Take food safety precautions when you’re tailgating
If bringing hot take-out food, eat it within two hours of purchase.
To keep food like soup, chili and stew hot, use an insulated container. Fill the container with boiling water, let it stand for a few minutes, empty, and then put in the piping hot food. Keep the insulated container closed and the food should stay hot for several hours.
Carry cold perishable food like raw hamburger patties, sausages and chicken in an insulated cooler packed with several inches of ice, frozen gel packs, or milk jugs filled with water and frozen solid.
When packing the cooler for an outing, be sure raw meat and poultry are wrapped securely to prevent their juices from cross-contaminating ready-to-eat food — or better yet, use separate coolers.
Cook meat and poultry completely.
Food should not be left out of the cooler or off of the grill for more than two hours, or one hour when the outside temperature is above 90 degrees.
Store perishable food in the cooler except for brief times when serving. Cook only the amount of food that will be eaten to avoid the challenge of keeping leftovers at a safe temperature.
Discard any leftovers that are not ice cold after the game.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service
Jon Gum is both a chef and an enthusiastic football fan — his black chef’s jacket has a prominent Cincinnati Bengals “B” logo stitched into the left breast — so tailgate parties are the perfect marriage of his twin passions.
And he’s even willing to share his savvy strategy of utilizing those twin passions to score a little swag.
“Always make more food than you think you need,” said Gum, the deli manager and sous chef at Culinary Company in the Cross Pointe Center in Centerville. “The smell of food cooking attracts a crowd and can bring you many new friends. Vendors who sell T-shirts, hats, etc. will barter, and they really like to trade their souvenir items for food.”
Labor Day marks the traditional kickoff to football tailgate-party season, although the Ohio State Buckeyes are getting an early start on the football season tonight, Sept. 2, against the Marshall Thundering Herd.
We picked the brains of some of the Miami Valley’s most passionate football fans who also happen to be able to cook a bit, too — Bengals devotee Gum and Buckeye fan Rinaldo DiSalvo, owner of DiSalvo’s Deli in Kettering — to find some easy-to-make recipes to make your tailgate party a hit. And we throw in a few food-safety tips to make sure everybody makes it back from the game healthy.
Here are keys to a successful tailgate, along with some easy-to-prepare recipes, courtesy of Gum and his chef colleagues at the Culinary Company (www.culinarycompanyonline.com):
Prepare foods the day before, allowing you to have less mess and more free time on game day.
Ribs can be cooked the night before, then reheated and “sauced” the next day on the grill.
Kebabs should be marinated overnight to add flavor — make sure veggies and meat are strung on separate skewers so the meat cooks fully and the veggies don’t burn.
Side dishes can be made in advance and warmed up directly on the grill over low heat.
If serving sausages or brats, cook the night before in beer and onions, then reheat on the grill on game day
Use disposable tableware: plates, utensils, cups and table covers.
JALAPENO PEPPER DIP
Ingredients
2 tablespoons jalapeno dip*
8-ounce package of cream cheese
½ jar bacon bits
1 teaspoon of your favorite dry BBQ seasoning**
* Gum recommends Original Juan’s Longhorn Bread & Butter Jalapeno Dip.
** Gum recommends Bad Byron’s Butt Rub BBQ Seasoning.
Instructions
Combine ingredients in a small bowl.
Form into a ball shape.
Serve with favorite brand of cracker.
BEER BRATS
Ingredients
1 to 2 12-ounce bottles of your favorite beer
1 whole yellow onion
Packages of your favorite brats or sausages
Instructions
Roughly chop onion.
Add onion to beer and bring to a boil in large pan.
Cook brats/sausages to 130 degrees internal temp.
On Game Day, reheat brats/sausages on the grill to add char.
BOURBON GLAZE FOR GRILLED CHICKEN
Ingredients
Four ounces of your favorite bourbon*
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 ounce soy sauce
*Use only bourbon that you would drink. Cheaper bourbons lack flavor and color.
Instructions
Combine ingredients in a sauce pan and heat on medium heat until reduced by half. You will see it getting thicker like a syrup. Allow to cool; brush on chicken just before removing from grill.
GARDEN PASTA SALAD
Spiral noodles cooked al dente
Favorite seasonal garden vegetables such as red & orange bell peppers, cucumbers, celery, etc.
Coat in your favorite Italian salad dressing.
RINALDO DISALVO’S BBQ SAUCE FOR TAILGATING
Ingredients
½ cup onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
2 cups dry red wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 28-ounce bottle ketchup
¼ cup molasses
Brown sugar to taste (optional)
Tabasco hot sauce to taste (optional)
Juice of ½ lemon
Instructions
Heat oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic until softened. Pour in red wine, and stir well. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until wine is reduced. Add chicken stock, tomato paste, ketchup, molasses, and brown sugar and hot sauce, if using. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes. Squeeze in lemon juice, and stir well.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2258 or mfisher@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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