The beginning of the fall football season has arrived. Halle "freakin" lujah! For those of you that don't know, outside of being a passionate food culture guy, I'm just as passionate about football. Some would say I'm a bit fanatical. My passion lives with a few teams, Syracuse Orange, East Carolina University (My alma mater) and the New York "Football" Giants.
As we are getting knee deep into my favorite part of the year-football season, I figured I would post some of my favorite tailgating recipes on Chopbiscuit. I have been throwing down on the flames at tailgates all over the country for years and have led a few Pig Roasts in North Carolina, judged wing competitions in Buffalo and ventured in a few "Rib Cook Offs" in the "Dirty".
Hope this will help everyone get a few ideas for their next tailgate and enjoy Real Simple, Hearty Grub leading up until kickoff. If you don't like football, the terrorists win. That's not good.
Cuban style Panini
Beer Pairing: Malt lager style beer
Who said you couldn't grill sandwiches for tailgating? A nice pork tenderloin is great for grilling some cuban panini style sandwiches for a bunch of hungry football fans.
Ingredients:
1 pork tenderloin (approximately 8 ounces)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided*
2 teaspoons Caribbean Barbecue Seasoning*
1 loaf ciabatta bread (I've heard Panera has pretty decent bread?)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (optional)
4 ounces sliced nitrate/nitrite-free Black Forest or other lean deli ham
4–6 ounces sliced muenster cheese*
2 kosher dill pickles, thinly sliced lengthwise*
2-3 sprinkles of Peri-Peri
Method
Preheat grill or broiler. Brush tenderloin with one tablespoon of oil and coat all sides with seasoning. Grill pork over medium heat, about 5 minutes each side. Remove, and let cool slightly, then thinly slice on the diagonal. Half ciabatta lengthwise and spread with mayonnaise (if desired) then layer with sliced pork, ham, cheese and pickle slices. Place top on sandwich and brush bread with olive oil. Press down very firmly on sandwich. Place on the grill* and weigh down with a heavy cast-iron skillet or 2—3 bricks wrapped in foil. Flatten the sandwich to about 1/4 its original thickness while grilling 2—3 minutes on each side.
*If using a double-sided sandwich maker, grill 3—4 minutes, watching carefully.
