What's your favorite tailgate foods?

[OoPEZoO]

The weather for MLB opening day (this coming Monday) here in PA looks like it will 70 and sunny.  So we are doing what we do every year.....going to the game.  I'm dragging a grill (or two) along for the pre game parking lot festivities.  Burgers, dogs, and sausages are always an easy hit, but I'm looking for some other ideas to maybe step it up a notch.  I'm taking either a 18.5" JJ, a Go Anywhere, or maybe a 22.5" OTS.......haven't decided yet.

The hang up is that prep work can't be too tasking, as Sunday is Easter and I am already cooking a 15# ham on the 26er and will have a house full of people.  Any suggestions?

[Jammato]

I like to do mini pigs in a blanket where I do a variety of different ideas and taste so they want to try a bunch of them.

another thing I think helps is to make finger foods so they can make plates of mixed foods,

[austin87]

Wings... No matter how many you cook it's never enough! My two go tos are

Asian sticky wings:
Marinate for about 6 hours in a mix of sake, brown sugar, soy sauce, grated ginger, sliced hot red pepper, green onion, and sesame oil. You want the marinade fairly sweet and with enough brown sugar to make a nice glaze. Depending on taste preference you can use more or less hot pepper or ginger. I also like to boil the marinade and brush a couple times. Cook indirect and sprinkle finished wings with toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onion if you want. The sugar on these can burn so they usually stay indirect the entire time.

Tequila lime dry wings:
Put wings in a bag with a shot or two of tequila, a few squeeze of lime, a little oil, lots of salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and paprika. Toss to coat, and leave for 6 hours or so. These can be cooked indirect or direct since there is no sugar to burn.

Both of these also make for great chicken legs too, which are another great tailgate food.

[CharliefromLI]

Chicken is a good quick high heat cook. You can a good sliceable cut of steak too.

You can always do longer cooks the day before (ribs, pulled pork etc) , put in aluminum trays and use your grills to heat up at the game.

[mrbill]

wings and beer brats! totally delicious, easy peasy and not too expensive.

wings-
buy wings on the cheap(can even be whole wings if you wish). rub them with the rub of your choice and set them aside while the grill heats up then grill those bad boys. once done, toss in sauce of your choosing and serve.

beer brats-
buy some (preferably uncooked) brats. puncture casing a few times w/a fork. slice up a couple decent sized yellow/sweet onions. using a pan large enough for all sausage to fit in one layer, place brats on bottom, onions on top. then add enough beer to float the onions. place pan over heat and cook off about 1/2 of the liquid. your brats should be fully cooked by then and the onion/brat combo in/on a bun is outstanding.

best option- cook brats as stated above. while brats are cooking, heat up some sauerkraut and some pita pockets. once done, add brats and kraut to pita pocket. then add a sliver of mustard on top. trust me, it's fucking awesome.

tl:dr-wings and brats are best tailgate food

[Scott Zee]

I'm a huge fan of the ABT,aka, stuffed and wrapped jalapeno. Super easy and fast. Here's some stuffed with a baby bella and cream cheese mixture and wrapped with thinly sliced genoa salami. They can be made ahead and tossed on the grill when ready. Beers best friend, LOL


HOT and ready to eat

[Craig]

Wings and/or Brats

[jamesnomore]

Did anyone say wings? get em on a good brine and there won't be any left. Here in SoCal we also do street tacos (pollo and carne) with grilled onions and Mexican corn.

[1buckie]

The brats & wings ideas are traditional favorites....probably wouldn't take too much actually prep time.....good suggestions & pics.....

Scott Zee's ABT's look to be a faster rollup than the usual ones....I'd always vote for those, but they are a bit of pre-work......esp. since I can never do up "just a few"



It is possible to do a smoke / chill / re-heat on these........

[JDD]

White Sox home opener is Friday and I'm also planning a menu. @OoPEZoO - have you decided what your going with? I'd like to do something different as well but it's tough because you really do not have a lot of time.

[austin87]

@JDD and @OoPEZoO I'm also going to opening day for the Oakland Athletics. It's been a tradition for 4 years now to take my best friend to the game as his birthday is end of March. We take public transportation but I will definitely miss the tailgating and will have a few beers in the parking lot while imagining the great food getting grilled up.

[OoPEZoO]

I was planning on wings and brats, but the wings were a little too expensive for the amount I want to cook versus the amount of meat on them. So I picked up a bunch of homemade sausages from a good local butcher along with some peppers and onions. I'll swing in Monday morning and pick up some fresh rolls from the bakery.  Pork is so cheap right now that the peppers and onions cost as much as the fricken pork sausage.  Wish I had more time, as pork butts were only $1.89/lb.

Anyway, I haven't decided how exactly I'm cooking them yet, but boiling it all in beer and then finishing them off on the grill sounds like it might be a winner. Thanks for all the suggestions. Enjoy opening day!

[iCARRY]

Tater tot, pickled jalapeño, wrapped in 1/2 a piece of bacon, stuck with s toothpick. Indirect high heat for 20 minutes till bacon crisps up. Maybe use some apple or hickory wood.


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[fedex]

Hot Links and just straight up Jalapeno w/EVOO n Salt.

[Grill_Jitsu]

@Scott Zee those ABTs look great! How do you like that rack? Amazon reviews on it aren't very good.

@1buckie do you have a handy link to how you do your turds? Those look awesome as well. Of course I won't be making a million like you... maybe just 20-30