It’s tailgating season and, whether you are tailgating
at a professional football game, your favorite college team’s
game, or even your child’s peewee football game, its time
to cook. Here are some important basic preparation and food safety
tips to follow, as well as perfect tailgating recipes from “Smoke
in the Mountains Cookbook: The Art of Appalachian Barbecue” sure
to make your next tailgating event a huge success.
Basic preparation tips
• Do the prep work beforehand. Plan your menu and chop
vegetables or marinate meat before the event.
• Always check the rules for open flames and outdoor cooking
at your tailgating location.
• Pack a grill thermometer.
• Remember the condiments. This is the perfect time to
use leftover sauce packs. I have one friend who stops by his
local restaurant supply store to buy cases of ketchup, barbecue,
mustard, and relish packets every season.
• Use disposable paper plates, plastic forks, knives, cups,
etc.
• Bring lots of garbage bags for your waste and be sure
to drop it by the designated garbage areas.
• Remember to pack the basics such as water, extra toilet
paper, and extra paper towels.
• Pack disposable gloves and hand wipes.
• Pack a well-stocked first aid kit complete with burn
spray, sunscreen, and headache medication.
• Bring your rain gear just in case.
Food safety tips
• Use a separate cooler for fresh ice and drinks, a separate
cooler for prepared items such as veggies and condiments, and
a separate cooler to store meats.
• Keep coolers out of direct sunlight to help maintain
the proper internal temperature.
• Ice used to cool drinks should not be used as ice for
beverage cups.
• Keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot.
• Avoid contact between raw and cooked foods.
• Use separate cutting boards for meat, vegetables, and
bread. If you use one board, wash it after each use.
• Use separate utensils for each dish.
• Cook everything until well done. Cook foods, or reheat
foods, to the proper internal temperature: beef = 170 degrees;
ground beef = 160; poultry = 180; ground poultry = 165.
• Do not leave cooked foods at room temperature for more
than two hours. If it is a hot day, such as above 90 degrees,
don’t leave food out for more than one hour.
• Marinate food in the refrigerator.
• Leftover marinade, if used for meat, should be thrown
away.
• When serving food, use a separate serving utensil or
clean the utensil you cooked with before reuse.
• After cooking, place the food on a clean platter for
serving.
• Leftover tailgate food should be considered garbage.
• Always wash hands after using the bathroom, changing
diapers, etc.
• Dishcloths should be rinsed in a bleach water solution
of 1 capful of bleach to 2 gallons of water.
• Never re-use disposable dishware.
— Kent Whitaker
(Kent Whitaker is author of “Smoke in the Mountains: The
Art of Appalachian Barbecue.”)
