Grill Grates Are Simply Amazing

If you are like us at TailgateLot, sometimes they gear you bring to the tailgate isn't as nice as you'd use at your house.  We have an old grill that we've make to look like a football helmet and mounted on the front of our rig.  The problems with cheaper grills is that they can start to show their flaws when cooking a lot of traditional fatty tailgating foods.

Enter the Grill Grate.  This is an addition to practically any grill out there, as they sit on top of the existing grates.  They will help to reduce and eliminate flare up and provide more even cooking.  Knowing our grill, and the devestation it takes, I was very interested in this product.  

The Grill Grates are made from aluminum, and the panels come in many different sizes.  They interlock forming a solid surface to grill upon.  Once installed, the Grill Grate will give you new dimensions in cooking, as they will provide infrared heating to your food, along with conduction and convection.  

I used hamburgers as my first test of the Grill Grate.  After a few minutes on one side, I gave them a quarter turn, and let them cook a few minutes longer before flipping.  The marks that the Grill Grate leaves on the food is gorgeous.  The cooking was extremely even, and best of all, NO FLARE UP AT ALL!

My next test was a steak.  The Grill Grate shines with steaks.  In the 2013 World Championship Steak Cook-Off, the top 3 finishers all used GrillGrate!  In fact, 1st place the past three years has been grilled with Grill Grate.  I'm not a world champion steak griller, but even my steaks came off looking world class.

Grill Grate is a must have for any grill setup out there.  Gas, charcoal, you name it.  The end product tastes great, and looks even better.

Check them out at: http://www.grillgrate.com
You can also follow them on Twitter: https://twitter.com/grillgrate

Chill Puck. The Next Generation of Can Coolers

On the hot days of the early tailgating season, if your drinking pace slows down, you run the risk of having a warm beer at the end of your can.  The Chill Puck aims to combat this problem.  The Chill Puck consists of a freezable plastic disk and a Chill Band that holds it to your can, giving the can a sweet base of ice to sit upon.

As you can see from the pictures, the band helps keep the puck in contact with both major sizes of beer cans, the traditional and the slimmer Coors Light can.  These will also fit tightly into a standard collapsible coozie.

Freezing the pucks is a quick proposition.  Toss in the freezer overnight.  When you are ready for action, just press your can down into the puck and the Chill Band will grab hold.  I'd recommend having two of these bad boys, so you always have one in the cooler staying cold for its chance at glory.  If your beer isn't cold, don't expect a miracle.  This won't make it ice cold, but it WILL keep a cold beer cold longer.

The Chill Puck currently comes in white, gray, black and glow in the dark green.  For an additional fee, you can get a custom design of your very own.

Check out their website at: http://www.ChillPuck.com/
Follow them on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/chill_puck

Thermoworks Thermapen: Digital Instant Thermometer

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When cooking, the only true way to know when something is done to perfection is to know the temperature.  Sure you can press a steak with a finger, but that really doesn't let you know what is going on inside.

The Themapen by Thermoworks is about the best digital thermometer that you can buy.  Sure there are others, but they are either slow, inacurate, or too bulky.

The accuracy of the Thermapen boasts a 3 second reading with +- .7 degree accuracy and .1 degree resolution.  It is good from -58 to 572 degrees.  The probe itself tapers down to a very thin point, so that you don't leave a giant hole in whatever you are checking.

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They come in 14 colors now, and are splash-proof as well, so you don't have to worry about the occasional contact with liquid.

The price on the Thermopen is more than your casual thermometer.  But your casual thermometer is slow and inaccurate!  I've been using Thermapens in my cooking for 5+ years.  I like it so much I even bought one for my dad for father's day!

You can read more about the Thermapen at: http://www.thermoworks.com/products/thermapen/

You can also follow them on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/Thermapen

Can Grips and Bottle Grips

The Can Grip and the Bottle Grip are a pair of tools that are a great addition to anyone's tailgating arsenal.  The grips snap solidly onto either a can or a bottle, and keeps your hand warm and your brew cold.

These are made out of plastic, and when they click onto the can or the bottle, you can feel how solid the mount is.  There is no concern about spilling at all. 

Both the can and bottle handles gives you a firm grip, and feels like a well built mug handle in your hand.

They both come in a number of colors.  The can grip also comes in 12, 16, and 24 oz, as well as the european 330ml.

Check them out at http://www.CanGrip.com! 

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The Amazing Flying Coozie

Here is the amazing flying coozie, the drink cooler that flies! It does two jobs really well... Keeping you shastas nice and cold, and zipping through the air like a missle. 

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Constructed of a thick hard foam, the Flying Coozie is sure to keep your drink cold while in use, and stay durable when someone has butterfinger hands when playing catch.

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As you can see, the flying coozie is perfectly weighted on one end, allowing it to fly through the air with hardly any wobble.  After a few practice throws, you will be ready to start launching this across the lot. With a range of 10-30 yards, you can really go deep with this coozie.  Tossing it around the lot has been pretty easy for both adults and kids.

The flying coozie comes in numerous college teams, as well as some holiday and camo patterns.  They can also be made to order as promotional items.  All coozies are made here in the USA.

Check them out at http://www.flyingcoozie.com/ and the Flying Coozie Facebook Page.

Introducing The Chuggler

The Chuggler is a 30 oz beer mug that also doubles at a beer bong.  Gone are the days of clear tubing and a funnel.  With this mug, you can go from zero to hero simply by pulling the tube off the holder.

The tubing is connected very firmly on both ends, leaving no concern that it might come off while drinking at a normal pace.  But when you are ready to rock it out, remove the top hose and prepare for the rush.

So step up your game and toss your funnel and hose.  For ~$20, you can pick from 8 colors and be drinking like a champion in no time!

Check them out at http://chuggler.com/, and follow them on Twitter @MrChuggler.

The Ultimate Beer Shotgun Opener Keychain

Here is the ultimate beer shotgun opener keychain.  This 3 in 1 device is great for opening bottles, opening can tabs, and putting a nice shotgun hole into a beer can.

Click for larger viewOpening a bottle was not a problem, nor was opening a can.  The one concern I had was using the shotgun portion of it on harder cans, like Heineken, but that worked great too.  You can store this easily on your keychain.  

Check it out at: http://www.drinkinginnovations.com/

Ryobi 2,200 Watt Digital Inverter Generator

Click for larger versionWhen it comes to having power in the tailgate lot, the reigning champion has been the Honda EU series. This was primarily due to there being no competitors. But a new player is in the game. The Ryobi 2200 is the same size, more power, and almost half the price of the Honda. But how does it stack up?

Here's a quick run-down between the two.

	Ryobi	Honda
Starting Watts	2200	2000
Running Watts	1800	1600
Rated Amperage	15A	13.3A
Starting	Recoil	Recoil
Fuel Tank	1 Gal	0.95 Gal
Weight	51 Pounds	47 Pounds
Parallel Capable	Yes	Yes

In running both side by side, a feature that both has is a smart idle. This means that unless the generator needs more power, it will turn the engine at a lower RPM to keep your neighbors happy.  Both units ramp up RPMs quickly, but the Ryobi gets back down to idle RPMs faster.  Both units are inverter style generators, which is good if you will be running any electronics.  The Ryobi was great at powering our typical gear, which includes a home AV receiver, two DirecTV receivers, a 42" LCD, a 32" LCD, two scrolling LED boards, 2 crock pots and a roasting pan.

As you can see, both units are similar in size. The Ryobi has dual handles for better handling, as well as a one hand operated extendible handle for rolling across the lot. This might not sound like a big deal, but if you are joining up with friends, and you have the generator, it is much more fun to pull a generator than to have to carry it.  Honda has an option for a cart, but it is another $99.

The one thing that both units lack is an hour meter. I've installed one on the Honda, and it will be very easy to install one on the Ryobi. This will help you know when to change the oil, as well as exactly how many hours you have been hitting it hard!

Having a generator at the tailgate allows an entire new level of enjoyment.  Crockpots in the winter, roasting pans to keep food warm, television and music, party lights, it goes on and on.

Will the Ryobi dethrone the Honda as the king of the Tailgate Lot? Only time will tell. As more tailgaters step up their game, the Ryobi is certainly a strong player in the market. No longer do you have to spend close to $1000 on quiet power. No longer do you have to get a 100 pound noise maker. The Ryobi comes in a small package, gives BIG power, and sips the fuel. That is a win in this Tailgating professionals opinion.  I look forward to getting more hours under it as the season progresses.

Currently, The Home Depot is selling this unit for $599.

Coozie Coolers - Keep Those Drinks Cool!

We've all had it happen...  We get a frosty cold beverage out of the cooler, and get side tracked, and the drink gets warm.  Nothing worse than a warm drink!

Enter the Coozie Cooler.  This brilliant device is a small ice pack the shape of the bottom of a can, and sits in the bottom of your Coozie, keeping things cold while you tend to tailgating games, the grill, or whatever else needs attention.

They are cheap enough to keep a few in the cooler, so when you get a new drink, you can swap out for a new Coozie Cooler.

To buy your very own Coozie Coolers, check them out at cooziecoolers.com.

Being a good neighbor: Quiet generators

We've all seen it.  We've all heard it.  We've all been next to 'that guy.'  The big loud, smelly generator that they bought for Y2K.  While they put out a good amount of power, you will pay with your hearing.

Five years ago, I bought a Honda EU2000i generator.  Not only are they quiet, they are very fuel efficient. We've gone up to 8 hours on 1 tank (~1 gallon) of gas.

You can join two of these generators together to get even more power.

The Honda also has an "ECO" mode, where it will run at lower RPMs until the load increases.  Even at the higher RPM, it is still very quiet.

The first time I've come across one of these generators, I stood there like an idiot wondering if it was even on, because there was a noise maker generator across the aisle in the lot.

The problem with these generators is the price.  While they are spendy, as they say: "Buy once, Cry once."  It is money well spent for a great setup.