STRATEGY SESSION
For me, the link between fans and food all started with a Sausage ball.
In my first job, working at a small North Carolina newspaper, my apartment was a five-minute drive away. One fateful Friday, the first round of the annual Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Tournament loomed. We University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill fans realized that we could get to my place and see a good hour of the game (the managing editor being lenient) on our lunch break. This was before newsrooms were festooned with TVs, so there was no watching in the office.
Being a good Southern girl, I felt obligated to offer my guests some refreshment, but I wasn’t much of a cook back then. I did make a mean sausage ball, though, and they were easy, plus meaty enough for the big-eating group.
I warmed the sausage balls and we dug in. Suddenly, a call went against our boys in baby blue. Enraged, a fellow reporter, whose name the annals record as Bill Moss, expressed his displeasure with the closest thing at hand. He flung a sausage ball at the TV screen, following it with speculation on the referee’s parentage.
It was a moment that went down in sports food history. For me, after that day, food and sports were inexorably tied together. And each October, as college basketball season begins, I still stock an ample supply of sausage balls in my freezer. You just never know when some blind ref will make an idiot call.
Planning Ahead
A great game plan is to do whatever you can ahead of time, so that when you get to the stadium or track (or when it’s game time at home), all you have to do is have fun. The recipes in this book that are great for preparing the day before are noted, along with transportation tips. Here are some other timesaving suggestions for getting the food ready for the big event.
The best tailgaters, like the best teams, are organized and prepared. Here’s a basic checklist of items to take along when you’re going “on location,” most of which can be packed ahead of time. Serious fans keep a plastic tub packed with necessary nonperishables in the car for the entire season, replenishing supplies as needed.
Grillers should add:
Grilling is the top cooking method in the parking lot—-just follow your nose for verification. Here are some brief tips on how to get excellent results from your preferred grilling technique.
Quick-cooking meats like pork chops and tenderloins, marinated boneless chicken breasts and steaks, burgers and hot dogs, and seafood are cooked over direct heat. Charcoal fans, that means placing the hot coals in the center of the grill; gas lovers, set your grills for direct cooking.
Longer-cooking items, such as whole chickens, call for indirect heat. Charcoalers, you pile coals on each side of the grill, leaving the center open; gas folks, just hit the indirect heat setting or, on an older grill, light the side burners, not the center one. If using charcoal, you’ll need a charcoal chimney starter to start and replenish the coals as the cooking goes along. A charcoal chimney starter is simply a metal cylinder with a handle, an inexpensive gadget available at home-improvement stores, grilling stores, and even large grocery stores. You put coal in the top and stuff newspaper in the bottom, which you light to ignite the charcoal. The charcoal is usually ready in about 30 minutes. Do not place a chimney starter on grass when lighting it; use it on concrete, asphalt, or gravel. The chimney will get very hot, so keep children away and use an oven mitt when moving it to pour the lighted charcoal into the grill.
Definitely use hardwood lump charcoal and go the charcoal chimney route or use solid starters made from paraffin. One paraffin starter, nestled in the charcoal, should start a small portable grill; use two for a regular-sized one. Carrying lighter fluid around can be dangerous, and besides, it makes the food taste like gasoline. The quick-starting brands of briquettes are permeated with lighter fluid and have the same smell and flavor problem. Also, they don’t stay hot for very long.
As much fun as grilling is, you are handling fire, so take some precautions. Place the grill on firm, level ground, away from anything flammable, such as grass, trees, or shrubs (that includes your car). If you’re concerned about the area you have to use—tailgaters can’t always be choosers—cover the surface under the grill and a radius of a couple of feet surrounding the grill with heavy-duty aluminum foil before starting. Keep small children back from the fire, and don’t wear clothing with loose sleeves. Make sure the grill is away from the rest of the tailgate action, so that guests won’t bump into it.
When the cooking is done, do not pack up the grill until it is completely cool. Do not remove the charcoal and dispose of it until it is cold. The hot action should stay on the field, not end up in the trunk of your car or a parking lot dumpster.
The Obligatory Food Safety Lecture
Yes, sports fans, there are things worse than being slapped with a 15-yard penalty with goal to go, collecting that final foul, or getting black-flagged on the last lap. Ignoring food safety can put a damper on the party faster than you can ask, “Where’s the nearest emergency room?”
Basically, the idea is to keep cold things cold and hot things hot. But when you’re tailgating outdoors, especially in warm weather, that takes a little work. Even indoors, food safety is important. You need to be aware of how long food has been sitting out at room temperature and remove it from the serving area if you feel it might have been out too long.
Thoroughly chill any cold items, such as salads, dips, or drinks, before packing them in the cooler for traveling. If you’re taking raw meat or seafood to grill on site, put it in leakproof zipper-top plastic bags or airtight containers, and pack it deep into the center of the cooler, which is the coldest part. Use plenty of ice. You want the food to stay really cold, and the ice will melt as time goes on, even in a cooler. Also, never consume ice that may have come into contact with raw meat. Label a separate, clean cooler of ice solely for beverage use. And remember: If you run out of ice, no one has yet expired from drinking a warm soda, but a foodborne illness can slap you down harder than a 300-pound linebacker. Don’t take the risk. Besides, you don’t want to miss the game.
Cleanliness is as important as temperature when handling raw meats or eggs. Carry along a jug of water and liquid soap just for hand-washing purposes. Disposable rubber or latex gloves are also useful for handling raw meats or fish. Hand sanitizer or antibacterial wipes can be used for quick cleanups.
And watch for cross-contamination. Don’t use cutting boards, plates, knives, or utensils that have touched raw meats or raw eggs for anything else—put them in a separate, labeled bag or move them to an area away from other tailgate foods. To make this easier, you may want to invest in different colors of plastic cutting boards for your tailgating. Also, you can find knives with color-coded handles, or you can put colored stickers on the handles.
Once that glorious spread is laid out for hungry fans, keep an eye on the clock. Dips; cheeses; cooked meat, seafood, or eggs; salads that use mayonnaise or other dairy products; and the like should not be left out on a warm day for more than two hours. Even at an indoor party, don’t push the limit. Take out some insurance by nestling bowls of chilled items, such as cooked shrimp, into larger bowls or containers of ice for serving. Get fancy with bowls in your team colors, or go the easy way and put the ice in plastic tubs. There are also numerous coolers, carriers, and food-chilling devices out there tailored specifically to tailgaters, made by several different manufacturers—invest in some of those, if you like.
Here are the correct internal temperatures for meat, poultry, and fish when taken with an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat without touching bone.
BEEF ROASTS: 145°F for medium-rare, 160°F for medium. Stop cooking when the internal temperature is 5° to 10°F below the target, and let the meat stand for 15 to 20 minutes before carving, as the internal temperature will continue to rise.
BEEF STEAKS: 145°F for medium-rare, 160°F for medium
HAMBURGERS: 160°F for medium
PORK ROASTS, TENDERLOINS, AND CHOPS: 160°F
CHICKEN AND OTHER POULTRY: 180°F
FISH: Flakes with a fork inserted into the thickest part
SHELLFISH: Opaque throughout and firm when touched
As long as there have been tailgates, there has been drinking at tailgates. Serving and enjoying your favorite alcoholic beverages is a big part of hosting game-watching parties at home, too.
If you choose to imbibe at a tailgate, be sure to check the policy of the area where you’re parking. Some colleges ban alcohol on campus property, and some family camping areas discourage drinking. Most places have rules about drinking, but some enforce them more strictly than others. We’re all familiar with the use of the red plastic cup and the mystery of its contents. Just be sure you know what you’re getting into if you choose to drink.
Here’s the deal: If you’re drinking, don’t be stupid about it. Your team or favorite driver needs all fans healthy and whole to cheer them on to victory. The same goes if you’re hosting a game-day event at home. Pocket the keys if a guest has overindulged. It’s the right call.
Sports fans can find an excuse for a party—and for eating big—during any month of the year. Here are some handy reminders, so you never have to go too long without a tailgate.
JANUARY
College football bowl games
NFL playoffs
FEBRUARY
Super Bowl
Daytona 500
Winter Olympics (every four years)
NBA All-Star Game
MARCH
NCAA Basketball Championship
(March Madness)
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
Cricket World Cup
APRIL
Masters Golf Tournament
MAY
Kentucky Derby
Indianapolis 500
NASCAR All-Star Challenge
JUNE
NBA playoffs
NHL championship
College World Series
U.S. Open golf tournament
JULY
World Cup soccer finals (every four years)
Wimbledon tennis tournament
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
AUGUST
Summer Olympics (every four years)
U.S. Open tennis tournament (August-September)
SEPTEMBER
WNBA playoffs
College football season heats up
OCTOBER
Major League Baseball World Series
Rugby World Cup (every four years)
NOVEMBER
NASCAR Chase final race
DECEMBER
College football bowl games