Archive for the ‘Grills’ Category
Free shipping is a loaded phrase. 9 times out of 10 shipping is never really free. The product has already been marked up to include an amount sufficient to cover the costs of shipping. Many people see the words free shipping and will look no further. Honestly if they did looked a bit further, they may actually pay shipping to a company and actually pay LESS than if they go with a company that claims free shipping.
When a company marks up a product to cover shipping fees it is technically a crap shoot. The company needs to more or less pick a price that will cover shipping all over. Shipping in the same town for instance will be exactly the same as say from Florida to Alaska. Convenient for the long distance customer, not fair to the in town customer, and a crap shoot for the business.
Shipping companies actually don’t work that way. Distance is a major factor when it comes to pricing of shipping, as well as weight, over all size, even odd shaped products come into play. I have customers that find great pricing on the deep fryers that I sell. But for them to expect that a 300 lb. outdoor propane deep fryer’s great price includes shipping is just wrong. An item like this will ship freight. It does not go into a typical brown, yellow, or white truck that you see every day. It ships in a large cargo truck or even a tractor trailer. Diesel prices are quite high right now. There is usually a fuel surcharge on almost anything that gets shipped nowadays. Besides, a 300lb. grill or deep fryer that ships across one state compared to the shipping price of a unit that ships across 50 states is quite a major difference.
So anyway, keep this thought in mind when making a purchase on line. Just because someone says free shipping, it doesn’t mean that you are getting the best deal. Take a little more time and get the best deal, not just because it says it’s FREE>
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!
So, now we get to the traditional turkey fryer. A stock pot, a jet cooker, and a propane tank. Simple, yet many people are frightened by them.
As long as you read the instructions, follow what they say, use sober, common sense, and have a bucket of sand and/or an all purpose fire extinguisher handy, everything should be fine. Oil and water don’t mix!! There is no need to be a hero either. If you find yourself in a situation that is out of your hands, call the local fire department.
Reading about other peoples bad experiences with traditional outdoor propane deep fryers can be good, but can also be bad. If you read them in order to find out what not to do, that is fine. But if you read them and they just make you more opposed to cooking this way, then you will want to go with a safer outdoor propane fryer, or go oil less.
As long as you follow certain guidelines, you can have a perfect, crispy, & juicy fried turkey in about a third of the the time it takes to roast the same size bird in your oven. Imagine having a fully cooked 14 lb. turkey in less than an hour as compared to taking more than 4 hours to roast the same bird.
Safety is the main thing with this style of fryer. It must be used outdoors, and not inside of your garage or on your wooden deck right next to your house. You want the unit away from buildings and combustible materials.
It should be placed on a sturdy level section of ground or concrete.
You want a good distance between your propane tank and your cooker. But you also want to make sure that the hose between the tank and the cooker are not in a walk through area.
Make sure that the kids, your buddies and the dog all have some place else to play. That goes for after you are done cooking as well. It will take quite a while for the frying oil to cool down once you are done.
If there is any wind the day you are cooking, place your LP gas on the upside of the wind so that the heat of the burner is blowing in the opposite direction.
Make sure you are properly dressed. You want long sleeves, shoes, and pants. Shorts and flip flops are not a great idea here. You also want to have on a pair of protective gloves, preferably ones that can handle high temps. Safety goggles are not a bad idea either.
You want an oil with a high smoke point. For more on smoke point and cooking oils, see our past blog on Frying Oils.
Having all of your equipment right on hand is important. You want to have your thermometer to constantly monitor your temp. A conventional turkey fryer does not have a temperature gauge that will shut off when it reaches the desired temperature. It does not a safety shut off, or breakaway cord like a counter top deep fryer. You must constantly monitor an outdoor propane deep fat fryer. DO NOT EVER LEAVE THE FRYER UNATTENDED. Have your lifting hooks and everything right where you can get at them. If possible, have a friend that can assist in raising and lowering your turkey into the hot oil.
Make sure your poultry is fully thawed!!! Ice crystals and hot oil do not mix!
I like to start at about 400 degrees. Even though your bird should be at room temp. for about an hour before you fry it, the oil temp. is still going to drop down. Starting a little higher than optimum temp. will help speed temp. recovery time. When the oil has reached optimum temp. you want to raise and lower the bird into the hot oil just like a dunking tea bag. The oil will spit and bubble at this point. So take your time getting the turkey settled in before placing the lid on the unit. If you are worried about hot oil and flames coming in contact, shut the burner off while you are lowering the turkey into the pot. Once everything has settled, immediately turn your burner back on. Remember to monitor your temps. You don’t want the temperature too low, or too high.
Remember to let the unit cool before attempting cool filter and store your oil for future use.
Now, I can never stress the fact enough that a traditional turkey fryer is the perfect piece of outdoor cooking equipment for tailgaters, campers, and even the backyard social butterfly.
This unit not only deep fries. You can steam, boil, and stew with it. You can steam corn on the cob while you are grilling steaks in your back yard. You can have a whole Low Country Boil or New England Style Clam Bake at the beach. You can make beef stew for that cold weather tailgate, or a huge pot of hot chocolate, hot cider or mulled wine. Deep fry a huge mess of Buffalo wings for the Superbowl. Have a Friday Night Fish Fry at church. You can even make corned beef and cabbage for a Half Way to St. Patrick’s Day party at your fire department or in the stadium parking lot at a Notre Dame game. Menu options are endless.This kind of cooking equipment is a tailgater’s best friend.
And that’s not all. There are still at least 100 more applications that a turkey fryer can fit into. You can use them to can beets at harvest time. You can cook down maple sap to make syrup in the spring. Tie die shirts with the kids on a summer afternoon. There is no reason to pack your fryer away just because Thanksgiving is over.
As I have said before, if you are frightened of these wonderful cooking apparatuses due to past horror stories, then this cooker may not be for you. But, if you are willing to get out there and experiment, the options of this versatile piece of cooking equipment are astounding.
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.
As Irene approaches the North Carolina coast, I have to revisit the importance of emergency preparedness. I happen to be in the very coastal region of eastern North Carolina. We are as prepared as we think we can be at this point, but one never knows.
The regions of eastern Pennsylvania and Long Island are in the path of Irene as well. They have been totally saturated with rain recently. That means that if Irene is still packing a significant punch when it arrives, trees are going to fall. That will mean lots of power outages.
I know that the folks on Long Island are scrambling for D cell batteries right now. No one seems to be able to find them. Now if you already had an emergency preparedness kit, odds are you won’t be out searching 
for batteries and will be focusing on more important things like having a full gas tank, etc. If you have an emergency kit, make sure everything is up to snuff. Revamping your kit say every 6 months or every time you change batteries in your smoke detectors is a great idea. That way you are always sure to have working batteries for the flash light or lanterns that you have in the kit.
Get yourself some good outdoor cooking equipment if you have none. Like a Volcano Collapsible Grill, Brinkmann grill, or other outdoor propane or charcoal grill. That way if you loose power for a few days you will still be able to feed your family.
Have some friends drop by unexpected? Family members pop in unannounced? You can throw together a nice barbecue in a pinch if need be. It all depends on what you have in your fridge or freezer and how good your imagination can stretch. Having a little time to prepare is great, but if not, just put your thinking cap on, open the fridge and freezer, and get creative!
Boneless chicken is very versatile. If you happen to have some in the freezer, this will be your best bet. You can cook boneless chicken breasts from a frozen state and still get excellent results. That does not work with all kinds of meats.If you have a little time to get it on a thaw though, throw it in some orange juice with some spices, or coat it in some Italian dressing. The same can be done with certain types of fish fillets.
You can put other meats on a thaw with your microwave. Do not defrost entirely. Sometimes you can end up ruining meat that way. Having sausages, hot dogs, and pre-made burgers in your freezer for just such an occasion is always handy too, especially if people pop in on you a lot.
Summer time is a great time to have other fruits and vegetables on hand. You can grill other things besides meat. Get your Brinkmann grill going and throw on some halved peaches and nectarines that have been brushed with olive oil.
Grilled roasted peppers and mushrooms are always a nice side dish.
Have a bunch of asparagus in the fridge? Lay out some foil, put in a pat or two of butter, sprinkle lightly with some seasonings, seal and throw the pouch on the grill. Turn it once or twice. Don’t leave it on too long though. You want the asparagus still a bit crispy, not mushy.
Don’t have lettuce or enough lettuce to make a salad? Open up your cupboard. Salad doesn’t always have to be about leafy greens. Open a can of chick peas, or red beans to add to a salad. Onion, pepper, celery, carrots, whatever you have on hand. You can even cut up pear to use in a salad. Toss everything together, add a little lime juice or olive oil and vinegar and viola, salad! I went to a barbecue last night. Someone came unexpectedly, but not empty handed. She threw together a creamy cucumber salad, and a really neat mixed up salad that had fresh corn kernels stripped from an ear of corn, blueberries, red onion, fresh mint, and a nice vinaigrette.
Don’t have enough stuff to make a salad? If you have a couple of baking potatoes in the cabinet, slice the bakers in half or quarters, coat them in olive oil, sprinkle with garlic powder and black pepper. Place it on the top rack of the grill, prior to meat and while the meat is cooking.
Throwing together a BBQ in a pinch is easy. Use your imagination and get creative. If you have time to run to the store for added ingredients, go ahead, but as long as you have some food around, just use it. Just have a little faith in yourself. Get out there and start cooking!