Gear & Apparel
Innovative Tailgating Vehicle, The Beer Bike- A Tailgating Recipe for fun
Who does not love a great tailgating innovation? We as Tailgaters are always on the look out for better food and a better way to get the party started. So today I ran across a local story about the Beer Bike.
So here is the gist of the vehicle. It can transport 2 kegs of beer and enough ice to keep it cold. The beer actually runs through a cooling unit to ensure a nice and crisp, cold beverage. The beer is dispensed through a tap as expected and the top of the tap area is a small wooden bar top. With an inviting bar area, your friends can “step up to the bar” and be served a frothy beverage.
The bicycle also accomodates a warming bag to transport a stack of pizzas as well or any other great food item from your Tailgating Recipes that you want to keep warm. Beer Bike is human powered with 9 gears and moves along a safe speed (you don’t want to go too fast with precious cargo).
Check out the Beer Bike article and a link to the Beer Bike Builders Page.
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Fresh Baked Tailgating Pizzas
Nothing says let’s watch football like a thick slice of pizza adorned with your favorite pizza toppings. Now I have seen pizza cooked in portable toaster ovens that were run on inverters at tailgate parties. Heck I have even seen the Domino’s guy pull up along side the parking lot fence, exchange funds with the patron on a cell phone and then toss a few pies over the fence. Simply put….football fans want their pizza.
Over this past summer I spent a little time working a variety of pizza recipes that I could take with me and replicate at the various tailgating parties I will attend during the college football season. I have a handful of successful pizza type tailgating recipes in another post that are sure to please the hungry fan, but I wanted to first share a wonderful idea I had forgotten about until a few weeks ago when picking up some pizza.
Now this is not breaking news, but while I was in my favorite Take n Bake pizza chain, Papa Murphy’s, I noticed a small stack of info cards on a side table. These handy little info sheets were actually cooking instructions for cooking the great custom built pizza pies on a variety of different outdoor grills. There was a section on pellet grills, charcoal grills and the quick lighting gas grills. So check it out. You stop by the local take n bake joint and get a few of the favorite pizzas ordered up. Throw them in the fridge and then into the cooler the next morning and boom, once the grill is heated up, you have 12-25 minutes to wait before you are serving fresh from the grill slices of pizza. Easy set up, easy clean up and pretty darn affordable if you have coupons.
Here are the instructions, taken from the Papa Murphy’s Website.
BARBEQUE INSTRUCTIONS
Barbeque Pizza Only In A Covered Barbeque
Charcoal Style BBQ
Measure out 50 briquettes for a 23 inch round barbeque (kettle type) or 70 briquettes for rectangular barbeque (18×32 inch). Use your preferred method to ignite briquettes. When briquettes are covered with ash (approximately 20-30 minutes) arrange them side by side on the outer edge of the firegate using a circular pattern. DO NOT PUT COALS DIRECTLY UNDER PIZZA. Set grill in place and cover barbeque, making sure all drafts are open to ensure maximum heating. Temperature of barbeque should be 425-450 degrees before putting pizza on the grill. If your barbeque does not have a thermostat, set a thermometer on the center of the grill making sure it is not directly over the coals. When the barbeque is hot (425-450 degrees) unwrap pizza and place in center of barbeque ON THE BAKING TRAY IT IS MADE ON. Please make sure there are no coals directly under the baking tray. Cover barbeque and bake pizza for 12-18 minutes. (Barbecue temperatures fluctuate, so baking times may vary.) Pizza is done when the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted. When done, carefully remove pizza from grill and let set for 5 minutes. Cut into wedges and enjoy!
Gas Style BBQ
Flare the edges on a drip pan to make it as large as possible (a circular 16″ disposable aluminum tray works even better). Place it in the center of the grill on the lower grate. Light only the front and rear burners leaving the center burners off. Preheat grill to approximately 450 degrees. Place pizza over the drip pan. Turn pizza a quarter turn after 10 minutes of total baking time. When crust is brown across the bottom, usually about 12 minutes, the pizza is ready. Carefully remove pizza from grill and let cool for 5 minutes before cutting.
Traeger Wood Pellet Grill
- Start grill on SMOKE mode and allow pellets to ignite
- Once pellets are ignited in the firepot, switch to HIGH. (on thermostat controlled units rotate dial to 450 degrees)
- Allow grill to heat up for at least 15 minutes
- Remove plastic wrap from the pizza
- Slide pizza on tray into center of cooking chamber
- Grill for approximately 20-25 minutes OR until the cheese melts and the crust has turned a golden brown
- When done, carefully remove pizza from grill. (Ideally, place pizza on a pizza pan, cutting board or platter large enough to hold the pizza.)
- Allow pizza to cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
There you have it. A quick and easy way to feed the hungry troops at the next tailgating party or outdoor event. If you don’t have a Papa Murphy’s near you, I am sure your local Take n Bake store will have advice for using your barbecue or grill.
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