Captain Of The Tailgate - The Best Food

Just go to any of the La Moreliana meat markets here in Houston and get their marinated fajita meat. Or just go buy skirt steak and marinate it yourself, but man, do they do they have the right combo of spices down. Just throw a slab of it on the grill, and then carve it up. Warm up the tortillas on the grill, add some salse and there ya go. Easy, fast, and good.

This takes some effort, but bacon-wrapped quail, breaded and then fried is almost as good as Marisa Miller. Bite sized portions are perfect for tailgating.

Especially in Texas.

Many of the carnicerias in the Houston area sell marinated fajita meat & that’s the best way to go. But you have to have more than just salsa to top it. Guacamole is almost mandatory, Salsa Verde or Roja are good choices, and you have to have some cheese, which a shredded mexican blend is the way to go. There’s two other things I like to top fajitas with. One is a sauteed blend of diced jalapenos, diced mini bell peppers, & diced red onions.

Another thing I like to do is shredded chicken taco meat. Take some chicken tenderloins (about 9 or 10 pieces) & steam them until they’re fully cooked through (roughly 20-25 minutes). Cut tenderloins into small chunks & throw them into a food processor & shred them extremely fine. Take the shredded chicken & throw into a saucepan & add 3 packs of taco seasoning (original or hot preferably) & water (fill one of the seasoning packs 3 times) & simmer over medium low heat for 5 minutes. If made right, it should look like chili. Take the meat & spread over the fajita meat before adding other toppings. Other uses for this are to fill taquitos, quesadillas, mix with eggs for breakfast tacos or burritos, or even as a dip.

Marisa would not be my first mate.

I like food, but it has to be good quality. I have yet to find fajitas at a restaurant that are worth a shit, for example.

I can’t find the restaurant online, but there’s a place in north downtown Philly that has a killer cheese steak with pepperoni and marinara sauce on the top. I won a bet when I ate the whole thing, because that’s what I do.

Since I’ve never had the opportunity to do so in Houston. But I have some really good burger recipes I’d like to try making for tailgate (three of my best recipes).

Blackened hamburgers with zydeco coleslaw, creole mustard and habanero mayonnaise

Kung Pao burgers with five treasure salad and Szechuan peanut sauce

Chicken-fried steak burgers with braised cabbage and glazed onions and jalapenos.