Time to Tailgate
We spend a lot of time discussing how great the Thunderbolt Adventure Supply kitchens are for camping. How they help keep you organized and make cleanup quick and easy. And that’s all true. But as we move into the fall, I'd like to share another outing the Thunderbolt Kitchens excel at - Tailgating.
If you’re going to a game and you didn’t manage to score tickets, you can even power a big-screen TV with the Rivian. And when you are tailgating, you don’t have to eat overpriced soggy nachos. Here are some tips for a great tailgate meal on your Thunderbolt Kitchen.
The best way to enjoy cooking while tailgating or camping is to do as much prep as possible before you leave home. I reuse the plastic deli containers from takeout meals to transport sliced and diced veggies, grated cheese, and even pre-measured liquids.
A cast iron grill pan is a great way to get perfectly cooked sausages and burgers without charcoal or propane. Cast iron plays nicely with the induction cooktop, and you’ll get excellent seared grill marks on your hot dogs and brats.
I’m not sure why, but nothing says football like warm nacho cheese sauce spilled over a big pile of tortilla chips. But when you’re at a game, the sauce always ends up cold and gloppy before you’re even back to your seat. When you tailgate with your Thunderbolt Adventure Kitchen, you can warm up the sauce on the cooktop and then set it on low. Folks can dip into the warm pot of cheese sauce or spoon it over their chips. There’s no open flame to worry about, and the stove’s ceramic cooktop is only as hot as the pan touching it.
I like to share recipes with you, but I don’t actually have a cheese sauce recipe. Growing up, our shortcut was to melt together roughly equal parts of Velveeta and shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese. I can’t tell you how much of that stuff I ate spooned over steamed broccoli. For nachos, we’d add diced tomatoes, cumin, and hot sauce. So, I spent a little time looking for a good recipe. Many used a flour roux or a cornstarch slurry to thicken and emulsify them, but I find sauces made that unpleasantly gritty. While searching for recipes without flour or cornstarch, I stumbled upon several gourmet recipes that use sodium citrate, sometimes called melting salts, to ensure a smooth consistency. And guess what? Sodium citrate is the magic ingredient in Velveeta that allows it to melt into a smooth sauce without separating, no matter how hot you get it. Next time I make cheese sauce at home, I’ll give the melting salts a try. But I have to say, if I’m tailgating, I’m keeping it simple and making my mom’s secret smooth cheddar sauce with Velveeta.
I hope you have the chance to get some friends together to watch a game in the fresh autumn air. But tell me, what will you be cooking up?
