Ever dreamed of teaming up with a racing legend?  We’ll this is your chance!  By registering here, you’ll have a chance to be a pit master for a day in Las Vegas on March 11, 2012, teaming up with Bobby Labonte for the ultimate VIP track and grill experience.

The winner will receive a 3-day (2-night) stay on the Las Vegas strip; round-trip airfare; a rental car; 2 pit passes to the race; a BBQ lunch with Bobby and crew; a VIP tour of the #47 pit, garage and hauler; a ride with Labonte in the pre-race parade; seats in the #47 pit box; and a $500 Visa gift card to spend!

Good luck!

- Clint Cantwell, Grilling.com Guest Editor

ESPN analyst, Mike Golic, and world champion pitmaster, Chris Lilly, show you how to win the ultimate tailgating kit.

There’s no better way to celebrate the big game than with good friends and great food. But before you get to your pre-game grilling, we’ve teamed up with world champion pit master Chris Lilly and leading football analyst Mike Golic to bring you four quarters of extraordinary tailgate recipes.

Kicking it off, Chris puts his unique Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q spin on grilled pizza, creating a Barbecue Chicken Pizza with the restaurant’s signature Alabama White Sauce.

Chris then takes traditional game day sandwiches and adds a little hot brick heat for his flavor packed Brick House Grilled Panini.

Mike gets in on the action after half time with his south-of-the-border inspired Flank Steak Fajitas Quesadillas. Flavor packed and portable, this dish is sure to be a game winner.

Finally, Mike brings the meal to a strong finish with a kicked up classic, the Sausage and Pepper Gridiron Grinder.

Looking for even more gameday inspiration? We’ve got you covered all season long with additional recipes, tailgating tips and more.

It’s almost the start of the college football season and as every fan knows, this is a sport that was made for grilling!

Kicking the action off right, the makers of Kingsford® charcoal have once again teamed up with ESPN.com to launch the 2011 College Showdown Fantasy Football Game.    Starting immediately, fans can register to play by visiting http://games.espn.go.com/collegeshowdown/en/frontpage.

Then on Thursday, September 1, participants can begin making their picks in a bid to capture one of numerous great weekly prizes – from premium Snake River Farms meats to cookbooks to signed Mike Golic footballs and more!  In the end, however, there can be only one National Champion and that lucky player will walk away from the game with $10,000 and ultimate fantasy football bragging rights.

But the action doesn’t stop there!  Schools and their fans can also get in on the game this year through the introduction of the “Best of the Best” school rivalry function.  To participate, simply join your school’s “Fans of” Group in the College Showdown settings before Thursday, October 13.  At the end of the 14 week showdown, the player with the highest score at each of the top 25* participating schools will win a year’s supply of Kingsford® charcoal while the player with the highest overall score from those schools will also win a “Best of the Best” prize pack.   Finally, be sure to keep checking back here at Grilling.com all football season for great recipes, tailgating tips, prizes and more!

* Note: The “top 25” schools will be defined by the 25 with the most “Fans Of” at the end of the showdown.

-Clint Cantwell, Grilling.com Guest Editor

The NASCAR series races in to Bristol this weekend and our own Chris Grove from NibbleMeThis.com has the recipe to get race day started right.

Racing at Bristol Motor Speedway has been compared to “flying fighter jets in a gymnasium” because of its short track, steep turns, and high traffic.    The Bristol NASCAR race is this weekend so I wanted to come up with an easy and tasty tailgating idea.  Since that race involves a lot of rubbing, bumping, and outright crashing, I couldn’t think of a more appropriate item than a panini, where everything is smashed together!    To give it a taste of East Tennessee, I revved up this panini with a “hi-octane ‘cue sauce” by simply mixing in a little moonshine (now legal!) with a commercial bbq sauce.   I wanted to make sure this was easy enough to do at the track so I made it on a completely portable, 14.5 inch, $30, throw-in-your-trunk Weber Smokey Joe.  I’m not kidding!  I bought this grill at our grocery store.

Ingredients:

1 10″ loaf of french bread

2 cups cooked chicken

1 to 2 TBSP of BBQ Rub (I used Albukirky Rub tonight)

3 slices bacon, cooked

3 slices pepper jack cheese

1 sweet onion (Vidalia, Texas sweets, etc.) sliced into 1/4″ slices

4 slices pickles

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1 oz Apple Pie moonshine

1 brick wrapped in foil

Set up your grill for medium high heat.  Place the foil wrapped brick on the grill and allow it and the grate to preheat for about 10-15 minutes.   Whisk together the Apple Pie moonshine and the barbecue sauce.  The apple and cinnamon seem to enrich the flavors of the barbecue sauce while the “shine” gives it a twang or kick.

TIP: For tailgating, do this at home and toss it in a cheap squirt bottle.

Grill the onion slices for a few minutes per side until tender.  

Grill the pickle slices for about 2 minutes per side.  Yes….grill your pickles.  No, I’m serious!

Assemble your sandwich as follows: chicken, bbq rub, bacon, hi-octane bbq sauce, cheese, onions, pickles, second round of hi-octane bbq sauce

Cut the sandwich in half.  Place on the grill and top with the brick.  Grill for 45 seconds or long enough to toast the bottom.

Flip, top with the brick and grill another 45 seconds.

We loved this one.  It was a fantastic use of leftovers (bacon and chicken), easy to put together, and did I mention, FAST?

At stadiums across the country, fans are losing their rights to tailgate. From limiting tailgating time, requiring a ticket to hang out in the parking lot and even banning grills, new rules and restrictions are making tailgating an endangered art. Now’s your chance to save the tailgate: Help us reach 10,000 signatures by signing the petition here and we’ll fight for your tailgating rights!

Tailgater Bill of Rights

1. Stadium parking lots shall be open for all tailgaters at least 24 hours before kick-off.
2. Anyone with a passion for football or grilling shall be allowed to tailgate in the stadium parking lot, not just fans with tickets to the game.
3. Fans can always bring their own grills to the stadium, preferably ones that use charcoal. Gas is for cars, not food!
4. Each tailgate spot should be allowed to have a table and tent as long as you bring enough grub to share with your neighbors.
5. Tailgating tunes can (and should!) be played. Turn up the music and fire up the grill!
6. Tailgaters shall be allowed to bring a cooler of food and cold beverages to the parking lot to enjoy before heading into the stadium.

And remember, if you can’t make it to the stadium to root for your favorite team on game day, a backyard tailgate shall be deemed just as good.

So join your fellow tailgaters in the fight by signing the petition here and stay tuned for tailgating recipes, tips and more!

-Clint Cantwell, Grilling.com Guest Editor

Tailgating season is upon us — but that doesn’t mean you have to spend hours prepping and planning. Robyn Medlin-Lindars, aka Grill Grrrl, has a plan for sliders that are ready for you and your guests in 30 minutes.

For weeknight meals, I’m always searching for something fun and creative to make but without a lot of prep and cook time. Many of you know I spend a lot of time commuting from work so weekday lengthy recipes don’t work for me because we don’t like to eat at 10 o’ clock at night!
This recipe is great for others in the same boat. Many of my grilling clinic attendees have told me that “sliders” are perfect for kids because they are the perfect size and they don’t take a long time to cook on the grill. This tasty dish is appealing to adults and kids alike!

This recipe makes enough to serve 2 adults.

Ingredients:

• 1 packet chicken cutlets (ie: tenders)
• wing sauce or hot sauce (use mild wing sauce if you don’t like heat)- 1 1/2 cups or more (enough to coat chicken in bowl and reserve some for basting on grill afterwards)
• rolls (buns)
• sandwich dill pickles
• blue cheese dip (see recipe below)

Give the tenders a quick drizzle of olive oil, and a dash of salt and pepper. Add enough sauce to coat all the tenders in a medium-large size bowl. Let them marinate at least 15 minutes in the fridge.

Turn grill on to heat up while chicken is marinating; meanwhile- make Scott’s Blue Cheese Dip.

Scott’s Blue Cheese Dip:

• 12 oz. container sour cream
• 4 oz. container blue cheese (the better the cheese, the better the dip)
• 2 tblsp minced garlic
• 1 tbls spoon dry mustard
• lots of freshly ground black pepper and sea salt

Combine all ingredients and store in refrigerator.

Grill tenders on direct heat for 3 minutes per side or until thermometer reaches internal temp. of 165 degrees. Baste with additional wing sauce.

Serve tenders on buns with blue cheese dip, arugula, pickles and extra wing sauce. Serve with additional arugula on the side and blue cheese dip as the dressing.

On the table in less than 30 minutes!

Tailgate season is about to get in to full swing so we caught up with Michael Randall, Director of the American Tailgaters Association to get his thoughts on all things tailgating.

First of all, can you share the overall mission of the American Tailgaters Association?

To promote fun, family and friends. We are the authority of all things tailgating.

Who are your members and how many are there?

We have over 300,000 members and over 500 tailgating clubs. They are tailgaters and outdoor lifestyle minded people who love to tailgate and have fun.

When was the association founded?

In 2003.

What advice do you have for first-time tailgaters?

Have a plan. Have a checklist but most importantly have fun and go with it. Your life is about to change and you’re going to be a tailgater for the rest of your life. It’s not just an event…it’s an adventure.

What makes a tailgate successful?

The people, the food, and the music.  All of these put together will make or break your tailgate.

Why is tailgating such an important part of outdoor cooking culture?

People want to be able to let some steam off and forget about life for a while. They love the idea of being outside and grilling, playing games and being with people that are like them. It’s a passion and a way of life.

What is the best sport for tailgating?

I feel that it’s football. But the ATA promotes all sports and tailgating is more than just football. Tailgating is about being with family and friends and having fun.

What state is the most passionate about tailgates?

WOW!  Great question. I have been all over the country and I feel that each state or city can claim they have the best fans and the best tailgate. My answer is the United States. We know how to tailgate because it’s American.

What is your favorite menu for a great tailgate?

My favorite menu would be for breakfast and being a Browns fan would be “Flatten the Steelers” Potato Pancakes and sausage. That would then be followed with lunch consisting of some good brats and barbeque chicken. Plus there’s always potato salad and, of course, some cold beer to wash it down.

- Clint Cantwell, Grilling.com Guest Editor

The march to the Big Game is on and Grilling.com wants to make sure that your pre-game tailgate goes off without a hitch.  Here’s some quick tips to get the party started right.

’Theme’ me up, Scottie. Creating a theme for the Big Game is easy – the teams’ hometowns offer regional flavors and specifies that translate terrifically on the grill – don’t let cooking away from home prevent you from showcasing your grilling style be it a Chicago style hot dog, some Buffalo like hot wings or California inspired tri-tip tacos.

Team sport. Grilling is not a solitary activity. Turn over the reins occasionally so you can circulate among your guests. Everyone is already drawn to that magical combination of meat and fire – be sure and share the fun.  Giving guests a role in the party makes it more enjoyable for all.

Know your menu. The last thing you need on game day is to realize you’ve left a key ingredient or tool at home.  Decide on a menu in advance and create a checklist of items necessary to execute it onsite.

Home base. Whether mixing a batch of chili or pre-slicing vegetables and meats for kebobs, you can minimize on-site mess and leave yourself more time to enjoy the experience by doing as much prep work as possible at home.  Place items in labeled plastic bags, place in the cooler, and you’re ready to rumble.

Survival kit. Before the first game of the season, fill a plastic bin with a variety of essentials including a small fire extinguisher (better to be safe than sorry), tinfoil (to be used for everything from cleaning a grill grate to creating a pouch for steaming vegetables), extra batteries (for portable lights, radios, etc.), ponchos (in case of rain), disinfectant wipes (for quick cleanups), etc.

Cleanliness first. Just because you’re cooking outside doesn’t mean you can skip preparing food safely.  Keep raw meats in different coolers separated from vegetables and beverages and designate different-colored cutting boards for different foods.  Disposable food safe gloves (available at restaurant supply stores and most big box retailers) are also great way to avoid cross contamination and pocket thermometers ensure meats are properly cooked.

We’ve got power. Available for under $200, small generators provide the added convenience of working electricity, whether for brightening up those themed party lights or powering up the blender for customized cocktails.

Extend your reach. For taller grill masters, preparing food all day on a too-low folding table can wreck havoc on your back.  Cut 2” round PVC pipe into four 18” sections and place each table leg into one to raise the overall height.

- Clint Cantwell, Guest Editor

Gridiron-ready grub for die-hard football fans.

• Grilled Pepper Poppers
• Backstage Burgers
• Barbecue Blitz Chicken Wraps
• Crisp Spicy Southern Mustard Coleslaw
• Grilled Fruit Skewers with Spicy Maple Cumin Glaze