February 2019 -

How to Watch TV at the Tailgate

Nothing quite adds to the social hour like setting up a tailgate TV to watch other games before game time. We get a lot more traffic to our tailgate spot when we have the TV hooked up. Luckily, you only need three things to watch TV at tailgating. We have added a bonus 4th item for mounting your TV with ease!

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Television: This is the obvious must-have for watching TV at tailgating. One tip for deciding on your TV for tailgating is how easily you can transport it from home to the game. We know that we if we get a TV too large it will not fit in our backseat. Another tip, we don’t recommend buying a high end television. Accidents can happen. Don’t buy a TV that would make you cry if it gets damaged. No one likes to be sad before the game even starts. Click here to see our 2020 List of Tailgate TVs.

Power Source: If you are not tailgating nearby an outlet, invest in a small generator. The power source we use for our tailgate is the Honda EU1000i Inverter Generator. This generator is popular because it is easy to transport and extremely quiet. While there are many sizes to choose from, this size can easily run a TV and satellite dish.

A Satellite Dish or Antenna: If you have DISH or DirectTV as your regular service provider, adding a dish to your account is easy and often extremely inexpensive. For us, adding to our DISH account is $7 per month. The KING Tailgater Bundle includes Portable Satellite TV Antenna and DISH Wally HD Receiver has all you need to start tailgating with Dish Network at your tailgate. “Bunny Ears” have come a long way and another option to watch TV at your tailgate is a TV Antenna. This will give you local channels but we also recommend checking out the FCC DTV Reception Maps to check regional availability ahead of time.

A Tailgate TV Mount: While it isn’t necessary we will file this under a bonus item. One of the items we love is our Tailgate TV Mount. This freed up our table space allows us to make much more efficient uses of our space. We opted to choose a mount that allows for us to open and close the tailgate of our truck.

Tailgate WInners Cajun Ranch Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

Cajun Ranch Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos

One of our most often requested tailgating recipes are our Cajun Ranch Bacon-Wrapped Jalapenos. Cheesy, savory, and spicy are all rolled into one with this crowd pleasing tailgate food idea!

A few tips before we jump into the recipe.

I promise that you will appreciate using food safe gloves here. All it takes is one rub of the eye after washing your hands to realize that you didn’t get all of the jalapeno juice off.
There is nothing more satisfying than a solid knife. If you’re looking for knives that cut like butter and are made to last, check out Wusthof knives. We used a Wusthof Paring Knife in this recipe.
This is an easy tailgating recipe as you don’t have to be as precise with your measurements. If you love super spicy, just add more cajun!
Use your left over mixture as a dip. Sometimes there will be more cheese mixture than peppers. It serves great on crackers!

Cajun Ranch Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

Spice up the tailgate food with this Tailgate Winners recipe! One of our most requested, tried and true tailgating recipes are our Cajun Ranch Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers. Starting with a basic jalapeno popper recipe we continued to add until we reached this delightful and savory combo of cajun and ranch. These super cheesy peppers will be a fan favorite at your tailgate or as an appetizer at any event!

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Prep Time 30

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Servings 12 people

Equipment

Oven, Grill, or Smoker

Ingredients

10 Jalapenos Makes 20 Poppers
1 Package Bacon
1 Package Cream Cheese – Softened Full fat or 1/3 fat
1/2 Packet of Ranch Seasoning Such as Hidden Valley
2 Tbls Cajun/Creole Seasoning of Choice Such as Tony Chachere's
1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Instructions

Combine Softened Cream Cheese with Ranch seasoning, cajun seasoning, and one cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Blend well into a mixing bowl. Set to the side and let the flavors blend. Preheat your Oven, Grill, or Smoker
Using food safe gloves, cut the jalapenos in half long-ways. Using a knife or another tool, get out all the seeds so you are left with a jalapeno “boat”. Be super careful not to get the juices in your eyes. I promise you will be sad.
Use a spoon to spread the mixture inside the jalapeno halves and wrap each jalapeno half with one solid layer or bacon. You may need to cut your bacon in half depending on the size of your peppers.
Cooking –
Oven: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet aluminum foil to keep it neat and tidy. Once the bacon is cooked through and crispy, your jalapenos are finished! Start watching closely around the 20-30 minute mark for the bacon to cook. Bacon goes from perfection to burnt in a split second in the oven make sure to keep a close eye on them using this method.
Grill: We don’t recommend placing directly on the grill. Use a roasting pan and cover with foil. This method takes a while so you will need to be patient and mindful if you will be grilling other items for your tailgate. Start monitoring after around 20-30 minutes for bacon to crisp and complete cooking.
Smoker: Again, use a roasting pan heat uncovered. With a temperature controlled smoker, you will cook 30 minutes around 180 degrees, 30 minutes around 375. Work up to a high temperature at the end to get the bacon crispy! A traditional smoker will yield similarly to the grill.