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Game On!

UP IN SMOKE
GAME ON!
October 23rd, 2012

THE 12 STEPS TO TAILGATING ENLIGHTENMENT
PLUS… FIRECRACKER CHICKEN WINGS FOR SMOKING THE COMPETITION
tailgating
There’s nothing like a picnic in a parking lot to get a sports fan’s blood pumping. Visit any college stadium on a fall Saturday, and you’ll find parties on steroids sprung spontaneously up from the asphalt. Not that you need a customized RV, inverter-powered plasma screen TV, or military strength Margarita blenders and sound system for a great party. As far as I’m concerned, all you really need is a grill. (OK, maybe 2 grills.) You also need passion, for that’s what separates the diehard tailgaters from the amateur. Happily, passion for tailgating is contagious.

Americans have been tailgating for a long time. Ever since 1869, to be precise, when the Princeton and Rutgers football teams met to compete in a farm field turned gridiron. Students brought lunches to the game in baskets and served them off the tailgates of farm wagons.

Flash forward to today, when more than 20 million Americans now tailgate. (Not including the ones who ride your bumper on your workday commute.) And like football, tailgating has become a competition sport of its own—especially in the last quarter of the season. Which is why we’re sharing our 12 Steps to Tailgating Enlightenment, plus a sizzling new recipe for Firecracker Chicken Wings.

May the best team win!

The 12 Steps to Tailgate Enlightenment:

    1. Be organized and plan ahead. Make a master list of ingredients, cooking equipment, and serving supplies before you leave home. Map out your tailgate area on paper before you arrive at the stadium.

 

    1. Plan the entire meal on the grill, emphasizing foods that can be eaten out of hand while standing. Start with quick appetizers you can grill on the spot, like grilled garlic bread or quesadillas. Finish with a grilled dessert, like the Uptown S’mores in Barbecue Bible.

 

    1. Do as much of the advanced prep work as you can at home. Store the items by course and dish in marked containers to bring to the game.

 

    1. Segregate food and beverages in separate coolers. There’s nothing worse than plunging your hand into a raw chicken when you think you’re grabbing a beer.

 

    1. Segregate hot foods and cold foods in separate coolers. Use reusable gel packs for the latter.

 

    1. It’s OK for your guests to bring side dishes if they desire. It’s OK to ask them. Just coordinate ahead of time to make sure what they bring meshes with your menu.

 

    1. Arrive early if parking is a free-for-all, or send in a scout to reserve a good parking spot. Remember the old adage in the hotel business: location, location, location.

 

    1. Shop restaurant supply stores for food storage containers and disposable aluminum foil pans and trays. I buy the latter by the case: you can’t beat them for cooking, serving, and clean-up.

 

    1. Build your menu around a large chunk of meat that serves lots of people but that needs little tending such as a pork loin roast, tri-tip, brined turkey breast, or ham. All can be cooked over medium heat (350°F) in two hours or less, and all make great sandwiches.

 

    1. No Wisconsin tailgate party would be complete without bratwurst. I take a rather heretical approach: I indirect grill the brats at medium heat for about 30 minutes, tossing soaked hickory chips on the coals to generate wood smoke. You still get a crackling crisp casing and indirect grilled brats are much less temperamental and prone to flare-ups.

 

    1. Practice “leave no trace” tailgating. Recycle your bottles and dispose of your trash. Extinguish any lit charcoal in a metal bucket filled with water. Remember, charcoal can burn for 12 hours—even if the fire looks dead.

 

  1. Don’t forget to bring game day tickets, including any required parking passes or stickers. (Yeah, we’ve forgotten those once or twice, too.)

FIRECRACKER CHICKEN WINGS
Serves: 6 as an appetizer, 4 as a light main course

3 to 3-1/2 pounds chicken wings

For the rub:

1 tablespoon hot or smoked paprika
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon celery seed (optional)
2 tablespoons sesame oil or vegetable oil

For the sauce:

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
3 red jalapeno peppers (or other hot peppers—preferably red—or to taste), stemmed and thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1/2 cup Sriracha—Thai hot sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons honey (optional)
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)

You’ll also need: 1-1/2 cups hardwood chips, soaked in water to cover for 30 minutes.

Set up your grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium-high (400°F).

Cut the chicken wings into 2 sections, the drumette and the flat, discarding the wing tip (or save it for stock). Place the wings in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the paprika, pepper, salt, onion and garlic powder, and celery seed over the chicken and toss to mix. Add the sesame oil and toss to mix.

Arrange the chicken wings on the grate over the drip pan away from the heat. Leave a little space between each wing. Toss the wood chips on the coals (or place in the smoker box of your gas grill.) Indirect grill the wings until darkly browned and cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes depending on the size of the wings. To check for doneness, make a slit in the thickest part of the largest drumette: there should be no traces of pink in the meat, though you might get a pink smoke ring near the bone.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in skillet. (Bubbles will dance when you dip a chile slice in the butter.) Add the chile slices and cilantro to the butter and cook over medium-high heat until fragrant, 2 minutes. Stir in the Sriracha and bring to a boil.

Transfer the chicken wings to a large shallow bowl. Pour most of the butter mixture over them and toss to mix. Pour the remaining butter mixture on top and serve at once.

Yours in righteous grilling,
Steven Raichlen, Grill Master and Editor-in-Chief
Nancy Loseke, Features Editor