Archive for the ‘BBQ Smokers’ Category
Tailgating is an art. It can be low key, it can be fancy and over the top. But simple or fancy we are all looking for anything to make this art run as smoothly & easily as possible. This is an homage to all those dedicated fans out there. Whether you’re a race fan, college team fan, pro team fan or you’re just looking for a nice day at the beach. We salute you! So pop the tailgate on the back of your truck and lets get cooking!
The history of tailgating goes all the way back to Ancient Rome. Food and wine were sold outside of the Colosseum for gladiator events and chariot races. There was also food & drink served at jousting tournaments in medieval Europe.
Tailgating has now become an American phenomenon tracing it’s roots back to The Battle of Bull Run in1861 where some Union supporters brought picnic baskets out to watch the first battle of the Civil War. The first college football game ever played in America was also host to tailgating with Rutgers & Princeton playing against each other while people grilled fish & wild game. When Harvard & Yale played against each other, the walk from the train to the field was so long, the people brought picnic lunches with them. Now in the 21st century, tailgating is in full swing. More than 20 million Americans tailgate every year. Some stadiums and race tracks even have a special areas just for tailgaters.
The Weather Channel has recently been focusing on many different tailgating groups. They actually had one program totally devoted to what college football teams that they thought had the best set of tailgaters. There were even some tailgaters that come by boat as their stadium is located right on the water. They tie all of the boats together and just start tailgating!!
The Weather Channel also likes to focus on food choices of tailgaters. My favorites are always the groups that prefer to “eat the competition”. In other words, say the team is playing against Baltimore…they make crab cakes. If they play against a New England team they make lobster rolls or have a New England lobster boil that they steamed in their turkey fryer. Therefore essentially eating the competition before the game even starts.
Tailgating is not just confined to the college or pro football stadium parking lot. It can be a day at the beach or an afternoon in the park. Baseball fans, horse racing fans & concert goers are all potential tailgaters. The Kentucky Derby has turned into a major tailgating venue with pomp & circumstance, seer sucker suits & big hats. And then, there were The Parrotheads. Jimmy Buffett fans have more generators to power blenders than any other tailgaters I know. And lest we not forget The Grateful Dead fans that not only went to one concert, but followed The Dead around the country for a whole tour. I bet there were some very interesting food choices along the road when it came to months of traveling.
That being said, tailgating is obviously not confined to just a single event or day. Some sports fans just come to watch the game and sometimes leave early to beat the traffic if the score is not going their way. Race fans are devotees. They come and stay for days, sometimes even weeks during Speed Week. That’s a lot of food to plan for and race fans are serious about their food. This is not just NASCAR fans either. There are lots of drag racing & road course fans out there. Many of these venues are weekend long events. Some people show up on Thursday & don’t leave until Monday morning after breakfast, which is sometimes the last great tailgate. All of the leftovers and the last of the eggs and bacon come out and are still made into a culinary masterpiece.
The perfect piece of equipment, your latest perfected recipe, the coolest new game can set you apart from the rest of the lot. So many set ups and different things to cook. For some people the food is as important as the game. Some people don’t even go in to watch the event. They stay outside for the party and watch the game on TV. Any good tailgate is not just burgers and dogs. Brats, ribs, chili, steak, deep fried turkey, pork loin, beer can chicken are many favorites. The gadgets that go along with all that food are phenomenal too. Not just grills. Coolers, blenders, kegorators, deep fryers, crock-pots, BBQ smokers, even woks. Tents, couches, easy chairs, lawn games are all common place at a tailgate. There are even highly elaborate homemade & professionally made tailgate trailers with cooking equipment, TV’s & sound systems included.
Part of the art of a good tailgate party comes from proper planning and knowing your grill, BBQ smoker, and cooking equipment. Knowing how many people your cooking for is helpful in pre planning your shopping list(and a little extra never hurts.) Get to know your grill and cooking equipment. Use it at home. Get used to your hot spots and cooking zones. Don’t try out a deep fryer for the first time at the track! When you transport your grill, if you don’t have an enclosed trailer to put it in, put it right behind the cab of your truck with the hinged side of the lid to the backside of the cab. Tie it securely! If you loose your lid, your dead in the water.
Some important things to remember about tailgating is having the right stuff you need to make your life easier. Of course you don’t always need everything but if you can get yourself a big plastic bin and fill it with some of these items you’ll be ready to roll at a moments notice. Just always remember to replenish.
• Grill tools & can opener
• Meat Thermometer
• Sharp Knife & Serving Spoons
• Plastic utensils to eat with
• Aluminum foil & baggies
• Salt, Pepper, Your Favorite Seasonings & Rubs
• Trash Bags
• Paper Towels(Cloth towels & wash cloths)
• Stuff to eat off of, Paper or Plastic Plates, Bowls, Whatever
A jug of water is nice to have to clean your hands with. (Soap is good too.) Foil pans are handy for all sorts of things:cooking, storing, serving & leftovers. Whatever your cooking apparatus, it never hurts to have extra fuel. . . propane, charcoal, 
wood chips. A fire extinguisher is a great thing to bring along & a squirt bottle for small flare ups. Cutting boards are good, but paper plates make nice clean cutting surfaces. Condiments, olive oil, non-stick cooking spray, onions & garlic are necessity. A table to cut up stuff on and set the food on when its done is always a nice option. A fold up chair or two is great to have too when your taking a break from cooking or after the game when your waiting for the parking lot to clear out a little. Extra beer is always plus. . . it’s a great bartering tool if you forgot something at home. ALWAYS make sure you have a good cooler & PLENTY of ice! Lastly. . . NEVER leave your grill or fryer unattended besides the obvious safety reasons your food can get ruined in a heartbeat! PS…use sober, common sense while cooking.
So, yes, tailgating is an art. It doesn’t matter who you’re routing for either. A great tailgate can bring everyone together. But tailgating is still about one upping your neighbor. (Some people even have cooking competitions right at the venue they are at. I was at a weekend long drag racing competition and a whole group of people came just to have a rib cooking competition). It’s never about putting anyone down. It’s the pride of knowing you’re better. From simple to elaborate, regional favorites like Philly Cheese Steak & Buffalo wings, or just showing off, like grilled tequila & chipotle rubbed butterflied leg of lamb. Deep frying turkey for the Thanksgiving Day game and bringing all of the fixings. . From your tailgate bed or your buddy’s RV. Breakfast to dessert with appetizers & dinner in between, beer to blender drinks. Tailgating is about fun times and making memories. So have fun, enjoy yourself & eat hearty!
Smoked food without a smoker you say? How do you smoke food without a traditional outdoor BBQ smoker? Why with smoker bags, smoker cans, or one of three different stainless steel “smoker” units by Camerons Cookware.
Do you live in an apartment that has rules regarding grills and smokers, but love the taste of smoked foods?
Do you tailgate often but hate having to load up a big bulky grill every time you go to the game?
Do you live alone or have all the kids finally left home?
Are you an amateur gourmet that likes to add smokey flavor to garlic, cheeses, or salts to add to your latest recipe?
If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions then one of the Camerons products may be right for you.
With a smoker bag you can smoke a whole meal with the subtle smoke flavor of mesquite, hickory, or alder. The bags can be placed in an oven, on a grill, or even right in a camp fire. And clean up is as quick and easy as removing the food and throwing away the bag.
Feel like something different in your smokey flavor? Tired of the usual hickory and mesquite? Flavorwood cans come in the traditional flavors but you can also get, apple, peach, cherry or pecan. Good for one to 
three rounds of food smoking right on your grill, charcoal or propane.
Now we come to the smokers. These can be used on a stove top, in the oven, on your camp stove or even on a picnic table with a sterno can. In fact you can use them on any heat source – gas, electric, flat top or induction, sterno, grill or campfire. They are stainless steel, durable and easy to clean. Great for camping and tailgating. Components stack together for easy storage. Light enough and compact enough for back pack cooking equipment.
The Camerons Stovetop Smoker, Mini Gourmet and Li’l Smokey all come with a sample pack of special made, kiln dried, all natural wood chips. The flavor assortment of wood chips available contains the traditional smoke flavors as well as other hardwood and fruit woods and even a bourbon infused wood chip.
This past week, there was an article in the Washington Post Express called “Campfire, Rewired: Gadgets to Make Cooking While Camping A Breeze” written by Nevin Martell. He discusses some products to make camp cooking easier. Trailer camping and tailgating with grills and smokers are always an option. Tenting and hiking are a completely different entity. I mean it’s not like you can pack up a BBQ smoker in your back pack and hike into the woods with it.
One of the products featured by Nevin in his article was The Li’l Smokey by Camerons. The manufacturers at Camerons have a few products that make tenting and cooking a breeze. The Li’l Smokey, The Mini Gourmet Smoker and The Stovetop Smoker. These are stainless steel cookers that can be used outdoors using sterno, your campfire or a gas burner. Great for camping or backpacking as they are much lighter than your cast iron skillet. The lighter the better. These “smokers” can also functions as a steamer, a poacher, a roasting pan or a stovetop oven. All the components nest together inside the base for convenient storage and clean up is quick and easy.
And they aren’t just for outdoor cooking. You can use them at home as well. Apartment rules against barbecue grills got you down? With these smokers you can smoke food anytime you want.
Are you an amateur gourmet cook? Want to add some smoked garlic or smoked salts to zest up a recipe? These indoor smokers are perfect for this application.
The uses here are endless. With the specially ground, kiln dried, all natural smoking chips you can add many different flavors to whatever you’re cooking. The traditional hardwoods are available as well as some fruit woods and specialties like bourbon soaked. You can even mix and match some of the flavors to make unique flavorful blends.
Smoking foods made easy. Cooking in the great outdoors or just like the great outdoors right on your stovetop!
Well the football tailgating season has finally arrived. Be it NCAA, Pro ball, or even the local high school football team, the tailgaters are flying their team colors high. It has been a rocky start so far with Mother Nature unleashing some of her worst in many areas. Soggy games, hotter-n-heck games. We need a nice crisp, fall, sunny weekend all over America for every game. Just one weekend Mom Nature…that’s all we ask. Well…maybe more than one weekend.
For those of us hard core tailgaters, we don’t care if it’s raining or not, heck, there could even be snow! We’ll be out there. The BBQ smoker is lit, the charcoal is starting to glow in the grill, the deep fryer is bubbling and spitting, the beer is cold and our flags are blowing in the wind. We are praising our team, reliving high lights of our favorite games, eating, partying and making new memories with our bestest of friends.We prefer good weather to tailgate in, but we will still be there!!
Everyone has their own place in a tailgate. I prefer to be chief cook, but NOT bottle washer. It isn’t always about being the cook either. I like to make sure the tailgate bin is stocked with the appropriate gear and I like to plan tailgate menus. You can’t eat the same stuff week in week out. And the bin doesn’t always have everything that you need with every menu change.
I’ve been to NASCAR races where the tailgaters are all eating hot dogs and burgers. BLAH! That’s ok once in a while but you went all out and traveled far to get to this race. Why not bring out a steak or some pork chops. You brought all of your tailgate gear…make something better to eat. A football game is one day. A race is all weekend!! Take some pride in your tailgate!
I’ve been to NHRA races and other drag racing competitions. Now, these are hardcore tailgaters. They bring BBQ smokers and have rib competitions while the drag racing is going on. I’ve even seen the Philly Cheese Steak Queen bring a 60 qt. stock pot and a outdoor propane cooker and make cheese steaks for like 50 people. I’ve seen one group that brought every piece of cooking equipment that their tailgate group had. Grills, smokers, deep fryers, table top skillets. They were there for the whole weekend and had at least 25 people with them. They ate good. Ribs, wings, steaks, sausages. Why not right? (I think these people were football tailgaters too. HEY, you can do both!!!! No judging!)
I know of many football tailgaters that take pride in their party and their menu. Never just burgers and dogs and canned beer! I know of one group in Philly (big Pro Ball fans) that actually cook a meal that somehow represents the opposing team at every game. That way they eat the competition before the game even starts. Hahahha!!
Well let’s get into the full swing of the season. Bring on the football, rain or shine. Put on your teams colors and let,s get out there and tailgate!!
Craig’s Way Tailgate is a group of a dozen young professionals who have grown up in and around Austin, TX. They enjoy spending Saturdays during the Fall watching college football and rooting on the Horns together.
How It All Began:
October 14, 2006 – The Horns were hosting the Baylor Bears. The leaves were changing, not a cloud in the sky, slight nip in the air- perfect football weather. The usual pre-game routine was to grab a beer at Scholtz or call around and see whose tailgate party they could crash. That’s all fine and good but sometimes you just want something a little more.
The group of friends decided to start their own tailgate.
How hard could having your own tailgate really be?
Come to find out—a lot more difficult than the guys originally anticipated. They borrowed some tents, packed a cooler of beer, and stumbled upon the field at 15th and Trinity.
They now have a beautiful BBQ smoker and all sorts of grills that they take to every function. They have inflatable tents, games, and a few more people involved. They have partnered up with many companies, started a web page, and got a whole network in the social media world going, just to make their tailgate party all that it can be.
Over the years their tailgate has evolved, but the goal from the beginning has stayed the same. They still enjoy a handful of Saturdays tailgating with some great friends and and watching some great football. They hope you’ll come out and join them this year.
R & V Works has a new portable, propane BBQ smoker. The Cajun Express Smoker. It is the fastest smoker in the Bayou!! The patented sealed pressure / vacuum chamber revolutionizes smoking times to super sonic levels.
I have recently had the time to return to charcoal grilling. I was technically thrown into it. We bought a house in another state. We went down for the closing and stayed in the house to settle a few things before returning home to finish packing etc. We told the original owner that we would be bringing down our own stove and did not need the one that was in the house. We thought that he was leaving it anyway, but got to the house and the stove was gone. He was going to take his makeshift grill- BBQ smoker. Thank goodness or we would have had to eat out every night or cook everything in the microwave.
Being back with charcoal again was a great experience. I always loved to cook with charcoal, but when you are a working family with 2 small boys that are involved in Boy Scouts and other community related groups it is very hard to just slow down and grill 
sometimes. I had finally broke down and got myself a propane grill. I could still experience my love of barbecue and grilled food but did not have to wait the extra time for proper heat. I missed the charred flavor that came with the charcoal, but figured it was a sacrifice that had to be made for convenience. Also having 2 growing boys can be an expensive prospect. It was one or the other, not both. So I opted for just propane.
My boys are older now. I suppose I have some time to slow down and grill now. But, now I have the option of fast, slow, propane, charcoal, or both. It is nice to have an option. I have an outdoor propane deep fryer too, so I can cook some things really fast if I want to. When it comes to food, life should be full of choices anyway.
I just finished watching Bacon Paradise on the Travel Channel. I know that the world of bacon has exploded over the past few years, I had no idea that it was to that extreme. I have seen the blogs, the bacon salts, pictures of meats wrapped in woven bacon blankets, the bacon wallet, chocolate covered bacon, Bakon Vodka, and even bacon lip balm. That should have been an inkling. There are so many restaurants out there that are focusing strictly on the bacon.
Watching the program was a great inspiration to me. Given the fact that I love bacon, I now have more ideas for cooking with bacon than I had before. Yes, yes, I know. Bacon is probably one of the worst foods as far as being health conscious and cholesterol savvy. But, who doesn’t love bacon? Waking up in the morning to the smell of bacon and a pot of fresh coffee….mmmm.
Pork bellies are the American version of bacon. In Europe they use the back portion for bacon. Traditional Irish bacon looks more like thin sliced boneless pork chops. Bacon comes in other forms now as well. You can get lamb bacon now. For the more heath conscious mind set, turkey bacon and tofu bacon.
I have worked with rumaki before. For those of you that don’t know rumaki it is basically a chicken liver, a piece of water chestnut, soaked in Teriyaki sauce, rolled in brown sugar and wrapped in bacon and broiled or grilled. Not everyone is about the chicken liver. Myself included, but once you taste the combo of flavors and textures together…it just works. I have played with the recipe and made it with chicken breast and pineapple chunks. I have actually considered deep frying rumaki in my outdoor propane deep fryer.
There were a few of these restaurants on the program that actually bought in pork bellies, cured and smoked them on their premises. One place called “3″ in Arlington, VA actually has a pig roast once a month, but they place pork shoulder and pork belly under the splayed pig, so that the juices from the pig drip right down over everything while it is all in the roaster box together.
One restaurant, called Slater’s 50\50, Burgers by Design, actually makes bacon burgers. Not a beef patty with bacon on top…actually ground bacon made into patties. This young man started this idea by tailgating with friends in San Diego. At the time they were making 100 % ground bacon burgers. Mr. Slater has now added 50 % beef to the mix, ergo, 50\50. The light bulb just went on for me. I am ready to go out and buy a pound of bacon, a pound of ground beef and get out my meat grinder.
Now that I am totally hungry and want bacon. I am going to a barbeque at a friend’s house this afternoon. He is all about the smoke. He has 2 BBQ smokers, a smaller grill and has just added a larger Char-Broil grill to the mix. I know that he is smoking a whole turkey, 2 pork shoulders and probably some beef too. There was no bacon to be involved…until now. I saw many places serving bacon on a stick or bacon lollipops while watching Bacon Paradise. I just so happen to have some thick cut applewood smoked bacon from the North Country Smokehouse in Claremont, NH. I am going to thread the bacon onto soaked wooden skewers, place them on the grill, and have them for appetizers. I have some cracklins that I have been saving to trysmoked as well. Think this will be the perfect opportunity to give it a whirl.
Well, now that I’ve made you hungry, go out and get yourself some bacon.
I am constantly stressing the fact that your outdoor cooking appliances may have more than one use. Your grill, for instance, may be used for BBQ smoking or even be used just like an oven.
Traditional turkey fryers are multi-functional as well.
You can deep fry, stew, steam, and boil with your turkey fryer.
A neat idea for a cold weather tailgate, is to have hot cider or even mulled wine. Using your propane turkey fryer is ideal for a chilled tailgate crowd.
You can opt for just hot cider. Once it is warm, serve it in cups.
You can do a spicier version for a more grown up taste. This will add a heartier flavor in that crisp fall air.
6 gallons apple cider (not apple juice…cider)
6 whole cloves
6 cinnamon sticks
2 Tbsp. whole allspice
Place everything in the turkey fryer and set it to low. Bring the cider to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to very low, and let it simmer for about an hour or hour and a half. To serve, place a pat of butter in the bottom of each cup, and ladle the hot cider into the cups.
For Mulled Wine you want to basically follow the above directions, but using a red wine in place of the cider. You also do not want to boil the wine. Only to simmer! There are many variations to mulled wine. Some people actually add vanilla pods, oranges, nutmeg and brandy to the mix.
2 smaller batch versions to try ahead of time before you try it at the stadium is as follows:
4 c. sugar1 tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
3 med. oranges, thinly sliced
1 med. lemon, thinly sliced
2 c. water
1 gallon dry red wine