Story by Henri Hollis.
Tailgating is almost a religion in the South, and fall is the high season. It can turn a three-hour college football game into an all-day party.
A good tailgate provides plenty of conversation, excellent homemade food and more than enough cold beer. While every tailgate is different, most can be broadly grouped into one of two categories.
If you’ve ever been to a college football game in the South, you’ve seen tailgaters that attempt to bring all the comforts of home to a temporary location. They have access to electricity, TV, all sorts of cooking methods and sometimes even the ultimate luxury: private bathrooms. These are the tailgates of Opulence.
Then, there are tailgates that are lean, efficient and economical. For lots of people, transporting your living room to a hot field or parking lot just doesn’t make sense. At the tailgates of Economy, you’ll see tents, coolers, folding chairs and finger foods galore.
At first blush, the Opulent tailgate might sound like a better time — but great expense is often accompanied by heightened levels of expectation and stress. Approached the wrong way, it can feel like a stilted dinner party where the host spends the entire night in the kitchen. The Economical tailgate can be just as much fun and still serve plenty of delicious food.
Opulent tailgaters should remember that a good tailgate is an all-day affair and focus on engaging with their guests rather than assembling a complicated meal. Prepare an impressive dish beforehand that can be cooked quickly or finished just before serving. Steaks, kebabs, pork loin and a wide range of fish can easily be grilled on site.
For the Economical tailgate, bring food that works well at room temperature. Think along the same lines as a family reunion or a potluck dinner, with classic picnic foods including deviled eggs, pimento cheese, and ham salad sandwiches. Alternately, egg-based dishes like quiche, frittatas and Spanish tortillas taste great at room temperature. Dry baked goods like cheese straws or gougères are always a hit and have little risk of going bad, especially when stored in an airtight container.
Even with food that can weather a range of ambient temperatures, coolers with plenty of ice are essential. Food should be kept at safe temperatures below 40 degrees prior to serving, and it should not be set out for more than an hour if the air temperature is above 90 degrees.
With this in mind, tents can be crucial. Plenty of food that is delicious at room temperature becomes unpalatable when left in direct sunlight for too long. Even if you’re lucky enough to find a shade tree, you don’t want your guests munching on leaves that have fallen in your olive tapenade.
No matter the category of tailgate, the priority should be creating an environment that allows everyone to be comfortable and have fun. The suggestions can apply to tailgates of both kinds.
Bring food divided into small portions. People rarely eat a sit-down meal while tailgating — they graze all day. A tray piled with full-sized egg salad sandwiches might go untouched, but cut those same sandwiches into quarters (with no crust, of course) and they'll disappear in a flash. A box of 50 donut holes is likely to be eaten faster than a dozen full-sized donuts. Tailgaters are usually eating, drinking and talking simultaneously, so food requiring more than a bite or two detracts from the experience.
Don't set everything out at once. This goes for food, beverages, plates, cups, you name it — once it's on the table, it's as good as gone. The longer the tailgate, the more important this rule becomes. If you start tailgating at 8 a.m. for a 3 p.m. game, you don't want to run out of cups by noon. Pour all your ice into a punchbowl when it's 90 degrees in September and you'll be out of ice in about half an hour, doomed to drink lukewarm, watered-down punch for the rest of the day. Even for the Opulent tailgaters, resources should be treated with care.
Lean into the season. Warm people up on cold November mornings with carafes of bourbon-spiked Irish coffee. Bring Halloween candy to a late October game. Grill hotdogs and serve Cracker Jack when the World Series is on. Acknowledge the season with your food and it's more likely to be a hit.
Be generous. Tailgating is a collective, communal activity - be prepared to give away as much food and drink as you consume yourself. Offer to help the tailgate host set up camp or break it down. Welcome friends and opposing fans alike; true hospitality is offered to even the staunchest rivals.
Insider tips
Atlanta offers many opportunities and environments for tailgating thanks to Georgia Tech, Georgia State, the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United and the nearby University of Georgia. The best way to get ideas for your own tailgate is to visit them at a diverse range of events.
According to the USDA, the “danger zone” for food temperature is between 40 and 140 degrees. Within that range, potentially dangerous bacteria can proliferate if food is left out for more than two hours.
Rustic Cheese Straws
Adapted with permission from Kim Severson/The New York Times
Ingredients
½ pound sharp orange cheddar, room temperature (Note: do not substitute pre-grated, packaged cheese)
1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
Directions
● Heat oven to 375 F. Grate cheddar using the grater attachment on your food processor or by hand.
● Switch the grater attachment for the standard blade in the food processor. Pulse together dry ingredients, then add the butter and cheese. Continue to pulse the dough until it smooths and forms a ball. The dough will be somewhat sticky and “the texture of Play-Doh,” according to Severson.
● Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes.
● Roll the dough into a large, flat, square sheet. You may need extra flour to keep the dough from sticking to your rolling pin or counter surface. Cut the sheet into any shape you like (usually long batons). Alternatively, you could roll the dough into logs, pipe them into shapes with a piping bag, or roll the dough into a log and slice it into coins.
● Bake for 13 minutes, until the edges begin to brown and the cheese straws are slightly puffed. Store in an airtight container.
Insider tip
Grate the cheese yourself when making cheese straws or pimento cheese. Pre-packaged grated cheese might seem like a simple substitute, but food manufacturers typically add cellulose (i.e., wood pulp) to the cheese to keep it from clumping. This additive inhibits the cheese from easily mixing with other ingredients, which can result in crumbly or difficult-to-work cheese straw dough.
Simple, Tangy Olive Tapenade Dip
It feels classy to say you’re bringing olive tapenade to a tailgate, but this version isn’t really fancy at all — it’s basically just olives mixed with salsa. Still, it’s delicious and hearty enough to sit out for long periods of time without going bad.
For this recipe, consider a smoother salsa like Picante sauce, which should intermingle with the olives and bind them together without big chunks of vegetables overpowering the olives or dominating the dip’s texture.
Ingredients
1 6 oz. can black olives, pitted
1 6 oz. jar pimento-stuffed green olives
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
½ cup Picante sauce, medium (or preferred level of spice)
Preparation
[bullet] Open the olive containers and discard the canning liquid. Using a food processor or by hand, chop olives into bits resembling very coarse sand.
[bullet] Combine olives, oil, vinegar and Picante sauce in a bowl and mix well. Chill in a refrigerator or cooler. Serve with tortilla chips, crackers or whatever dipping vehicle you prefer.
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