Favorite Tailgating Food
Today the board seems to especially terrible, so let's get off the topic of the quarterbacks for a little bit...
What's your favorite tailgating food?
I'm partial to brats, mostly because they taste amazing and they don't take much effort. Grab a bag of buns, some ketchup, relish, and a pack of Johnsonvilles and you're set. (Most would probably prefer more than that on their brats, but it's America, so I have the freedom of choice.)
August 24th, 2009 at 5:04 PM ^
...is awesome! I use fresh basil and lemon pepper, gives the chicken a bit of a kick!
August 24th, 2009 at 3:27 PM ^
Steak, burgers and sausages [I like spicy Italian myself] on the bbq, use a protable crock pot that you can plug into the accesory jacks in the back of the Suburban and you can bring a pot of chilli along, and a Sleeman's Cream Ale or two to wash it all down.
August 24th, 2009 at 3:40 PM ^
First place: pork chop sandwiches. Go to your butcher and have them cut thin chops so they cook quickly. Then get a hold of some Cookies Flavor Enhancer & Seasoning and put it on the chops. We always have other stuff (lettuce, tomato, etc) to put on the sandwiches but I never use them, the sandwiches are awesome without it. The chops I had this weekend (woo, baseball game tailgating!) were about 2 oz each (like I said -- pretty darn thin) so you'd put two of them on a sandwich. With that seasoning, man, just awesome.
Second place: either Usinger's white brats or some of the specialty brats and sausages from the butcher down the street from me. Mushroom and swiss brats, bacon cheddar brats, garlic pepper brats, and others, the stuff is just awesome.
August 24th, 2009 at 4:08 PM ^
Just before heading out, I start the day with chocolate cake shots:
- Equal parts Absolut Citron and Frangelico.
- Lemon slice dipped in powdered sugar (you can use granulated sugar, but I like powdered cuz it's smoother)
Drink a shot of the Citron/Frangelico mixture, then bite the sugar coated lemon. The resemblance to chocolate cake is uncanny.
Then at the tailgate:
OBERON (until the Oktoberfest beers come out, then I switch)
BRATS
POTATO SALAD (or cheesy potatoes, or mac n cheese, etc.)
CHIPS of some sort
If weather is not conducive to grilling, the brats get replaced with wings, which I make with a breading that you can only buy in NC, and the "hot" variety of Anchor Bar Original Buffalo Wings Sauce.
August 24th, 2009 at 4:13 PM ^
I'm partial to brats as long as they are cooked properly: seared on the grill, then boiled in beer. The only toppings offered are spicy brown mustard and kraut.
Down here in the south chili is a big favorite, especially ladled over a bowl of Fritos. If you can find the guy with the real pulled-pork bbq, it's time to put down stakes and stay for a while.
Of course, all of Lane Stadium smells like those damned grilled turkey legs (which smell better than they taste). Can anyone else think of another NCAA event where you are encouraged to eat the mascot?
August 24th, 2009 at 4:50 PM ^
Can anyone else think of another NCAA event where you are encouraged to eat the mascot?
The USC Song Girls are more than welcome to eat my Trojan, if you know what I mean. There's also an obligatory Oregon State joke to be made in return.
More seriously, I'd put Texas on the list. Do they serve duck in Oregon? Maybe some bison burgers at Colorado?
And in half-assed form, Purdue (though their name doesn't refer to the drink) and Ohio State (the actual nut is poisonous, but they also have a chocolate and peanut butter candy thing they call buckeyes down there that might be the only good thing about Ohio State).
August 25th, 2009 at 12:49 AM ^
This is exactly the type of careful sports analysis for which I read MGoBlog.
August 24th, 2009 at 4:17 PM ^
If we wake up early enough, breakfast burritos (with chorizo and hash browns).
Lunch/Dinner:
Rogue Dead Guy Ale (in a gallon growler)/Beer margaritas
Chili Cheese Fries
Cold cut sandwiches are also a staple in our house (preferably with pepper jack cheese on a sourdough baguette).
I'm more anxious this year than ever. Sept. 5th is going to be gluttonous.
August 24th, 2009 at 4:28 PM ^
Man, I love Rogue Dead Guy Ale. In a growler??? Are you in Oregon such that you can get a growler filled onsite, or can this actually be done elsewhere (like in Michigan where I live)??
August 24th, 2009 at 4:35 PM ^
No, I don't live in the state where beer flows like water (Oregon), but close enough. I live in southern California, and there's no shortage of awesome beer in these parts.
However, someone mentioned Bell's earlier. Unfortunately, that is harder to find out here.
August 24th, 2009 at 5:00 PM ^
Funny you should say... I was at the Bell's beer garden in Kalamazoo just last week. Oberon is the best, and it'll be at my tailgates until Oktoberfest beers show up. I even hauled a 6-pack of Oberon to Munich for a friend to try, who proclaimed it the best American beer he'd ever had.
Rogue Dead Guy... did not have it in Oregon the two times I visited there (hell, there's so much else I just didn't get to it!). But I discovered it at Ashley's (best beer bar in Ann Arbor) a couple years ago and thought "damn, that just sounds good"... clearly I wasn't wrong. I have 'em in my fridge, and this thread has made me realize I'll be cracking one open soon as I get home from work.
August 24th, 2009 at 4:19 PM ^
bbq spam with teriyaki sauce, chili over rice...
and a Bell's Oberon!
August 24th, 2009 at 4:25 PM ^
Vodka and OJ
and on the food end, meatball subs and buffalo wings
August 24th, 2009 at 4:44 PM ^
One in each hand, a couple NL in the back pockets.
Done and done.
August 24th, 2009 at 4:55 PM ^
me and my dad cook up some sausage patties (maple sausage patties(only jimmy deans)) and cook up some fried eggs. You throw that on some pillsbury biscuits and throw some cheese on top and you're golden. Best breakfast I've ever had. That or we cook up some omelettes. We have to leave around 8 or 9 in the morning to get to the game in time, so that's our tailgating. Unless we go to a game with the whole family, then we leave early and tailgate.
August 24th, 2009 at 5:13 PM ^
Single malt scotch, on the rocks, aged no less than 12 years, accompanied by a smooth cigar, with a side order of victory. Mmmmm.
If that's not available, my buddy make a mean meatball that makes for a good tailgate treat.
August 25th, 2009 at 12:35 AM ^
Mom's Chilli, (Yes I still tailgate with my parents)
Brats, Wings, Beer, Bloody Mary's
August 25th, 2009 at 2:55 PM ^
They sell Bell's Oberon is a 1/8 barrel with a self contained tap. May not be food in some people's eyes, but others....its all the food you need.
August 25th, 2009 at 11:37 PM ^
From "Lobscouse and Spotted Dog" http://www.wwnorton.com/POB/SpottedD/welcome.htm
Soused Hog's Face
1 pig's head about10 pounds cleaned but not skinned
2 lbs (6 cups) white cornmeal
3 cups white wine
3 cups white vinegar
1 cup water
2 bay leaves
1 TBS salt
12 peppercorns
2 knob fresh ginger, about 1 inch long. sliced
1 nutmeg, cut in half
To avoid copyright infringement, let's just say you soak the head in a bucket for a bit, rinse it off, put it back in a pot with water and cornmeal, cook it till you can pick the meat off the bones. Set aside the tongue and ears.
Put the meat in a piece of warm damp cloth, tie it up, cool it til firm and remove from cloth and stick it in a crock with the wine, vinegar, a cup of water, the spices and the tongue and ears. Keep the meat submerged.
Seal and store it in a cool dark place for up to 2 weeks before serving.
Serves 6.
This way you do all your cooking in advance and can save more tailgating time for drinkin' and socializin'!
Start your soused hog's face today to be ready in time for WMU.