Extreme Tailgating: Cold Weather
Whereas hot-weather tailgates are all about escaping the heat, cold-weather tailgating is all about preventing the heat from escaping. The major issue, just as with extreme heat, is ensuring your personal health. Frostbite is a real possibility, and the cold is like a vacuum that wants to suck the warmth out of your grill and food. So do as football fans up north do: Be prepared!
Check out the essential gear you'll need for cold weather tailgating
Tips
Barbecuing Is Better
Not only does barbecuing require less direct maintenance than grilling, but your grill can also be a source of warmth as you wait for your food to cook. Says Jay "The Tailgate Guy" DiEugenio: "When you're in Green Bay or Minnesota or Buffalo and there's snow all over the place, that's when you want to go for the three to four hours to barbecue, so you can stand around and keep warm." Grilling, however, is still a fine choice-especially if it's so bitter-cold that you want to get inside ASAP.
Keep the Heat
The grill grate has a long way to go to get from 32°F or less to cooking temperature, and your prep time will reflect that. Plus, your grill will lose heat quickly, so keep that lid on! (That's another reason low-and-slow barbecuing is a good choice for a cold day.) Also keep in mind that food will take longer to cook. Take it from Purviance: Something that takes 10 to 15 minutes in normal weather could take twice as long when the mercury's low, so build extra time into your pregame timeline.
Bring Plenty of Fuel
Because it'll take longer to start up the grill and more energy to keep it going in cold weather, you'll need more fuel than you would in temperate or hot weather. Double-check that you're well stocked with charcoal or propane, and count on using upward of 25 percent more than you usually would.
Precook as Much as Possible
In freezing weather, Purviance cuts down on the time he spends tending the grill by cooking certain foods, like ribs, ahead of time and then simply re-saucing them, covering them in foil, and reheating them on the grill at the stadium.
Stay Warm with Soups and Stews
Not only do they warm you up quickly, but hearty soups and stews can easily be sipped from a mug without your having to take off your gloves or mittens. "Way up north, soup is always a great choice," says native Chicagoan Ray "Dr. BBQ" Lampe, who gave up his trucking business to tailgate full-time and write The NFL Gameday Cookbook. "Put the pot on the stove for a few minutes, and give it to your friends in big mugs-people really appreciate it on a cold day."
Cover the Ground with Styrofoam
Next time you receive a package with large sheets of Styrofoam packing material inside, hold on to it and take it to your next cold-weather tailgate. Wisconsin building contractor Steve Muck, who's been tailgating in Green Bay for over 40 years, lays the stuff down as insulation on the blacktop and has people stand or sit on it rather than directly on the ground. "It works wonders when you have it between you and the concrete. Just leave it in the stadium trash when you're done."
Make Eating Easy
It's not much fun to struggle with a fork and knife when your fingers are turning blue. Think meats on a stick, sandwiches, and things that can be made into tacos or burritos-anything that's easy to eat while wearing gloves or mittens. And unless you want to serve your guests brown ice chunks of what was supposed to be French onion dip, leave the liquid-y treats for warmer weather. You'd be surprised how quickly liquids freeze over in subzero weather. Choose appetizer recipes that won't turn into slush like small kebabs or grilled shrimp.
Recipes For Staying Warm
Grilled East Coast Oysters with Corn Jalapeño Salsita
Quick-cooking oysters add a touch of elegance to your tailgate-plus, the zesty salsita can be made a day in advance.North Carolina Pulled-Pork Barbecue
Always a crowd-pleaser, and a good excuse to stand around a hot grill for eight hours.Cheddar Dogs with Cider-Braised Leeks and Apples
A relatively fast, simple meal to make a Midwestern football fan proud.Chicken and White Bean Chili
Guaranteed to heat you up and fill you up, and your guests will be asking for second and third mugs-full.New England Clam Chowder
There's a reason New Englanders cling to their chowder in the winter. Keep a thermos of this handy at every winter tailgate.Whoopie Pies
These retro favorites are like having cake without the fuss of plates and forks.Lemon-Coconut Bars
Make these up to five days before the game and store in an airtight container to cart to the stadium.Coffee with Baileys and Frangelico
The coffee keeps you awake; the booze keeps you warm and happy.Revenge was never so sweet, especially in a freezing stadium parking lot.
North Carolina Pulled-Pork Barbecue
Gourmet | June 2008
by Ruth Cousineau
Yield: Makes 8 servings
Active time: 9 1/4 Hr
Total time: 10 1/4 Hr
As anyone from eastern North Carolina will tell you (often passionately and at great length), barbecue means a whole hog cooked low and slow over a banked pit. The meat is pulled or chopped into moist strands, dressed with some remaining "mop" (the vinegar-and-red-pepper basting sauce), and mixed with cracklings. For us, however, the whole hog had to go. Instead, we used pork shoulder: It's easier to handle and not such a huge investment of time and money. People from western North Carolina, in fact, prefer shoulder meat, but they sweeten the sauce with tomato or ketchup.
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups cider vinegar (20 fluid ounces)
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons hot red-pepper flakes
1 (8- to 10-pound) bone-in pork shoulder roast (preferably butt end) with skin
Preparation
Bring vinegar to a boil with sugar, red-pepper flakes, 2 tsp salt, and 1 Tbsp pepper in a small nonreactive saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then cool. Set aside 2 cups vinegar sauce to serve with sandwiches.
While sauce cools, score pork skin in a crosshatch pattern with a sharp knife (forming 1-inch diamonds), cutting through skin and fat but not into meat. Pat meat dry and rub all over with 1 Tbsp each of salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before grilling.
Prepare grill for indirect-heat cooking over low heat, leaving space in middle for disposable roasting pan.
When coals have cooled to about 300°F (45 minutes to 1 hour; when most coals will have burned out), put disposable roasting pan on bottom rack of grill between the 2 remaining mounds of coals, then fill pan halfway with water. Add a couple of handfuls of unlit charcoal to each charcoal mound, then put grill rack on so hinges are over coals.
Oil grill rack, then put pork, skin side up, on rack above roasting pan. Grill pork, with lid ajar (for air, so coals remain lit), basting meat with sauce and turning over every 30 minutes (to maintain a temperature of 250 to 275°F, add a couple of handfuls of coals to each side about every 30 minutes), until fork-tender (a meat fork should insert easily) and an instant-read thermometer inserted 2 inches into center of meat (avoid bone) registers 190°F, 7 to 8 hours total.
Transfer pork to a cutting board. If skin is not crisp, cut it off with at least 1/4 inch fat attached (cut any large pieces into bite-size ones) and roast, fat side down, in a 4-sided sheet pan in a 350°F oven until crisp, 15 to 20 minutes.
When meat is cool enough to handle, shred it using 2 forks. Transfer to a bowl.
Serve pork, cracklings, and coleslaw together on buns. Serve reserved vinegar sauce on the side.
Cooks' note: Pork can be roasted in a large roasting pan, covered with parchment paper and then foil, in middle of a 350°F oven. Roast 1 hour, then pour 1 cup vinegar sauce over meat. Roast 1 hour more, then baste with 1 cup more sauce. Continue to roast, covered, adding water (1/2 cup at a time) to pan if needed, until fork-tender (a meat fork should insert easily), about 2 hours more. Cut off skin (see recipe above) and roast in a 4-sided sheet pan on lowest rack of oven. Meanwhile, return pork to oven and roast, uncovered, on middle rack, until meat is browned and skin is crisp, about 45 minutes more (5 to 6 hours total roasting time, depending on size of roast).
By Michael Y. Park
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