Tailgating Ideas

If I told you could win a Big Green Egg outdoor convection cooker/smoker or one of two Honeywell Generators just by answering 13 questions, would you do it? Of course you would.

Tailgater Monthly Magazine wants your opinion on all thing tailgating and is offering up prizes as an incentive to take their survey. Now it is not a phone survey where someone will call you nor will it take up more than 5 minutes. You will have to submit a valid email address if you would like to be entered in the contest to win the Big Green Egg or the generators. If you would rather take the survey anonymously, you can do that too. Some of the questions include things like: “How many times per year do you tailgate?” and “What type of vehicle do you tailgate with?”. Pretty simple and there are only a handful of questions to answer.

The information gathered will be used to provide a better understanding of who tailgaters are and what they want. Not only will this be information that can help companies design and market products that make tailgating better but also can serve as a voice of tailgating nation when it comes to issues like shortened tailgating times and alcohol restrictions.

If you have five minutes (and who doesn’t have five minutes they can spare on the computer?) take the survey and you can potentially win a sweet prize. Make sure to complete the survey once you start it. In order to prevent those from stuffing the ballot box and gaining an unfair advantage at winning prizes, only one entry per person is allowed. To take the Tailgater Monthly Survey, click the link below.

Tailgater Monthly’s “Sweepstakes Survey“

Popularity: 59%

It’s not as if I am an old man, but where has this tool been all my life?!?  Yes, I am talking about the Flavor Injector.

I consider myself a manly man so it is difficult for me to admit that I discovered the Flavor Injector at the local Bed Bath and Beyond (see what happens when there is no football or baseball!). But in the end thank god for my wife dragging me out of the house.  Since discovering the tool a few weeks back I have become a regular old A-Rod… addicted to the juice!  An added bonus is that the injector is less than $15!

Like most of you I hate dry and over cooked meats, but love a good sauce that adds flavor and moistens the meat.  With the Flavor Injector you can inject the flavors of  spices and sauces directly into the center of the meats.  This method captures the full flavor of the marinade and keeps the food moist for tender cooking.  You no longer have to worry about losing all the juices as they drip over the coals.

And the best part of the tool is that it’s easy to use and adds no additional time to your preparation.  Four easy steps:

1. Pour your marinade into the injector chamber.
2. Oil the needle.
3. Stick the needle into the meet.
4. Push the plunger to release the marinade into different spots of the meat.

Then just grill as you normally would.  So simple, yet so damn tasty!

Below is a simple steak marinade that I have been trying at home and will be using on opening day:

1. 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
2. Pinch of salt
3. 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
4. 2 garlic cloves crushed
5. 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Popularity: 100%

Cornhole at a tailgate party is a staple. You’d be hard pressed to take a walk through any tailgating parking lot and not see someone tossing bags at a cornhole board. The problem with standard cornhole boards is they can be big, bulky, heavy and take up too much room in your car. If you are willing to sacrifice “authentic” cornhole play for something more lightweight and takes up less space, MyKornhole might be for you. (Click on images to see full size.)

As you can see in the photos, MyKornhole boards are made of heavy duty corrugated cardboard with slots and flaps to fold into a cornhole game board. The boards, when fully assembled, measure 4′ x 2′ just like a regulation competition cornhole board. The design on the top comes in three choices, Blue & Orange, Black & Gold and Blue & Red.

Now the folks at MyKornhole are quick to point out that these cornhole boards are not a replacement for your regulation cornhole boards that are made with wood, glue and screws. MyKornhole boards are merely a fast and convenient option for easy set-up and take down. They can easily be recycled making them one less thing you have to pack and haul home after the tailgate is over. Also, since the boards are shipped unassembled and flat, the box of two MyKornhole boards take up about half the width inside your vehicle compared to two wooden cornhole boards. Take a look at this video of the boards being assembled and some game play.

I had a chance to sample a pair of MyKornhole game boards and I was quite surprised at how well they performed. After all, think about it. You are essentially playing cornhole on a folded box.

The first thing that I noticed is that when the cornhole bag lands on the MyKornhole board, it tends to bounce. It doesn’t bounce high, but there was a definite bounce. Also, I tested the MyKornhole boards on both a hard surface (asphalt) and a softer surface (grass). Seeing how asphalt and grass are the two most common surfaces you will find people tailgating on I figured this would be an adequate test.

On the hard surface, the MyKornhole board tends to “scoot” as a result of the bag impact. So if you are a stickler for having the distance between the two boards remain consistent, this will drive you nuts. After all eight bags were thrown, I would estimate the board probably moved back about six inches. So you may want to use a piece of chalk and mark the ground along the front end of the board and replace it after each round of bags. The MyKornhole boards performed much better on grass. There was noticeably less bounce upon impact and there was very little scooting of the board on grass. Here’s an additional video to see the MyKornhole boards fully assembled.

A set of two MyKornhole Game Boards will cost you $19.95. A set of bags are not included in that price but can be added to your order during the checkout process. Eights bags will cost you $9.95 and bag colors correspond to the available board color options, Blue & Orange, Black & Gold and Blue & Red.

The folks at MyKornhole want their product to get in the hands of real tailgaters so they gave me a set to give away to one of my readers. So if you would like one of your own MyKornhole boards for free, all you need to do is pay for the shipping. (Because of the size of the box, shipping will be around $19 to go UPS or FedEx.) Leave a comment below telling me you would like the MyKornhole game boards for free (comes with black and gold bags) and we’ll send you either a Google Checkout or PayPal invoice to pay for the shipping. Indicate whether you prefer PayPal or paying via credit card in your comment. Good luck.

To learn more about MyKornhole game boards or to buy a set of your own, visit mykornhole.com

Popularity: 58%

I was sitting at my desk today looking out the window at yet another snow storm piling up inches on the deck and back lawn. I was thinking about Spring (March 20), the start of Baseball Season (Phillies Home Opener: April 12), and BBQing (whenever I can finally make it through the snow on the deck to the grill).

And, just like the preparations of the garden for Spring, and the preparation for the Baseball Season in Spring Training, getting the old grill ready for the first BBQ or Baseball Tailgate, requires preparation and work.

If you are like me, and even though my wife always says (in not always the most complimentary way) that I am one of a kind, there are probably a lot of people like me in some serious ways.  Well, if you are at all like me, you probably took the old grill and shoved it in the storage shed or just covered it on the back patio or deck after that last football tailgate or cook out.  Over the winter it has been collecting dust and who knows what else, and marinating in the cooked-on remains of that last tailgate or BBQ.

I always like to think that the flavors of the next BBQ are enhanced by the flavors and remains of the last BBQ, but not all friends and family share my (and maybe your) culinary tastes.  So, we need to bite the bullet and clean the grill for that first big cook out.

For anyone who has done it, it’s no stretch to say that cleaning the BBQ grill is probably one of the most miserable jobs around. II’ve done some research, and discovered that there is a hard way to clean the grill and an easy way to clean the grill.

The hard way, or so it sounds to me, according to backyardlivingsite.com, requires a strong wire grill brush, aluminum foil, steel wool pads, a sponge, dish soap, baking soda and cooking spray or cooking oil.

Wow!  Just getting all that material together is a workout!  From there, you use the stiff wire brush to scrub the surfaces to remove stuck on food and sauce, spice or burned on cooking oil build-up.  Then you let the grill soak in the dish soap to further loosen up the dirt and remains from previous cooking, and then use the steel wool pads to further remove the build-up.  Rinse and dry the grill, and then sprinkle the grill with baking soda and scrub again with the aluminum foil.  Once everything is all clean, coat the grill racks with a fine mist of cooking spray or a light coating of cooking oil applied with a paper towel.  This coating will help keep the racks lubricated and prevent rusting in between uses.

Now, the easy way, and it sounds good to me, according to Loni Ice in ezinearticles.com, is to take all of the grill components and put them in a black plastic bag with a cup of ammonia, seal the bag with a twist tie, and leave the bag out in the sun for several hours, and have a beer and cigar.  (Actually I added the beer and cigar part!)  Then you pour the ammonia off down a drain and hose off the grill.  The vast majority of the gunk and dirt will come right off, leaving the grill reasonably clean (and who can ask for more than reasonably clean) and ready for the first BBQ.

Of course, the hands down easiest way to get a clean grill is to go out to Target or Walmart or Kmart and buy a brand new one. They are on sale right now .  And, for little or no extra, you can get one that is already assembled.

Now, how would you like that burger cooked?

Popularity: 8%

This is probably the worst time of year for Tailgaters.  Football season is over.  Even the Super Bowl and the Super Bowl parties are now a distant memory.  Baseball season is still two months away, unless you are one of the lucky ones to go down south to Spring Training.  Basketball and Hockey, well they’re inside sports which fans seem to come to, watch and leave.  No tailgating there.  What’s a Tailgater to do?

Let me suggest Horse Racing.

Yes, the one time “Sport of Kings” can be a fun, exciting, and even profitable way to pass a Saturday, Sunday or even Weekday afternoon with your royal and not so royal buddies.  And, if you are lucky, or a little careful with your betting, you can even come home a few dollars richer, or not too many dollars poorer!

Most Racetracks feature both live, on-track racing and betting and simulcasting of races from other tracks, which you can also bet on.  You and your buddies can grab seats at the bar or at a table and watch the races on banks of large screen TV’s while having a beer and a burger or some other beverage or food.  There are even some areas that allow smoking, so you don’t have to keep your stogies locked away until Baseball season.  You can even find tables with individual TV monitors, so you can pick which tracks and races you want to see.

Betting is easy also, with ATM like machines all around which accept cash, credit cards or winning ticket vouchers from previous races.

On a recent Saturday afternoon, after one of the big snowstorms, we went over to Philly Park, just outside of Philadelphia, to sample the fun, and it was almost like walking into that iconic TV bar, Cheers.  There was a whole array of distinct, wacky and wonderful characters from the inveterate gamblers and handicappers to guys like us, just looking for someplace to go and something to do when there was 30 inches of snow on the ground.

Like Cheers, also, everybody seemed to know everybody’s name, and were friendly and willing to share stories and advice on jockeys, horses and betting.  Personally, I just picked by numbers and names.  I won one race betting on “The Cat’s Meow”, since we have 4 cats at home.  But a lot of the guys do the whole handicapping thing, studying the charts and the races won and lost against other horses in the race.  Whatever works and is fun for you!

Anyway, for a change of pace and a fun day out, grab your wallet….you don’t really need a lot of money in it, there’s no parking or admission charge, and you don’t even have to bet….and come out and enjoy a day at the track!

Popularity: 8%

Over the past year I have been a regular contributor to Tailgater Monthly authoring articles on what else… tailgating. In the past I have asked for help to interview tailgaters for upcoming articles and to gain insight from you out there in the lots. This time I am going to ask for YOUR tailgating ideas. As we all know, two heads are better than one. So the insight and experiences of you the tailgaters that you can share with me will help the rest of us tailgaters get better at what we do.

The next article for Tailgater Monthly will be on spring cleaning your tailgate gear so it is ready come football season. Although the Super Bowl just concluded a few weeks ago it is never too early to start considering what you will need to do for next year. I have plenty of information on tuning up your grill so it will be in tip top shape come football season. What I would like to know from you all is other techniques you utilize when making sure your gear will be ready to go come kick-off. Are there winterizing techniques you use compared to if you live in a warmer climate where freezing temperatures are not an issue? Any special products you use in order to get your gear back in shape? Do you break out the gear and do a “dry run” during baseball season to make sure everything is working okay?

Feel free to leave a comment below with your tips on what you do. Or if you are shy and don’t feel like leaving a comment, email me your tailgating ideas at: dave [at] tailgatingideas dot com.

Popularity: 8%

Back in September we took a Margaritaville Tailgating Grill and customized it to Texas A&M Aggies colors. Right before Christmas we customized another one in Miami Dolphins colors. Apparently people out there like the work we do on these grills and had us do another one, this time in Chicago Bears colors. Take a look.

The grill pictured above will be on its way to the Chicago area tomorrow morning. Obviously that is plenty of time before the season starts. Hell, this tailgater could be grilling in time for the NFL Combine. Being in Chicago he could even drive down to Indianapolis and tailgate the NFL Combine outside of Lucas Oil Stadium. We can get working on customizing a grill for you too and you know it will be ready in time for kick off next season. Check out other grills we have customized to see how we can create one for your team and tailgating crew.

These grills can be customized to any of the 32 NFL teams, a select number of College football FBS schools and a handful of Nascar drivers. Available NCAA teams include, Alabama, Univ. of Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Univ. of Colorado, Colorado State, Duke University, Univ. of Florida, Georgia, Univ. of Houston, Illinois, Indiana University, Iowa, Iowa State, Univ. of Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, LSU, Univ. of Miami, Fla., Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, U.S. Naval Academy, Nebraska, Univ. of North Carolina, Notre Dame, The Ohio State University, Univ. of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Penn State, South Carolina, University of Southern California, Univ. of Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, UTEP, Texas Tech, UCLA, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forrest, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

A number of NASCAR driver themed grills are available for customization too. Available drivers include: The Nascar logo, #3 Dale Earnhardt, #5 Kyle Busch, #8 Dale Jr., #9 Kasey Kahne, #24 Jeff Gordon, #48 Jimmy Johnson, #16 Greg Biffle, #17 Matt Kenseth, #26 Jamie McMurray, #29 Kevin Harvick and #99 Carl Edwards.

You choose the exact color scheme you prefer to fit your team or favorite driver’s colors. Since these are custom ordered to your exact specifications, prices will vary. Feel free to email us HERE to get a price quote.

Popularity: 19%

I’ll admit it. I have seen more than my fair share of beer pong tables. I’ve tested and played on a number of different brands of beer pong tables to know what is good quality and what deserves no attention. I was recently introduced to a new beer pong table on the market from GoPong. So what is so special about a GoPong Beer Pong Table that sets it apart from all the other brands of portable beer pong tables? Simply stated, it is the exact same as those other guys but about half the price.

So how is it that those other beer pong table manufacturers are selling comparable aluminum, portable and folding beer pong tables for $129.99 and GoPong can sell them for almost half of that? I’m not 100% sure and you probably need to go ask those other guys why their prices are so high.

The fact is that almost all portable beer pong tables on the market are manufactured in China. The makers of GoPong have made it a point to have their beer pong tables manufactured in the same facilities as those other tables. In some cases, you can only tell the difference between the tables at the end when the final design and brand name go on the tables. By offering the GoPong portable beer pong table for significantly less, the makers are banking on they will still be a profitable business by selling in volume rather than charging the consumer high prices for high margins. I have my very own GoPong beer pong table and before I received it, I will admit I was a bit skeptical it would be of the same quality of other tables I have seen. In short, it was of the same quality and passed with flying colors.

As consumers we have been trained to think that a lower price means lower quality. After all, you get what you pay for is a motto many people subscribe to. When I broke it out of the box, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the GoPong table was a high quality, sturdy yet lightweight and portable beer pong table. Honestly, had someone placed a different brand name of beer pong table on the GoPong table I would have never questioned its integrity or quality of craftsmanship.

Another cost saving maneuver for the GoPong beer pong table is it is only available in one design; black with white lettering design. Sure, other beer pong table companies offer multiple designs but that only drives up their costs of having to warehouse and hold inventory in hopes someone buys their specific design. So if you are one of those discriminating beer pong players that needs a more spiffy design, I’ve discovered a way customize your GoPong beer pong table by using skins from Skinit.com. Check out the video demonstration of how I customized my own GoPong beer pong table using Skinit.com Tailgate Packs.

If you chose to skip the video and prefer to read, simply put, the Skinit.com Tailgate Packs are perfect for turning the GoPong beer pong table into a beer pong table of your favorite team. So if you prefer a design that is not so “Plain Jane”, spruce it up using these Tailgate Packs from Skinit.com.

The specs on the GoPong tables are:
• Size Unfolded: 8′ x 2′ x 27.5″ high (Regulation Size)
• Size Folded: 2′ x 2′ x 5″
• Weight: 21 lbs
• High strength aluminum frame
• Waterproof melamine surface
• Ergonomic carrying handles

So all this time we’ve been telling you how affordable they are. Now its your opportunity to buy one for less than $100. These tables sell for $74.95 +$25 shipping. That’s less than $100 delivered right to your door. Compare that to other beer pong tables that cost $129.99 and you haven’t even added in the shipping costs.

Why pay more for a beer pong table when you can get a GoPong table for much less and customize it any way you like? It’s a no brainer. You can get your own GoPong portable beer pong tables right here from TailgatingIdeas.com for $99.95 including shipping.

Popularity: 19%