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  • Game On? Flame On!

Game On? Flame On!

December 7, 2015

Joe Maino didn’t plan on being a BBQ guru. The web and new media consultant/entrepreneur gradually converted his love of tailgating into a game day happening attracting national media attention. Not constrained by the practicalities of running a profitable catering business, TGJ remains his hobby and passion. Joe has spent time studying with world BBQ champion Myron Mixon and Paul Hess of PA Midnight Smokers as he prepares to take his TGJ team to the next level when they branch out into the competitive BBQ circuit.

“Tailgating is the perfect marriage of three of the biggest loves in my life, football, cooking, and my friendships,” declares Joe Maino, the mastermind behind TailgateJoe. “It all started around 1998. A friend of mine had great season tickets to the Jets, and 6-12 of us would get together to go to a few of the games. Me and my friend Louie, known back then as “the Sausage King of Staten Island” due to his family’s very well known Italian market on the Island, would buy all these different meat cuts to grill up for the crew. We became a foodie tailgate party.

As our group grew from 6 people up to 20-30 a game, I decided to formally create TailgateJoe for the 2009 season, put together a website, and open it to the public so that those who didn’t have the ability or desire to organize their own tailgate party had the opportunity to join us. That first home game of 2009 drew 40 people and we were off. From that point on, it has been an ever-increasing number every season, with 200-350 now showing up to join us every week not only from the tri-state area but around the world.

Over 15 years doing this, I have gone from those disposable supermarket charcoal grills in aluminum roasting pans up to the huge Crown Verity MCB-72 I use today, with all types and sizes between. I probably have more experience and knowledge than anyone when it comes to tailgating and the equipment needed. It took me fifteen years to find the perfect grill!”

“The support Crown Verity has given me in realizing my passion has been truly special. I could not begin to pull off what I do without my arsenal of Crown Verity grills. Their high heat BTUs and performance takes the weather out of the equation, which is huge when you’re located in the northeast and responsible for cooking for one of the largest game day tailgate parties in all of the NFL. Many times I’ve found myself cooking in freezing weather with snow and high winds. I have yet to find myself in a situation where I couldn’t cook whatever was on the menu for that game.

A key benefit of the way the larger Crown Verity grills are set up (48 inches and over), but not necessarily mentioned in the promotional material, is the complete redundancy of the gas/pilot/burner plumbing system. Each of their bigger grills is essentially broken down into two smaller grills in one, each with their own gas supply.

Being out on location doing on-site live fire cooking means always having the possibility of equipment failure, which can happen when things bang around in a trailer cruising 70mph down the highway. With my two Crown Veritys, I have peace of mind knowing I have four available systems to go through if there are any issues on-site. It may not sound like that big of a deal, but I’ve had problems with other grills and had to explain to 200 people that we couldn’t cook anything. Trust me, it’s a big deal.”

Find his recipe for Carne Asada Steak Tacos here. Follow TailgateJoe @TailgateJoe or visit his website.