For many of us, fall means football and time to gear up for tailgating. Whether you are cheering for you favorite college team or the NFL, it is all even more memorable if you start a few hours before the game with family, friends and great food.

My three-ingredient slow cooker barbecue is a must on the menu. It is so easy, can be made the day before, transports easily and everybody loves it. I hope you will enjoy adding it to your game day (or ANY day) menu.

Along with the recipe, I’ve included some of my favorite tailgating tips. You can find hundreds of them online, but most of them seem to be either common sense or no-way-in-the-world-am-I going-to-do-that.

Here are some of my favorites, which I have modified a bit to suit me and how I prefer to do things:

• Turn a toolbox into a tailgating essentials box and keep it in the trunk of your car. Include bottle openers, can opener, spatulas, mini flashlight, trash bags, paper towels, wet wipes, sunscreen, poncho, plastic bags and your own favorite items to conveniently have on hand.

• As I used to say on TV all the time, “For safety and for taste, keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.”
  • For cold foods, freeze water bottles instead of ice packs. Then you can drink the water after it melts and recycle the bottles.
  • To keep food hot as you serve them, arrange three bricks on their sides into a triangle with an opening in the middle. Place cans of sterno in the opening. Use iron skillets as serving pieces or other oven proof ware and place on your “brick trivet”.

• Set up DIY bars with toppings for your hot dogs, hamburgers or even beverages. Plastic cups or paper plates with your team logos work well for these condiments.

• I found Birthday Direct, a site that I really like for all kinds of disposable tableware and decorations (banners, hats, etc) celebrating your favorite team at great prices. Yes, they have not only sports teams represented, but gear for birthday parties too.

• Pack plastic laundry baskets to bring back dirty dishes etc. That’s what I used to carry all my stuff to and from TV stations for my cooking segments. They are sturdy, roomy, and easy to carry.

HAVE FUN! And I hope this barbecue recipe becomes a favorite whether you are tailgating or watching the game at home.

Slow Cooked Barbecue

This is so easy that you don’t really need a recipe and so good that you will want to make it often. The first night we have it with Black Bean Salad and Corn Bread. They then enjoy the leftovers in tortilla wraps or on traditional sandwich buns with slaw.

• Pork Tenderloins
• Barbecue Basting Sauce
• Barbecue Sauce

Place the tenderloins in your slow cooker and generously cover with barbecue basting sauce (I use Stubbs Basting Sauce). Cover and cook on lowest setting for 6 or 7 hours. Remove thoroughly cooked tenderloins from cooker and drain away about two thirds of the liquid. Shred the pork and place back in the cooker with the liquid. Generously cover with the barbecue sauce and slow cook another hour or so.

Tell Me: What’s your favorite tailgating recipe?