It is crazy to think 2012 has come and gone and we are a few days out from the big dance. They hype is really starting to build. The Florida Gatotors getting manhandled by Louisville has the national talk shows whipped up into a fever of ‘I told you so’. But, I also think Florida played with a very noticeable lack of discipline. If smack talk was worth points, the Gators would have walked away with that one. But, the SEC overrated talk has already started.

I can think of no other team I want to play this year. The SEC vs well, a non-conference. I just wish we could be down in MIA to watch the game. I have a handful of Notre Dame friends here in Birmingham and around the country and they are all good folks and I suspect representative of the typical ND fan. They are passionate and love their team, just like Alabama. So, if you are down there no matter whom you are pulling for have fun and make sure to great the other team.

If you are like me and going to be working the day of the game, well it limits the day of prep you can do for a tailgate party at the house. So, I thought I would give you some recipe ideas that you can prep the day before and heat and eat or cook low and slow in the crock-pot. I also wanted to work the schools into the menu as well. When I think Irish, I think of potatoes and stew and of course Guinness. Why not a Guinness stew or Guinness braised short ribs? Looking for something for the Alabama side, how about crock-pot pulled pork? Turn them into southern tacos or sliders? How about combining the Guinness and Pork?

Appetizers

• Grilled Conecuh Sausage (local Alabama Product) tossed in BBQ sauce
• Redneck Sushi
• Buffalo Wing Dip

Easy One Dish Mains

• Guinness Braised Short Ribs
• Guinness Beef Stew
• Crock-Pot BBQ Pork
1. Shredded and served on tacos with an Asian slaw
2. Sliders
3. Open Face Sandwich
• Guinness Braised Pork Loin with Roasted Potatoes

Hopefully this gives you some ideas on some dishes to cook to help cheer on Alabama to number 15!

Roll Tide!

Shane

For the third time in four years, the Alabama Crimson Tide will have to wait.

Alabama defeated Georgia 32-28 in the SEC Championship game on Dec. 1 in what was essentially a play-in game for the BCS National Championship. For Alabama, watching the final second tick off the game clock meant five weeks without football. It also meant five weeks to get healthy and prepare for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

When betting opened on the title game, Alabama was listed as a nine-point favorite. That should come as no surprise considering Alabama’s dominance on both sides of the football this season. The Crimson Tide is No. 15 in scoring offense and No. 2 in scoring defense in the entire country—playing an SEC schedule no less.

We won’t see an offensive deluge when Alabama and Notre Dame take the field in January, but that’s all the more reason Alabama will spend the next three…

Read full article here: Alabama Football: Keys to Victory in BCS Championship Game

We have a 2:30 kickoff for this game. So, I will be doing lunch. I plan on having food off around 12:30. For this weekend I am going to fire up the grills and do a number of meats and some traditional sides. Here is what I am thinking so far:

• Grilled Mixed Sausages
• Smoked Whole Chickens
• Various Cuts of Beef
• Pork of all Kinds
• Roasted Mixed Vegetables

Hope to see everyone there. Have a great and safe Thanksgiving!

Roll Tide!

Shane

That said, the tailgate was a great time. Always fun to spend extra time with friends. For the brisket I tried a quick cook method in the oven and then finished on the smoker. It simply reinforced what I already knew, for really good brisket you need slow and low. The surprise of the tailgate was the smoked shrimp in the Grapefruit Chipotle BBQ sauce. I have had several requests for the recipe that I used and have posted it right here in the recipes section.

I also ended up smoking a number of whole pork loins as well. These worked very well with the BBQ sauce. As I have mentioned before, I have started brining a good deal of my meat before smoking. For this recipe I used Tailgate Beer’s Black Top Blonde as the base for the brine.

RTR

Shane

It was nice being on the in the mix of foot traffic. I love nothing more than to meet fans from the other team and this week was no different. We had a couple who stopped by the tent on the way to the game and grabbed a beverage. After the game they came back by the tent. They were vibrating with excitement. It turns out their son was a starting lineman for Western Carolina. They were able to spend a few minutes after the game with him. The relayed that he told them that Alabama was the most well disciplined and polite team he had ever played. They went on and on about how great everyone was to them and how much they enjoyed being there and seeing their son on our field.

That folks is why I love Alabama football. Don’t get me wrong I know we have our bad fans just like any other team. Heck, after some of the TN losses I may have well been one of those fans… I like to think it was because I was younger.

With that said, it was a humbling 15 min that I was able to spend with them. It quickly reminded me that at the end of the day it is simply a game being played by very young men. It reminded me how important being a part of something larger than you is for those life lessons. His parents were so excited to talk about his football, but they were more excited to tell me about his academic success. They were so excited to tell me how he had entered as very poor student and had grown into a great student due to the opportunities he has earned through hard work.

As Alabama fans entering the Iron Bowl week, let’s try and remember that. I want to beat Auburn and want to beat them BAD. But, I also want all of us to take a second and welcome their fans into Tuscaloosa. Welcome them to your tailgate and make sure they have a great time while here!

Roll Tide!

Shane

So, for this week I will not be cooking at the house. We will be back at the house in full swing for the Auburn game.

Roll Tide!

Shane

Wonder where I get some of my cast iron? How about the tailgate cooking gear? A new Official University of Alabama Cooler? Well, head on over to the tailgate gear section.

What about a new grill? I am a huge fan of Weber grills. I have selected a number of them in my store. I have selected large, medium and portable Weber grills. Gas or Charcoal or both? They are all right here.

Spices? Sauces? Official University of Alabama Wing Sauce, again check out the grocery section.

Looking for an item that is not in my store, let me hear about it and I will get it added in there.

Thanks for shopping!

RTR

Shane

We lucked up with the WX as it could have been worse than it was. We had a small window right as food was coming off that the bottom dropped out and we all had to get in under the tent. No big deal, we just all got a little closer.

The burgers turned out great. I ended up using about 2/3 hamburger to 1/3 Conecuh sausage with a good smattering of blue cheese. I am going to try a similar mixture without the blue cheese one day with a Cajun cream sauce over pasta.

The pork shoulder was a little tough for what I like, but still tasted great. I smoked it on 220 for 7 hours. Mid way thought I added a whole pork loin and threw beer can chickens on the grill. For the slaw, I used an IPA based dressing. When I started looking around I found a number of recipes out there, all called for coconut milk and a little heat. I ended up coming up with my own that you can find right here! For the IPA I of course used TailgateBeer IPA.

We have a little break before the next home game where we welcome another Mississippi team! Not sure yet, but I am thinking about doing a delta style fish fry!

Roll Tide

Shane

Saturday started off a little warmer than I thought it was going to be. The sun was pretty brutal early on in the day. Note, bring sunscreen even in September. It cooled off for the evening games and gave us some wonderful weather to finish watching the LSU / Auburn game.

The food turned out well and Cindy had some wonderful additions to the Cuban theme. Thanks Cindy! The spam balls were great. But, if you are ever thinking about using spam in a caprese salad, well don’t. I know I know, its spam… but I had a theme and was sticking to it! I ended up doing a Cuban pork chop and it was great. I marinated them in a Cuban mojo. The Cuban potato salad was great also. I made an Orange and IPA reduction to glaze the shrimp with, but my cast iron pot had a little rust in it and it got into the sauce. So, I did not make the shrimp. Sounds like I need to read my own advice for cast iron care.

We had another round of Tailgate Beer on hand. Everyone enjoyed all the styles on hand. The cooler weather made the IPA a great compliment to the Cuban food.

Only a few more days and we will be getting ready for the Ole Miss game!

RTR

Shane

The 2012 season brings us something new, we have partnered with TailgateBeer. See the details on my previous post. I decided for this game to use the hefeweizen as part of the brine for my grilled chicken wings. You can find my recipe here. Additionally, this seemed to be everyone’s favorite brew for this game. While, all the brews were great the hefe went the fastest.

The pork tenderloin seemed to be the crowd favorite as far as the food went and it paired very well with the hefeweizen. You can see the recipe for the on my page here.

The next tailgate party will be for Florida Atlantic, but I will be posting some game day ideas for the Arkansas game in the next day or so.

Roll Tide

Shane