Archive for the ‘BBQ Smokers’ Category
Father’s Day is a time to honor Dad. A time to say thanks for all the days he went to work to keep a roof over your head and food in your belly. For the times that he helped you fix your car. For helping you learn how to ride a bike. For teaching you how to fish or hunt. There are dad’s from all walks of life, white collar, blue collar, etc. Every dad is different and most dads help their kids out with something at least once in their lives. To give them thanks is a great honor.
Not all dads are the tie type. Dads don’t all wear cologne. Some would fancy a new tool for the tool box, but chances are, they already have that tool or something similar anyway. Some like new DVD’s and CD’s.
Lots of dads like to cook outside. It has come down through history since the cave man cooked over an open fire. Many of your dads may have a grill, some may even have a BBQ smoker. Probably only about 1 out of 10 dads have an outdoor propane deep fryer to go along with there outdoor cooking appliances. That may really be more like 1 out of 20. Lots of folks still have a fear of the traditional turkey fryer and the exposed flame and boiling hot oil. But you have to remember that a traditional turkey fryer will also steam, stew, and boil. Your pop can make a huge pot of chili for himself and his friends for Superbowl Sunday in that same turkey fryer. If he likes seafood he can have a summer cookout and have everyone over for a New England style clam bake, or even a Low Country Boil. The units are portable as well. He can take a deep fryer tailgating and cook up a mess of Philly Cheese steak for the guys at the stadium.
Leaps and bounds have been made over the past 2 decades regarding outdoor propane fryers. You don’t have to go with the conventional turkey fryer anymore. There are “safer” fryers out there. Typically, they are just fryers, they don’t steam and boil. But, they are safer in that any possible oil spillage would not come in contact with open flames. The flames are contained in a tube. The tube runs through the hot oil and heats it hot enough to deep fry whatever you can think of. Some of the units are even large enough to deep fry turkey.
So, forget the tie or cologne. Your Pop doesn’t want a new tool. He wants an outdoor propane deep fryer for Father’s Day. He wants to invite his friends over and deep fry some wings for them while they wait for the brisket to finish smoking. He wants to impress his friends by deep frying turkey for Thanksgiving. It is certainly a different option as far as Father’s Day gifts go, but your dad wants more outdoor cooking equipment. Just a grill, can get boring. Add some spice to your father’s life and get him a deep fryer!
This post may not be what you are thinking. This is regarding tailgate party, not tailgating cars.
I go to many car shows and cruise nights. Some are a few hours, some are all day events, some are weekend long events. The cruise nights are usually just a few folks hanging around, looking at each others cars, talking shop and parts, and sitting in collapsible chairs. Some cruises do actually involve food. The cruise that I attended last night, takes place at a local volunteer fire department, every Tuesday. They actually set up grills, cook burgers and hot dogs, and now they even have a blender that they make frosty drinks with. There was one car, a 1966 Comet, that not only showed up with their collapsible chairs, they also brought a folding picnic table. Now that is a great tailgater.
I have gone to an antique truck and tractor show and brought a picnic lunch in a cooler. I ate it right on the tailgate of my truck, forgot my chairs. There was food provided, but it was a two day function and I wanted to tailgate.
We attended a 3 day long car show/race this past weekend, The 9th Annual Jalopy Showdown in Latimore, Pa. There was much tailgating involved. People came for a day and just drank there way through. Some people came for the weekend, and camped and tailgated all weekend. I met 2 young men, brothers, that actually brought a BBQ smoker to set up and cook and sell to the tailgaters. That is innovation for you.
There was one young couple that came from Dover, Del. They set up a tailgate kitchen and found a spot to burn charcoal right on the ground to slow cook ribs.
Some people may call it camping, but I still view it as a tailgate. There were people from all over there for an event. They were not just at a campground. There was a museum, a car show, and an actual car race. People were sharing a common interest, having fun, making memories, telling stories, sharing a cold beer and breaking bread with each other. That is what tailgating is all about, isn’t it?
Mother’s Day has come and gone. For us folks up north, that means it’s time to get back outside. We have always been told not to plant our gardens until after the danger of any frost. Mother’s Day has always been the key date. Time to plant tomatoes and anything else that is not a cold weather hearty crop.
That means it’s time to get back outside with your family and friends. Time to shed the long johns and get out the shorts and flip flops. It is time to start that outdoor cooking again. Whether you are going camping, tailgating, doing a car show, going to the beach or just having a backyard barbecue, it is time to get out the grill, the deep fryer, and the BBQ smoker. We American’s do love the taste of food cooked outdoors. There is no reason to wait for Memorial Day. Besides, the longer you wait, mosquitoes and bees tend to be included. You need to get out there now and strike while the iron is hot…well, luke warm anyway.
Let’s get the cover off our outdoor cooking equipment and get started on the long awaited and well deserved barbecue season. I know I shoveled enough snow this past winter, that I deserve a beautifully grilled steak, some smoked ribs, and some deep fried potatoes all cooked out in my own back yard. My outdoor propane deep fryer needs to see some love. My grill has been up and working already but my fryer wants some action too.
Whatever is your preference, grilled, smoked, deep fried, just get out there and cook. Go buy some charcoal. Get some cherry wood chunks or cedar planks. Amaze your friends. Make some new concoctions. Smoke some vegetables. Deep fry some apples. Make some planked salmon. Enjoy cooking in the great outdoors before the snow decides to fly again.
Drag racing tailgaters still always amaze me. They are always extreme to the max. As far as racing tailgates go, to me drag racing enthusiasts take the prize. I have seen everything from small Habachis to big propane grills that look like engines. Table top stoves to big trailer pulled BBQ smokers. Outdoor propane deep fryers and turkey fryers. I have even seen the Queen of Philly Cheese Steaks show up with a stock pot and outdoor propane patio cooker and make cheese steak for 150 people. I have even seen grilling competitions set up while the drag racing was going on.
Usually when at a great race venue, there are regular style camping spots to set up at. Full hook ups, even cable connections. Even if you aren’t showing up with a trailer or motor home, there are ways to get through 3-5 days of tailgating quite easily. They have places to buy ice and propane, they also have carts that go through the venue selling bags of ice. Some venues will even send around honey carts to pump your tanks if need be.
I did see something different yesterday at the drag strip. I’m quite sure that it has been done before, but it is the first time I have actually seen it. I saw a tailgating group. They had a motor home and hook ups. But tailgating for 5 days with a big group? Motor home refrigerators are not really that big. Even when I’ve done the 5 day tailgate we always had to store extra food in coolers, or leave the area to go back to a store. Yesterday, I saw a man with a full sized refrigerator that he brought along to set up right in the middle of his tailgate. How awesome is that?! Now coolers can be for just beverages and all your food and leftovers can be put in the outside fridge.
People come up with great ideas to make tailgating easier all the time. I just find the human brain fascinating!
I am going on a long race weekend. Tailgating is usually required in one form or another on a long race weekend.
If you are lucky enough to have a trailer or motor home, you are in like flint. Many race venues have an area for campers to set up, usually right on the venue grounds too. Some even with hook ups. This is a great way to go. You can tailgate to the extreme this way. BBQ smokers, grills, outdoor propane deep fryers, nothing is left to be desired when refrigeration is involved.
When you are working with tents, trucks, and coolers, this can get a bit more complicated, as coolers for 3 to 5 days worth of food can take up a lot of space. Besides having to fit your outdoor cooking gear in as well. Big race venues will typically have ice to purchase on the grounds somewhere throughout the weekend. Some places even have areas to refill propane tanks. I always suggest bringing multiple propane tanks anyway. If you don’t have to leave the grounds in search of LP gas or other fuel, then don’t. Traffic on race weekends is bad enough. Once you’re already in, it’s great if you can stay right where you’re at. If you don’t have to leave in search of food and beverages, that it a plus as well.
Even if you’re flying in to a race venue far away, getting a hotel, and renting a car, odds are you folks will be tailgating too. Getting into a track and getting to a parking spot is a chore all on it’s own. You’ll want to bring some water at least and possibly something to nosh on. Even leaving a parking lot could take HOURS. Hopefully your hotel is close enough that bringing a whole picnic lunch or dinner is not required. Make sure you’ve got something to nibble on just in case.
Let’s go racin’ boys!!!
I never really thought about it before. Most tailgaters that I know, cook right at the track, or in the parking lot. I’ve seen everything from small charcoal grills and table top propane stoves, to trailer BBQ smokers and outdoor propane deep fryers. I usually tailgate for race weekends. There is usually much more food involved when you are at a venue for more than 24 hours.
I met someone the other day that told me they cook all of their food before hand and just heat it up at the stadium. I mean, I’ve met people that do prep work ahead of time, or go real simple like burgers and dogs, but I never met anyone that made everything ahead of time and just warmed it up. It almost seems like cheating. But I guess that lends more time for drinking and partying. As I said I am usually at a venue for longer periods of time than one afternoon football game. Not everyone is the greatest grill cook or chef either. I suppose for some real adamant fans the game is more important than the food. To most tailgaters that I know though, the food is just as important. Menus are planned, certain items are divvied up between party goers, and there is usually one or two great chefs that bring it all together.
I like to go out of my way to make new and different things for every tailgate. There is no reason to have boring food just because you are out of doors, stuck in a parking lot for 2 to 3 hours or more. Why not have fun with it? I never really did ask the guy what they reheated at their functions. I was just a little surprised. He just said that they cooked it all ahead of time. They ate cold, then hot, and drank a lot of beer.
To each his own. I think I will stick to shaking up my race day menus and cooking on the spot. We have sandwiches and stuff too, but I like a hot breakfast and a nice hot dinner at the race track. Then I let everyone else clean up so that I can drink beer and get ready for more racing action.
It is getting time to get back off of Long Island. Yes it is a beautiful place to live, but very expensive.
I mean for starters, it is not like I live in the deep frying capitol of the world. Obviously a deep fried fish area, but we also have shellfish and crustaceans in plenty. We steam, broil, BBQ, and bake our fish here too. Some people even eat it raw. There is a restaurant in Brooklyn, which is still part of Long Island, but really considered part of New York City. They will deep fry anything you want there, from meat or pickles, to candy bars and Twinkies.
I have opportunity to go further north into New England, because you know they deep fry everything in the land of Sugar Maples. Just Kidding! Aside from being able to use a turkey fryer to cook down your sap into syrup, not much frying going on except at festivals and restaurants. Not every New Englander just happens to have an outdoor propane deep fryer to have a Friday night fish fry every week.
I do think that the cholesterol and health issues of eating fried foods all the time may have something to do with it. Not that people in deep fryer regions don’t care about such things. I think that people in other areas are just not so up tight as other areas. When you only have summer weather 2 to 3 months out of the year, it can make you a little bit grumpy. People in the south, where deep frying is more prevalent, are just more laid back.
I also have an opportunity to move southward, near the coast of North Carolina. Still plenty of fish to go around. Lots of deep frying, from sweet potatoes and fish, to apples and french fries. Also the land of barbecue. They are big on pig in North Carolina. Pork ribs and pulled pork are a favorite of the whole state.
Well, whatever we decide to do, and wherever we decide to go, I am sure that we will bring our regional favorites with us to share, and we will learn some new ways of cooking too.
I am going to step away from my norm again of deep fryers, BBQ smokers, and grills.
Easter season is upon us. There are so many good things to eat that come with the Lenten and Easter season. Friday night fish fry, lamb, fresh ham, pickled eggs. The warmer weather also brings thoughts of getting back outdoors to grill.
My great grandmother was of German decent and lived in Eastern Pennsylvania. She had a traditional cookie recipe that she made every Easter without fail. I love this recipe. The cookies are, light, refreshing, and filled with orangy goodness. It is a very large recipe, and there really is no cutting it in half unless you can cut an egg in half. .So eat hearty or be willing to share.
I do not know the origin of the recipe, if it came from Germany or if it was an Eastern PA. thing. I would dearly have loved to meet this woman. From what I have heard, I believe that she was a really excellent cook.So here is my great grandma Greaser’s Orange Drop Cookie recipe:
2 cup sugar
1 cup shortening
3 eggs
Juice and rind of 2 oranges
1 cup buttermilk (or sour milk)
4 1\2 cup sifted flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
dash of salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cream the shortening and sugar. Add the eggs, juice and rind, and milk. In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients, then add to the wet mix.
Mix well.
Drop by the spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 mins or until lightly browned.
Cool and then ice with following glaze recipe:
1 box confectioner sugar
Juice from 1 orange
1 Tbsp. butter
1 egg yolk
Mix together the above ingredients.. When cookies are cool, spread icing glaze on cookies.
It is finally time to get back out side. There may still be a chill in the air, but the tree buds are swelling, the bulbs are popping. It is time to start grilling again.
Some people grill year round. Up until this last winter I was a year round griller myself. The last time I used the grill was New Year’s Day. We have had more snow in one season than I can remember in all of my 44 years in the region that I live in. There were times that I wanted to grill but there was so much snow on the grill cover and I would have had to dig a path, that I just couldn’t do it. Sounds like a cop out even to me. In younger days I’d have been out there with a snow shovel and a broom to brush off the grill. But as I said, I have no recollection of this much snow here in all my years on this earth. My Pop used to keep the grill in the garage in the winter. He would pop the door open and stand there and grill steaks, burgers, chops, whatever. I unfortunately do not have a garage. I would keep it in the shed, but the shed is small and filled pretty much to the brim with mower, tiller, snow blower, etc. Not really room in there for my grill, let alone starting it up in there in the middle of winter.
Well enough said. I whimped out this past winter. My grill has now been idle for 2 1\2 months. It is not probable that spiders have nested in to my burner tubes, but a good cleaning and once over of any propane grill after sitting idle is a good idea. You should check over your grill at least twice a year anyway and it’s a good idea to inspect your hoses and tanks any time that you are about to add flame to LP gas. For further info you can revisit our posts on Cleaning and Maintenance 
and Checking Your LP Gas Tank for Leaks.
Even if you don’t use a propane grill, it is time for us Northerners to get back out side to grill. Go buy a bag of charcoal, get some hickory chip, or apple wood. Fire up that Brinkmann smoker grill.. Get your Weber going. Take the old Hibachi out of the garage. Let’s push grilling and BBQ season into full swing. Time to cook some meat! Slow or fast, whatever your pleasure. Spring is in the air! So should be the smell of grilling meat!
The ways of the world have certainly changed of late. The food industry has taken a slight turn. After the stock market crash and the huge rise in unemployment, many people have turned to the food industry to supplement or replace old incomes. People have to eat no matter what. People can cook, or they can’t. Some people are better than others at cooking, but some things do not take a degree in brain surgery to cook.
In the past, even in my life time, when times were hard, people were and are still going out to eat. Maybe not to real fancy restaurants, but a place that serves a good meal for a fair price, usually has a full parking lot, especially on the weekends. For people that are still working, after a long work week, who wants to cook dinner? There is a local eatery that I like to frequent, and have for years now, almost every Friday. The food is decent, the prices are fair, and they actually have the added bonus of a free salad and free soft beverages, tap beer and house wine with your meal. It is family friendly and even my picky kids managed to find something to eat every time we go there. They have a very large burger menu but they also serve other things like fish, chicken, steak, etc.
So as I said, people still have to eat. You can eat while you are at work, you eat at festivals, you can even eat at the beach or just walking down the street. Some people have decided to try and cash in on this. Food carts have been around for centuries. People used to sell bread and wine at stadiums and arenas in ancient Rome and Greece. In past years, things more likely to be seen were pretzel and hot dog carts in big cities like New York. Starbuck’s coffee carts in Seattle.There were hot dog trucks on the side of the road. Coffee trucks pulled into industrial area parking lots where people didn’t have a deli or pizza place close enough to grab a quick bite. Ice cream trucks and food vendors with all kinds of food could be found at fairs. Many deep fried foods like french fries, fried dough, and funnel cakes are standard festival food products. All of these staples are still available, but let me tell you, we’ve come a long way from the hot dog truck baby!
The West Coast of the United States has virtually exploded with food vendors, food trucks and food carts. It is spreading slowly across the states too. The choices of food are endless too. We are talking basic American fare like burgers and pressed sandwiches to foods with strong ethnic roots from every region of the world. And we are not just talking any old burgers either. You can get gourmet burgers right on the side of the road. People are trailering BBQ smokers and outdoor propane deep fryers and setting up for the lunch crowd on a daily basis. Deep fry carts are not just for the fair grounds anymore. You can set up a Friday Night Fish Fry almost anywhere now. Fish tacos are gaining popularity throughout the U.S. now. You can pull up to a food truck and get empanadas or gumbo. You can find fine French cuisine or all organic food. The options are endless and people are coming up with new ideas every day.
They do say that necessity is the mother of invention. If you lost your job, and can’t find a new one, why not create one for yourself. Find something that you can cook well and bring it to the masses. You will want to look into the laws of your state and city regarding the sale of food to the public, and the operation of deep fryers and grills in public places, but why not? Our nation was formed by people with new thoughts and ideas. People gotta eat! Why not go out there and feed them?
