College football is back – and so are the tailgates.
As college students return to campuses across America and celebrate their favorite teams, tailgating will be plentiful. But what constitutes the perfect tailgating food — and what are some factors that should be considered before game day?
A political consultant who moonlights as a “world champion pitmaster” shared answers to these questions.
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Josh Cooper said he loves competition.
“We compete every day in politics,” the former college football player told Fox News Digital during a Zoom interview from his home in Florida’s capital city of Tallahassee.
Pitmaster Josh Cooper spoke to Fox News Digital from Tallahassee, Florida, where he operates Cooper’s Next Level BBQ, a mobile barbecue business. (Fox News Digital)
He took up cooking as a side hobby — so the competitor in him led Cooper to eventually challenge the best of the best along the cooking circuit, where he participated in season eight of Fox’s “MasterChef,” finished ninth overall in the World Food Championships and earned the title of world seafood champion in 2019.
Along with his wife, he now operates Cooper’s Next Level BBQ in Tallahassee, home to two Division I football-playing schools: Florida State University and Florida A&M University.
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This season, Cooper’s Next Level BBQ will set up shop at the Palace Saloon, a popular watering hole just a short walk away from FSU’s football stadium.
“Two of my biggest loves are college football and food,” Cooper told Fox News Digital.
Cooper said it’s his job to make sure Seminoles fans’ bellies are full by the time they enter the stadium.
He shared these five tips to help make anyone’s next tailgate a successful one.
1. Tailgate food should be easily handled
When it comes to tailgate food, make sure it’s something that is easy to hold.
“At the end of the day, it’s tailgating. You’ve got to be able to hold it in your hand,” Cooper said. “You’ve got to be able to eat it while you’re on the move.”
Tex-Mex-style tacos are a popular, easy-to-hold tailgating food, said Cooper. (iStock; Cooper’s Next Level BBQ)
Among the tailgating foods he makes most on game days, he said, are pulled pork sandwiches and Tex-Mex-style tacos.
2. Kickoff time can impact food selection
One big consideration when it comes to tailgating food is what to serve — and that can depend on kickoff time, Cooper said.
“If it’s an early game, you know you’re going to serve a lot of breakfast foods,” Cooper said.
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“If it’s a night game, you’re going to have more of a traditional appetizer/dinner menu. So, you kind of have to take all that into account.”
3. Foods that can be reused are worth considering
Food costs are another consideration on game days.
Cooper said he tries to use the same foods to “cut down on our costs.”
Cooper shows off a plate of barbecue. The former “MasterChef” contestant noted that food costs are “really high” right now. So “we want to cook a lot of things that we can turn into two or three different menu items.” (Cooper’s Next Level BBQ)
“You know, inflation’s really high right now, so food costs are really high,” he said.
“So, we want to cook a lot of things that we can turn into two or three different menu items.”
One example is his pulled pork sandwich.
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While a traditional pulled pork sandwich would include a bun, Cooper offers a no-bread option “where we might take some potatoes, put some pulled pork on there, kind of turn it into something like that.”
“We might take some potatoes, put some pulled pork on there, kind of turn it into something like that.”
He added, “But, at the end of the day, you know, it’s making sure that it’s good food, it’s hearty, it soaks up some of that alcohol that they’ll be drinking during the tailgating and gets them ready to go in.”
4. Barbecue pork is great for soaking up some suds
The Palace Saloon, a college dive bar that first opened in 1971, no longer serves food — but the drinks are still flowing.
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Current owner Lora Lowe, who took over operations in 2008, said sake bombs are a popular choice.
Unlike a sake bomb at a Japanese restaurant, the ones at her place are mixed with cider or energy drinks.
A Florida State fan arrives at a tailgate carrying a six-pack of cider before a football game in 2022. (Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat/USA TODAY NETWORK)
Lowe told Fox News Digital that she’s seen a decline in beer drinking in recent years.
“It’s been less beer and more seltzer-type drinks lately,” she said.
Cooper has just the recommendation to help soak up the alcohol.
The barbecue pork sandwich is a great option for a tailgater needing to soak up some alcohol, said Cooper. (Cooper’s Next Level BBQ)
“If you’ve been a little overserved out there at the tailgate, you’ve got to get yourself one of our barbecue pork sandwiches. The bread, the barbecue, the pimento cheese — it all comes together and kind of soaks up that alcohol.”
Cooper said it’s important to eat while drinking during a tailgate “to make sure that you can make it through the fourth quarter when the game’s tight.”
5. Preparation is key
“But the real key to tailgating, I think, is preparation,” he said.
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That includes making a list of food and other items that will be needed for game day.
“On game day, you know, our barbecue’s bipartisan.”
“Inevitably you’re going to get down to the stadium, you’re going to unload everything and, boom, you forgot your table,” Cooper said. “You forgot this. You forgot that.”
Above all else, “anything on a stick” makes for great tailgating food, Cooper said.
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“As long as you can hold it in one hand and have your beer in the other hand, you’re good to go,” he said.
Tailgating is about camaraderie, of which food is a key ingredient, win or lose, Cooper said.
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“I work in politics. There’s a lot of division in politics,” he said.
“But on game day, you know, our barbecue’s bipartisan. There’s people all over the place breaking bread, having a good time and getting ready to watch football. I mean, that’s what it’s all about. That’s America.”
