Raiders Grub: Throwing a Great Tailgate

In an attempt to relieve The Nation of all the recent political debate, football and non-football related, I thought I’d make an ultimate tailgate experience for a small to medium group of people. With my chef background, I’ll throw together a buffet style menu that blends a little bit of Nor Cal and a little bit of So Cal that can easily be replicated. I’ll also provide recipes from sources that we actually use in our kitchen. Any type of grill will work; I personally use propane because you can control the amount of flame at any given time. The Raiders fans do throw the best parties.

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The food:

Fresh Ceviche. This is a “raw” dish; the lime and tequila actually “cook” the fish. The recipe calls for halibut, but you can use any white fleshed fish, shrimp, lobster, crabs, or shellfish. I personally prefer fresh caught yellowtail or tuna since it’s readily available where I live.

Chips. Got to have Tostitos Scoops. They’re absolutely perfect for scooping up ceviche. Add some nacho cheese, bean dip, French dip and you’re snacks are pretty much set up.

Honey Glazed Grilled Tri-tip. Writing this just makes my mouth water. This is one of our biggest sellers at our work and while I can’t give out our exact recipe, I have a suitable replacement that is close to our award winner. Bacon Jam and Cream Cheeseburger. This one sounds weird, but it’s one of my favorite burgers anywhere. The first time I tried this burger I was put off by putting jam and cream cheese on a burger, it was just so unfamiliar to me. But in my industry, sometimes you just have to try it and man, I’m glad I did. For the bacon jam, you got to do this one at home then bring to the parking lot. Also, when you’re cooking, keep stirring.

Philadelphia Cream Cheese works great. I love Brioche buns, but they aren’t the heart of this dish. Add tomato and lettuce. For the patties, I find 1/4 pounders too small, 1/3 pound burgers are just about perfect. Avoid buying standard hamburger/ground beef, as it contains chemical fillers, aka “pink slime.” Go with ground chuck or ground round; you’ll get juicy burgers every time.

Johnsonville Cheddar Cheese and Bacon Brats. This is the only 100% store bought items that I’m putting on here just because making your own brats is very time-consuming and many people won’t have the necessary equipment to do it at home, let alone in a stadium parking lot. This will also likely be the “kid’s option.”

The Drinks:

Sitting down and drinking a Bud light (or any other pilsner) used to be the standard. Now we have choices! People love choices. IPAs double IPAs, ciders, red ales, wheat ales, stouts, local brews, and national brands. I’m going to shamelessly plug a local brew (they ship nationwide!) that offers a huge selection and is sea -themed. As you know, Raiders are pirates. Makes sense to pair these two. My personal favorites are Sea Rose, California Amber, and Wahoo. You must remember the kids and other nondrinkers. Sodas, water, and Gatorade.

The Entertainment:

I’m a big rap fan. Love rap. So Cal loves rap. Bay area LOVES rap. Mac Dre, Ice Cube, The Luniz, Snoop, 2 Pac, Dr. Dre, NWA, Andre Nickatina, E-40, 2 Short, yeah I can keep going. We rep west coast out here. I’m a little old school, so there has to be a football or two to throw around. Maybe a raffle if one of the numerous booster clubs is involved. What is more fun than hanging out with brother and sister Raider fans?

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