Tailgating ideas?

NickTheGreat said:

You had the key word in there, "good" lamb. Bad lamb is really bad.

Should I have said "baaaaaaaaaaad?" Too much?

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Agreed. It's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad.

I'm sorry. That was a sheep joke. I can't believe you had the shear audacity to post it. So lamb.

I admit I chuckled just a bit though. I guess I'm a mutton for punishment.

Homercidal said:

I'm sorry. That was a sheep joke. I can't believe you had the shear audacity to post it. So lamb.

I admit I chuckled just a bit though. I guess I'm a mutton for punishment.

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It was a baaad joke. How could ewe?

You could make what I like to call "Italian Fajitas." Cook up some Italian sausage links (sliced in half length-wise,) onions, and peppers and serve them in warm tortillas with some Mexican crema and oaxaca cheese.

Another taco twist is to add some blue cheese, sage, and bacon to your favorite guacamole recipe and serve that in tacos with slow-roasted and shredded beef. (You can do the beef in the crock pot the day before with half a beer, half a jar of salsa, and maybe half a cup of bbq sauce.) Top the whole thing off with diced onions and cilantro just before serving.

BigJack said:

You could make what I like to call "Italian Fajitas." Cook up some Italian sausage links (sliced in half length-wise,) onions, and peppers and serve them in warm tortillas with some Mexican crema and oaxaca cheese.

Another taco twist is to add some blue cheese, sage, and bacon to your favorite guacamole recipe and serve that in tacos with slow-roasted and shredded beef. (You can do the beef in the crock pot the day before with half a beer, half a jar of salsa, and maybe half a cup of bbq sauce.) Top the whole thing off with diced onions and cilantro just before serving.

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Man, that sounds awesome! (Except for the bleu cheese part. Not a fan.)

That party of 100 just turned into 200. Now we're doing chicken as well. Gonna get that marinating today. Glad we got the big ass grill. For the tri tip, they'll get the spice rub tomorrow morning and a teriyaki ginger glaze on the grill. I don't like lamb either, but people love the lamb rib chops enough to pay $30 a plate at the restaurant. Four little popsicles of meat for $30 is not in my budget. We get them from Costco. About $12 for a rack of 8, which isn't too bad. Just cut them apart and grill to medium rare and drizzle with garlic in olive oil.

Lamb....

Early pics.

Food

Descender said:

Early pics.

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I now have grill envy.

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Looks delish

Descender said:

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Definitely grill envy.

And now I'm starving.

Homercidal said:

And now I'm starving.

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seriously.

We tailgate at the Temple games. My smoker is on a trailer, so we bring it to the games. Last game we did chicken legs, bacon/blue stuffed sliders, and some smoked sausage. Oh, and pig candy for dessert.

The key, as has been mentioned, is make sure everything is prepped ahead of time. Make the actual cook as painless as possible. I usually give away whatever leftovers we have, as I don't feel like taking it home. next home game (vs UCF) I'll be doing some chili for a tailgate row chili cookoff. Usually throw in some breakfast sausage to snack on for those that come down early with me (need to be in the lot the full 5 hrs ahead of time to get the smoker up to temp and food cookin). usually end up imbibing a bit too much too..

BUMP!!!


Anyone got any more great tailgating recipes/ideas? I'm putting a list together for some guys at work. It's just about tailgate season! (Although my daughter transferred to MSU this year and is not in band, and I don't think we will get to any games, and if so, it will probably just be me and I wont' be tailgating. But I will probably want to cook up some special recipes to eat while watching on tv!)

My restaurant is doing tailgates for every home game. I'll post menus/recipes as I get them.

Mable Glazed Sausage with Pretzel toothpicks: http://noblepig.com/2010/12/maple-glazed-apple-chicken-sausage-bites/

I like the looks of that!

Have you seen the Jalapeno popper dip? Could be modified (cooked in a cast iron skillet) for tailgate parties
http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/jalapeno-popper-dip/4e24905f-b357-471e-97ab-248242b65165

LabRatBrewer said:

Mable Glazed Sausage with Pretzel toothpicks: http://noblepig.com/2010/12/maple-glazed-apple-chicken-sausage-bites/

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OMG that is so simple and awesome!

I'm not sure what Mable Glaze is, but I'll probably substitute with something else...

One of the last times we tailgated at MSU here in town, we were all sitting around drinking and a couple of foreign exchange students rolled up and decided to come into our tent and make them selves at home eating our brisket, they just took big ol chunks off with the knife. I was like WTF do you think you are doing. Evidently they had been going around and doing this to all the camps, lmao they thought it was like a buffet. I pulled em aside and let em know how we do things down here in Texas. I then gave em a beer and let em try some more Texas cooking. Was pretty funny.

Melana said:

Have you seen the Jalapeno popper dip? Could be modified (cooked in a cast iron skillet) for tailgate parties
http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/jalapeno-popper-dip/4e24905f-b357-471e-97ab-248242b65165

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Awesome! I can see this being prepped the morning of, or night before, baked just before leaving for the game, and carried in an insulated carrying case to keep it warm until time to dig in!

or cook it on the grill in the cast iron skillet. You could prep it the weekend before and freeze.

Homercidal said:

OMG that is so simple and awesome!

I'm not sure what Mable Glaze is, but I'll probably substitute with something else...

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Its maple syrup and stone mustard and a touch of sage. Super easy.

I saved the page for that dip. Looks like it'd be good with pit barbecued poppers!

Kind of bummed I can see now that I won't have time to fixing up fancy foods for game days. We will be too busy to go to a game this year, probably (Kim is not in the marching band at MSU) if I am lucky I might get to go to 1 game and take her. Hopefully I will be able to sit down and watch a game or two this NFL season with buddies.

gratus fermentatio said:

Here's a link to the tater bomb recipe(s)/method:

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uhh, we have a home Temple game this weekend. I think I"m just going to make a finger foods in the smoker, nothing substantial. But these potatoe bombs just went to the top of the list. Mixture of these, ABT's, Moink balls, maybe some pig candy. we should be set.

How about something simple that might blow a few minds? Try cooking steaks in a cooler full of hot water. Depending on how far you travel, you can set them up at home, and they'll cook on the drive to the game. Here's what you do:

* Season some good steaks (rib-eye, NY Strip) with salt, pepper and olive oil.

* Place each steak in a zip plastic bag, getting all the air out. This is easily done by dipping the open bags in a water up to the top and then sealing them.

* Take your cooler and fill it with water at 130degrees F.

* Pop in the bags, close the cooler, and you're essentially done! As long as the steaks stay in the water bath for at least an hour, and the water temperature doesn't drop too much, they'll be done a perfect medium to medium-rare. Don't leave them much longer than three hours, or the meat could get mushy.

Of course, they'll now be a charming gray color on the outside. You can either toss them on a really hot grill for about 30 seconds per side, or on a really hot flattop for the same amount of time and you'll get the nice char on the outside. In either case, you should brush the steaks with a little more oil or something so the entire surface is in contact with heat.

Now, if I'm really looking to wow the crowds, I don't sear them that way. Put 'em on a flame proof surface (the grill?), and hit 'em with a MAPP torch. No wimpy chef's creme brulee torch; go to the hardware store and get the Bernzomatic job. Torch both sides, then crisp the fat on the edges, and you're done!

Cooking steaks this way (sous vide) guarantees you can't overcook them (unless you go nuts with the torch I suppose); the steak can't get hotter than the water it's in. It's just science, and science is good.