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Tailgaters roast a juicy pig! You're sure to see a lot of this during the season.
True sports fans know that the success of game day isn't completely dependent on field goals, power plays or penalty kicks. The quality of the tailgate can make it a good day - whether the team wins or not.
Fans want to eat well and enjoy the game. It is possible to do both without resorting to drive-throughs or other crutches of the lazy fan. With a little organization and do-ahead recipes, you won't need to do much more than grab the tickets and go. No muss, no fuss, no stress.
Do as much work as possible before game day. Start by making a list of nonperishable items you'll need for the tailgate. You may want to include:
Several large trash bags. They're great for cleanup and creating ice beds for food that should be served cold.
Plates, forks, cups, napkins, paper towels and other disposables.
Disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer.
If you plan to grill, include disposable latex gloves for handling raw meat. Also, oven mitts, spatulas and lighter, not to mention your fuel of choice.
Remember to keep knives, cutting boards, utensils or other items that come into contact with raw meat away from cooked meat. Consider color-coding items (red tape on a cutting board for raw meat, for example). Cross-contamination can knock you down faster than a 300-pound linebacker; you don't want to run the risk.
Disposable foil pans for holding cooked food when it comes off the grill or for making ice beds.
Serving spoons and utensils. If you've ever tried to serve potato salad with a plastic fork, you'll remember them.
Insect repellent and sunscreen, plus some first-aid supplies in case of a mishap.
If you'll be attending several games during a season, pack a plastic tub with the items you'll need at every game. The tub will be ready to toss into the car. Replenish the supplies as needed.
Web to the rescue
Really make things easy by getting other people to do some of the work and organizing them via Facebook or Twitter.
That's what Kyle Holtman and fellow members of the Leesville Grill Team do. Holtman, a senior at Leesville Road High School in Raleigh, helps organize a student tailgate before every football game. The tailgate, which is held (with permission) at a swim club near the school, has drawn as many as 120 Leesville students.
Holtman and other organizers take a lot of the food, charging for grilled burgers (hence the group's name) and T-shirts to defray the cost. They set up a Facebook page where they remind students about the location, give parking advice and communicate about other vital tailgate and sports matters. The page has more than 500 members.
"Social media is a good way to organize," Holtman says. "Also, it helps to have a group of people working on the tailgate rather than just one or two people doing it all."
Holtman and his friends are part of a tailgating trend. A study sponsored by grill company Weber found that more than one-third of U.S. tailgaters say new media technology is playing a bigger role in their pre-game parking-lot experience as compared with five years ago.
As for the all-important tailgate food, look for recipes that you can prepare the day before, or even several days ahead, to make game day less hectic.
In the snack department, most cheese balls and dips can be made two or three days ahead and refrigerated. Dishes such as potato salad, chicken salad, coleslaw and deviled eggs actually taste better if prepared the day or night before, so that the flavors have time to blend.
If you want a meaty main dish, you don't have to drag along the grill.
Many people think it's not a tailgate without fried chicken, and the food is great cold. Prepare it for dinner the night before the game and take the leftovers with you.
Other do-aheads: Marinate and grill chicken breasts for chicken sandwiches, or sear beef tenderloin that can turn into sliders with horseradish sauce. The included recipes will get you started.
