The Drunken Tailgate

The Pig Rig: Tailgating Trailer and Catering

The Pig Rig is essentially a BBQ restaurant on wheels. This 30 foot trailer features two Stump’s Smokers, a Viking grill and gas range, fridge, freezer, four sinks, power generator, five HD flat screens, and a 20 ft. inflatable screen. Most people don’t have houses outfitted with that much equipment. Theoretically you could get one of these customized by Horton Haulers for your own personal tailgating needs. If that’s a luxury you can afford you probably also tailgate outside the football team’s weight room or practice facility that bears your family name. For the rest of us, we can just hire Que N View for one huge tailgating blowout a year. If you have a huge group of tailgaters hiring Que N View to cater is certainly the easiest way to feed the masses. And then of course there’s also the wow factor of the trailer.

I met the owner of the Pig Rig, Charlie Hellem, because he was the instructor for my BBQ Basics cooking class at the Viking Store. Charlie has won several rib competitions and is a really cool, laid back, and knowledgeable teacher. Whether you want to take your first steps into smoking meats or just want to brush up on some grilling basics, this class can help. At $90 it’s a bit steep, but I’d also say that I ate about 2 pounds of meat and had 4-5 beers which would cost you $35-50 at a restaurant. It’s not a bad gift to ask for from a mother or wife. So if you live within an hour or two of Atlanta I suggest checking out renting the trailer or taking a grilling class.

Tailgating Recipe: Grilled Mediterranean Sandwich

Foodthinkers.com has a good recipe for a Mediterranean Sandwich that you can prepare at home and then heat up on the grill for an easy tailgating solution. After ignoring it for most of my life, I’ve recently realized that few things go better with beer than salami. A lower quality salami gets you a fair amount for $3-5 and is still tasty enough to do the trick. You’ll probably need to find an Italian market to pick up the bread and specialty cheese.

Mediterranean Sandwich

Ingredients

1 Turkish bread cut into 6 equal sections
butter
18 slices of genoa salami
6 bocconcini (Buffalo Mozzarella), sliced
1 cup pesto sauce
1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half
Olive Oil

Directions

Cut the bread sections through the center and set aside the top halves. Lightly butter the inside of both halves. Divvy up the salami, bocconcini, pesto, and tomatoes evenly among the sandwiches. Put the tops on and wrap. Put in the fridge if they’re for a future date.

Once you’re tailgating, rub olive oil on both sides of the sandwich. Put it on the grill and heat each side long enough to the let the cheese melt a little and get the bread warm and toasty.

New Tailgating Show on TLC

I was able to view an advanced screening of TLC’s new show “Tailgate Takedown”. It’s your basic cooking challenge but set at actual college football games. Three teams of fans are chosen and allowed to make the tailgating food of their choice. The premiere featured three USC cooking teams competing before the USC/UCLA game. In this episode only USC fans were selected and the menu takes on a latin flair. The show is hosted by Joe Cahn who you may have seen online before since he’s proclaimed himself the “Commissioner of Tailgating”. While the teams are preparing their meals, Joe walks around and interviews other fans to feature the campus atmosphere. This is a great idea and I’m always willing to check out other campuses and traditions. Unfortunately, Joe might be the corniest guy in America. I’d have trouble not throwing a fork in his eye if he ever tailgated with me all day.

I’ve only watched a handful of cooking challenge/reality shows, but I think Tailgate Takedown holds up inspite of Joe. It personally gives me a little something to relate to and I’d imagine as the series moves on you’ll get some interesting ideas for expanding your tailgating menu. The show premieres tonight (1/6/2010) on TLC at 10pm Eastern with the USC/UCLA episode. Then at 10:30 for the SEC Championship episode from the Georgia Dome featuring two Alabama cooking teams and one Florida team. The shows repeat at 1am.

Thanksgiving Tailgating

If you’re tailgating for the Texas/A&M game next Thursday on Thanksgiving or just looking to use some leftovers as part of your fare, we’ve got a couple of links and suggestions for you.

Beeriety has a post on pairing beers with your Thanksgiving meal. They also have a more general post on how to pair beer with food.

Turkey – Oktoberfest (Paulaner), Biere de Garde (3 Monts), Bock (Anchor Bock).

Sweet potato – Brown Ale (Newcastle), ESB/English Bitter (Fullers), Pumpkin Beer (Dogfish Head Punkin).

Stuffing – Rye Ale (Founder’s Red Rye).

Pumpkin pie – Dunkelweiss (Weihenstephaner Dunkel), Dopplebock (Ayinger), Cream Ale (Sam Adams), Pumpkin Beer (Dogfish Head Punkin).

Green beans/veggies – Pale Ale (Sam Smith).

Cranberry sauce – Lambic (Lindemans Framboise).

The Georgia Sports Blog made a Turducken for their tailgate a few years ago. A Turducken consists of a chicken that is stuffed inside a duck which is then stuffed inside a turkey. Read about the recipe and planning and the aftermath.

The Real Simple website has a recipe for using your leftover turkey to make Reuben sandwiches that you can serve hot by grilling over a campfire stove.

Turkey Reuben Sandwiches

1. Spread 4 slices rye bread with Dijon mustard and another 4 with Russian dressing.

2. Dividing evenly, top the mustard-spread bread slices with 8 slices roasted turkey, 1 cup sauerkraut, 8 slices Swiss cheese, and the remaining bread.

3. Pan-fry the sandwiches in olive oil until the cheese melts.

Do you have a Man Cave?

As it should be, the Man Cave website is more about grilling and less about what to put in your basement. Because really you’re going to deck it out with memorabilia from your favorite team. A flat screen, recliner, bar, and poker or pool table are the only true universals. They have a selection of premium beef and bison steaks and other meats that you can mail order. Also included are grilling utensils and clothing items you would never wear. You do apparently have the opportunity to have a 70’s style tupperware party where a Man Cave Advisor comes to your house, grills up a ton of meat, and then tries to sell your friends meats and other products while you get a kickback. No official word on whether Uncle Rico will actually be your advisor.