning blends because it provides a rich, umami flavor. Put the spice mix in a Mason jar with a label so he knows what’s in there. He’ll use the blend more often than he will a gimmicky gift, and think of you while cooking with it.

Kiss the Cook

Let’s face it, it’s early summer, the grill is primed and ready for action and dad prides himself on his grill skills. There’s bound to be an outdoor party on his special Sunday, and you can provide the pizzazz to make it more than just another barbecue.

Adding coffee to spice rubs and chilis is an old trick that brings smoky, complex flavor to the dish. You can use our recipe for black coffee barbecue sauce for any meat on the grill, from pork chops to buffalo.

Be sure to get some duck fat to make out-of-this-world French fries (read about the health benefits of duck fat before you nix the notion) to go with a classic burger. Our blue cheese fortified burger (AKA Big Bleu Burger) is a surefire hit for a grill out. And for an unorthodox and luxurious recipe, try foie gras on the grill—hey, Father’s Day comes but once a year.