A Celebrity Tailgate Chef's Secrets for the Perfect Game Day Menu | Shanisty Ireland

She's a former television news anchor, the mother of five kids who prefer Taco Bell over her cooking (her words), and one of the most practical voices in tailgate food strategy. Shanisty Ireland joins Luke to give both home gaters and stadium tailgaters the tips they actually need — including the most underrated advice in all of tailgate food: ask your guests to bring something.

Shanisty covers everything from make-ahead meals (mac and cheese casserole frozen weeks in advance), to why handhelds always win at the tailgate, to the argument for tailgating at any sport — Masters, baseball, whatever gets people together. She's a Bears fan, an Alabama fan, and a Kentucky basketball fan who lives in Columbus, Ohio, which she acknowledges makes no sense.

What we cover: Home gating vs tailgating — what changes and what doesn't · The make-ahead strategy: mac and cheese casserole weeks in advance · Why handhelds, dips, and wings always win at a tailgate · The "ask guests to bring something" tip that hosts always skip · What sport makes the best tailgate besides football · Why you can't lose a tailgate if you do it right · Favorite tailgate visit: Alabama is at the top of the list

Transcript

Intro

Luke 0:00

Welcome back to the Tailgate Connect Podcast. I'm your host, Luke Lorck, with Tailgate Challenge. I love tailgating, and part of tailgating is food and beverages. On our podcast tonight, we have Shannisty, who's going to give us some amazing tailgating and home gating tips to take it to the next level at your tailgating parties. Stay tuned for that.

Music 0:32

Gather around tailgators. Here they call it game day, y'all. Let's have a ball across the states from college to NFL. Tailgate Connect. Got a story to tell.

Meet Shanisty — food and lifestyle personality

Luke 0:50

All right, welcome back to the Tailgate Connect podcast, your podcast for everything tailgating. And today we have a very special guest with us today. And I say special and I mean that sincerely. Shanness Ireland is with us today, and she is going to help expand our knowledge and maybe our thought process with how we do our foods and beverages, some of our tailgating and home gating events.

Shanisty 1:16

Yeah. Oh, thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here. This is a, I love this topic because, you know, I feel like we've gone so long without a proper tailgate. And now August has rolled around and we're ready to go.

Now: TV stations, radio, podcasts nationwide

Five kids — mom's food vs Taco Bell

Background — former TV news anchor for 10 years

Left industry, started YouTube/Instagram/blogging

Luke 1:31

We are. I'm over here literally rubbing my hands together because I am excited about it. Just thinking about tailgate and being around the corner. I'm a believer too that, like, hey, we can tailgate for anything. It doesn't have to be just for football, but we know football is king or queen when it comes to tailgating. And so, like, a lot of people are ready for tailgating and they're gonna want some of these tips that you're gonna drop for us today. So I want to ask just a little bit, just tell us a little bit of background. Like, how did you get into the food and beverage space? And where does the passion come from?

Why do you love tailgating? Great excuse to get together

Shanisty 2:02

Oh my gosh, I'm glad you asked. So um, I'm a Ford Burr television news anchor. I did that for 10 years of my life and uh started having kids and ended up having five kids and realized, realized very quickly that uh that lifestyle just wasn't really conducive to what I wanted to do. Um, so whenever I left the industry, I it was right at the time of YouTube was popping off and Instagram and all the social media and blogging. And so I started just diving right into that. And now what I do is basically talk to wonderful people like yourself. Uh, I appear on uh television stations, radio stations, podcasts all over the nation, talking about everything from back to school to tailgating and um the food passion and the drink. I mean, I I love to cook. I say it with an asterisk because I do have five kids. So the likelihood of them eating what I cook is very slim because you know, mom's food is never as good as Taco Bell down the street. Wow. It's so funny, Luke, because that literally happened tonight. I I made this delicious food and I was like, hey guys, when I'm done talking to Luke, you guys can eat all of this. And my 12-year-old's like, yeah, but I mean, Taco Bell is like so easy. That's what he ended up eating. But it's okay though, because I love entertaining. And like you said, I'm a firm believer in that as well. You can tailgate, you can entertain for anything. We actually had a huge master's party here. We're we're really big into golf as well here, and anything from football, baseball, golf, I'm all about entertaining and I'm all about the tailgate scene.

Whether you care about the team or not — it's about people

Luke 3:43

Well, I will just say that I believe the food in front of you right there is better than Taco Bell. No offense to Taco Bell over there, but yeah, I do I prefer some homemade uh delicious goodness personally. Yeah. All right. So again, since we are a tailgating show, tell me, like, aside from the food, what brings you in? Like, why do you why do you enjoy a good tailgating?

Shanisty 4:05

It's fun. It's fun to get together with folks. I mean, here's the thing about tailgating is whether you care about the team or not, or whether you care about the sport or not, it's just a good excuse to get together with friends and family. It's a good excuse to come together for something positive. Hopefully your team wins. That doesn't always happen. But um, it's it's just fun. I think that just bringing everyone together, you know, whether it's March Madness or whether it's a football game, and you know, you'll have people that are there just there to watch the commercials, and that's okay too. But it's just really a great excuse to bring everybody together, whether you're home gating, which we do a lot of, or whether you're actually going down to the stadium and getting in the parking lot and you're tailgating right there on the site.

Luke 4:49

Well, I'm a believer too. You mentioned like it's more fun when your team wins. I'm a believer that, hey, you can't lose a tailgate. If you do it right, you can't lose the tailgate, undefeated and tailgatey, right?

Shanisty 4:59

Yeah, you need to have shirts made and send me one because I I I need I need a shirt with that motto. 100%. As long as you've got the food, you've got the drink, uh, and you have everything set up there that you need, um, it's a win-win, that's for sure.

What's your team? Bears, Alabama fan, Kentucky basketball

Luke 5:14

Agreed, agreed. Now tell me what one more thing about you, and then we'll get into some tips. Like, because I I want to know, and I don't know the answer to this. Like, do you have a football team? And if so, give them a shout out right now.

Shanisty 5:26

I knew you were gonna ask me that. And I was like, I don't want people to not like me. But okay, here's the deal, Luke. I'm from Columbus, Ohio. I live in Columbus, Ohio. I'm not a Buckeyes fan. I think honestly, being here in this city for as long as I have, I didn't go to Ohio State, so I I'm not a Buckeyes fan. I lived in Alabama for a long time. I lived down in the SEC nation. So uh when I lived in Birmingham, I kind of took a hold of the Alabama trend. It was really happening, it was popping off. I went to Kentucky though, so I'm also a Kentucky basketball fan. Difficult to be a Kentucky football fan, um, but that's okay. I know it's a little tough. But then if we're talking about NFL, my family is originally from Chicago, and so we're bears, win or lose, mostly lose. We're we're big Bears fans, Cubs fans. We're just pretty diehard with the Chicago. So I'm kind of all over the place. At the same time, I want to say, like, I don't necessarily absolutely despise a team. I think that, you know, especially living here in Ohio, we do a lot of buckeyes tailgates, and that's okay. You know, it's it's all about just um rooting, rooting for the home team. And I know that sounds cliche, but you know, you know how it goes, especially if you live in a city that's not typically the fan of your team.

Home gating tip #1 — decide what kind of party this is

Simple brats and burgers vs smoking ribs overnight

Ask your guests to bring something — not cliche

Stick with handhelds — wings, dips, things you can pick up

Make-ahead meals — mac and cheese frozen weeks ahead

Luke 6:49

For sure, for sure. And shameless plug here at Tailgate Connect. We have an amazing host for Alabama Games and for Ohio State Games, so they can go right to them, hit tailgateconnect.com, and you can get tickets to uh them and a lot of other awesome easy button tailgates out there, too. Okay, with that, you got a lot of food in front of you, you got a lot of food knowledge. Tell me, tell me some, let's start with home gating, because you're in your home right now. Like, what are some like home gating food tips that people need to know to elevate their home gating experience?

Stadium tailgating vs home gating differences

Shanisty 7:21

The very first thing I really suggest this goes for home gating, tailgating, is really decide what kind of party this is gonna be. Is this gonna be very simple, like, hey, we're just throwing some brats and burgers on the grill, or is this gonna be a little bit more elaborate, like I've got a pork shoulder, or I've been, you know, smoking ribs all night. Figure that out first. And then I also like to tell people, do not be afraid to ask your guests to bring something. I think that long are those days where it's cliche. I think asking people to bring something, be it even a bag of chips or pork grinds or a case of beer or whatever it may be, asking them to bring something is really going to help that host. I like to stick with the handhelds. I like to stick with appetizers, lots of dips, lots of things that you can just pick up, wings, you can just pick up and go, as opposed to serving something that's gonna be really elaborate. And another thing is, and I don't want to throw all the tips here in like 30 seconds, but also there's a lot of things that you can make ahead of time. I'm talking about macaroni and cheese casserole. If you're gonna be doing a home gating or something like that, you can make that several days, even a couple of weeks ahead of time, freeze it, and and then that way it's ready to go. So if you're home gating, so to speak, I think that you can do more. You can have more options, you've got more area. But if you're gonna be tailgating, you know, really trying to figure out exactly who's gonna be there, take into account people will be joining you that you may not even know. People are gonna bring people, you're gonna have more, you're gonna need more food and more drink than you even is imaginable that's gonna be consumed. And um just trying to keep it pretty simple, especially if you're going to the stadium and you're trying to do something for people that are actually there on site at the game.

Best tailgate she's been to — goes back to Kentucky days

Luke 9:11

Excellent, excellent. So when we're thinking tailgating too, so we're we're trying to keep it simple because again, game, it could be a lot of chaos, right? Of going to the game, getting the car packed up, getting five kids in the car. I don't have experience with that, but it sounds like that would be a job in and of itself for it. But tell me this: where do you like to go tailgating? Where's your favorite tailgate spot that you've ever been and why?

Shanisty 9:36

Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Okay, so this is gonna go back to my Kentucky days. Okay. This is no joke. I'm talking about the Kentucky Derby and Keeneland and horse racing. Not only do those people know how to party, it is wild. And you don't think that because what you see on TV is the big hats and the pretty dresses, but it is so fun. Um, and but also, you know, sometimes you go to those horse races and you just tailgate the entire time. And then whenever you leave, you're like, I didn't even see a horse. I I didn't even see a horse today. That I didn't see the game. I mean, I guess that happens. I love tailgating uh for any horse races, which is a little unique. Um, I've been to Talladega, that's an experience living in Alabama, doing a little Dega. I am not big into racing. I could not tell you what I was even watching, but that was a big party as well. And then, of course, you know, going down to the shoe, going down to Ohio State. It's just fun. I I don't like being very cold. And so I can I can handle the August, September games, but man, once it gets to November in Ohio, I'm like, I think I'm done. I'm not that die hard quite yet to tailgate for a game that's that cold.

Just whiskey — one word answer

Luke 10:55

Well, let me let me ask you this. In the spirit of like what you shared right there, and then obviously your affinity with food and beverages, is there a food andor drink that could make those colder days feel more pleasurable?

Shanisty 11:10

I mean, I probably shouldn't just say whiskey, but I mean whiskey.

Crock pot meals at the tailgate

Luke 11:13

There's no wrong answer here.

When's the last time she chugged a beer?

Shanisty 11:15

I think that I think there's just a one-word answer. No, just joking. But yeah, uh, you know, bringing the crock pot, maybe even creating a um, we call it like the boot warmer. It's kind of like a cidery type drink that's got some whiskey in it and it's got cinnamon and it's got little, you know, it's kind of like a fall flavor, got cloves, things like that. And then actually taking it in a crock pot down to the stadium. It's really nice and warm. Having any kind of a dip, maybe even some hot, spicy foods as well. That's gonna get the palate going, gonna get the taste buds going a little bit. Um, as much as I love cold beer, and I think beer is just a staple for tailgating, it might be a little cold. I don't know. I don't know. I think that's a personal thing. Never too cold for beer. I know, I know. I love I love watching the Bears games and you know, when they're playing like Green Bay or whoever, and it's just a blizzard, and you just see these guys just chugging cold beer, and I'm like, I could do that. I you probably could, Luke, but I don't know if I could. So um I like sticking to the warmer drinks and uh maybe even some red wine. I don't know. Just something to warm you up a little bit on those cold days.

That's a long time ago

Luke 12:22

Okay, let me ask you this. When's the last time you chugged a beer?

Shanisty 12:25

Chugged a beer? Oh gosh. Um, let's see. Um let me think. I mean, are you challenging me now?

Luke 12:34

Just you you you brought it up about people chugging beer, so I was just asking questions.

The older you get, the more you appreciate craft beer

Shanisty 12:39

Gosh, that is gotta be a long time, you know. Um, probably quite a few years, if I'm gonna be completely honest with you. I mean, if we're going full shotgunning a beer, it's been a long, long time. If we're going chugging a beer, my cousin got married last year, and I'm pretty sure there was some beer chugging on the Bachelorette trip. It's a little blurry, but I'm pretty sure there was some there. So maybe last year would be a good answer for that.

College days and cheap beer

Luke 13:05

No, and again, the older I get, I'm I'm the same way. It's like I want a nicer craft beer and to be able to enjoy it versus just like just plowing through them over there.

Shanisty 13:17

Yeah, I know. Yeah, back in the college days, the cheap beer. I don't know, I don't want to mention any brands because I don't know who you're affiliated with, but there's some cheap ones out there. And uh yeah, they're they're a dime a dozen in college, that's for sure.

Luke 13:31

Well, in season one of our show, we are fully funded ourselves with no sponsor. You can say anything you want on this show. Season one is.

Beer name struggle — imposter syndrome moment

Shanisty 13:47

But I have some beers up here today. I don't know if you're familiar. I don't know if you're familiar with Columbus Brewing Company. Um but they're yeah, it's a really great uh brewery here, of course, in Columbus, Ohio. It's really popping off though in the Midwest. Um, they've got really flavorful IPAs. Their most popular one is the Ohio Light, which is kind of like a garage beer or a Bud Light, just really approachable, really easy. Um, really great if you're just gonna be having some burgers or some hot wings at the tailgate. I have all of the IPAs up here. Um, so there's just different flavors. This one is like citrusy, this one's hop legend, um, a little hoppy, a little on the hoppy side. Uh, I also have a India pale ale and uh what is this? Juicy double India pale ale. So really flavorful and delicious. I love, you know, they of course come in these variety packs and they're really good. Um, and you can also use them in recipes, actually, Luke. I I made a beer cheese for you today. Oh, yeah. And I used, I know, and I used one of these. I actually used this juicy one, juicy bodie. This is one of their most um most popular beers, and it was so easy. It literally took me five minutes, so anyone can make this. It's got three different kinds of cheeses in it. It's got white cheddar, mozzarella, and it has uh greer year. I should know how to pronounce that. You know what I'm talking about?

Luke 15:13

You're talking about that. I don't know if I can say it either.

Favorite Columbus Brewing beer — juicy Bodhi

Shanisty 15:16

So everyone watching is gonna be like, she's not an expert. That's imposter syndrome. Anyway, that that cheese is in here as well. Then I've got some garlic powder, onion powder, um, paprika, so it's got a little bit of spice. And then I put the beer and a little bit of milk and some butter and mixed it up. And so this would be something that you could take down to a tailgate. You could put it into a small little crock pot, and it's served really well with pork rinds or pretzels. And um, yeah, so you can also use these beers, of course, and your, you know, beer battered chicken and different things like that, too.

Made cheese with it and drank it

Luke 15:49

So let me let me ask you this question then. So you you gave us a wide variety of some of the Columbus brewing uh flavors there. What's your favorite one to drink that you're not using the recipe to drink?

Shanisty 16:01

Yeah, I really like this one, the juicy Bodhi. This is the one that I, of course, um made the cheese and then just drank the rest. So um, I really like this one. So yeah, this is a really good flavor. I also really like the Ohio light one um just because it's really approachable. And if you're gonna be having several of these at a tailgate, I yeah, yeah, you can't really go strong on the some people can go strong on the hops, but I like a lighter beer for sure if I'm gonna be having several of them.

Luke 16:30

Excellent. So again, I'm a huge beer fan. I do love IPAs of all different varieties out there, too. So it sounds like Columbus Brewery should send me a few of those to try. Shameless plug right there.

Shanisty 16:41

Yeah.

Flight board in Luke's background

Beer and food pairing — heavier stout with lighter food

Luke 16:42

Like, so so tell me this, because I'm a big, I even I have a flight board right here that have made up for it. But it's like, tell me some of the best pairings because it's like I love this kind of different beers, but like give us some ideas of maybe things that people haven't thought about with pairing the beers. I know you had the cheese there. Is there other pairings you would recommend?

Shanisty 17:00

Yeah, and I I mean, if you're gonna be going with a heavy stout, which I actually love stouts, once again, I'm not gonna be having five of them because they are very heavy, but I love a good stout. Um, those are really good with chocolate or anything sweet, a little bit on the sweeter end. Uh, the pale ales, I think, go really well with wings. Um, they're bold flavor, matched with bold flavor. The lighter beer, I think, is perfect for like a juicy burger or ribs, um, because the food is such a big, powerful flavor that you want to kind of offset it a little bit with that. And then, of course, like the floral-y type beers. I'm talking about more citrusy street tacos, uh, things of that nature. Um, and then the dips, I think any kind of dip really pairs well with any kind of beer. Um, the wonderful thing about beer, unless it's a super heavy, super hoppy beer, I think it pairs with almost anything. But I don't think that something that's so bold, like a stout, is gonna taste delicious with like tacos. That that seems a little, that seems a little contrasting to me. But but yeah, those are some of my favorite pairings. Um and then if we're going with the seltzers, you know, lots of ladies like the seltzers. Those those go very well with any kind of thing that's gonna be a little bit on the lighter side. If you're gonna be bringing lighter side things to your tailgate, most people don't, but I think I consider tacos a little bit on the lighter side, and you can pair those with kind of seltzers, or you can have a DIY cocktail bar set up. If you do decide to do that, I really only recommend one or two cocktails. You don't want to get too extravagant because you got all the food set up and everything, and most likely people are just gonna reach for a beer because it's easier. Um, but you can do some of the cocktails as well, as long as you set it all up and people can kind of make their own.

Luke 18:50

Now, I feel like I I gotta call out something you said there. You said that, you know, this the ladies like the seltzer. What about there's some guys out there though? Is that is that okay? Or is that like you gotta give you me a card up on that?

What's the strangest tailgate she's attended?

Shanisty 19:03

Say in all of my years on planet earth, it's it's it's really rare that you find a woman that's like, I love a good, like strong, hoppy pale ale. It's I'm not saying they don't exist, but I'm I I have found more women tend, especially when they're a little bit on the older end like I am, tend to go with the lighter things like the seltzers or the skinny margaritas or anything. Nothing wrong with that. But um, but yeah, the guys like the seltzers too. We host a big Halloween party here every year. It's adults only. Kick the kids out, costumes, we have prizes, all the things. And honestly, the seltzers are the first to go. And I know that isn't just all the ladies, so guys like them too, that's for sure.

Luke 19:47

Excellent. All right, um, let's see. What else we got on here? With with tailgating, I want to know. You've mentioned everything. You said Masters, we said Kentucky, we got Alabama, we got Ohio State, we got Talladega, we got I think I said Kentucky Derby already, but what would you say the strangest event you've ever tailgated for would be?

Dress up like a character, it gets creative

Shanisty 20:13

Oh my gosh. Um strangest.

Luke 20:17

Strangest! Halloween. We got the Halloween vibe right now. What's strange about it?

Shanisty 20:23

Halloween. I mean, I want to say college was strange in general. There was all sorts of parties that was happening there. I don't even remember half of them, but you know, those were those were pretty strange, I would say. Always doing some kind of date, date party or something. I was in a sorority of, you know, so of course you had all those parties. Um, but gosh, you know, Luke, I think any kind of bachelorette party can get a little strange. Uh, or any kind of party of that nature. Sometimes it goes off the rails a little bit. Um, I would have said if I if I would have known this question was coming up, I would have withheld the, you know, the horse racing because people don't typically think about tailgating at horse racing. Because, but if you ever make it down to Kentucky, those people really know how to tailgate at those horse races, that's for sure.

Bucket list — horse racing tailgate (the Masters)

Luke 21:14

I still in my bucket list. I've always wanted to, and for some reason, I just haven't yet, so I need to. I probably do I get a bigger hat. I know that part of there.

Shanisty 21:22

You gotta have a better hat, a big hat. Yep, can't wear a baseball hat. Uh, you're probably gonna need to put a suit on. You can still have that t-shirt you're wearing, maybe underneath the suit, but you gotta have the seersucker suit, the white shoes, you know, you gotta have all of that stuff and just look the part and just fake it till you make it. That's that's my motto when it comes to things like that.

Luke 21:44

So a a tuxedo t shirt's not gonna fly with that crowd.

Shanisty 21:47

You know, maybe in the infield. You're probably not gonna go to, you know, Millionaire's Lane or Millionaire's Row, but maybe in the infield. In the infield, all bets are off. You're lucky to have a shirt on in the infield.

Luke 22:00

Okay. All right. So the infield is maybe where I need to play it because Millionaires might be out of my price range.

Back to outdoor grilling tips

Shanisty 22:06

Maybe, maybe so, yeah.

Luke 22:08

Oh, good stuff. All right. So back on the food part here. So we talked about a lot of the stuff inside of the house that you make, but talk about grilling. Any thoughts, any tips, any like favorite foods on the grill? Because grilling's a big part of the tailgate when we get out there.

Overnight cooks — do people really do that?

Shanisty 22:26

It is. And actually, I did several segments last month because last month was National Uh BBQ Month. So we talked a lot about grilling. So, Luke, when it comes to grilling, you want to make sure that you have marinated everything at least 24 hours beforehand. You don't want to be waking up morning of and being like, oh my gosh, I got to put some dry rub on this. I got to figure something out. So making sure that you're well prepared for that. Figuring out if you're going to actually have use charcoal or if it's going to be gas. If you only have access to gas at a tailgate, which probably would make sense, you can actually put um charcoal in aluminum foil and poke holes in it and stick that on the grill. And it'll kind of give your meat that charcoal smoky taste without actually cooking with the charcoal. And then if we're going with the meats, uh, you know, burgers are really just easy, especially if you have little ones coming to your tailgate as well. Hot dogs, brats. If you're gonna go a little bit more extravagant and you're gonna do the ribs, making sure that you prepare those ahead of time before you even arrive. Because as everyone knows, ribs take several hours. And I don't know what kind of tail, maybe you are showing up to your tailgate 24 hours ahead of time. I don't know.

Luke 23:41

Some do the overnight thing.

Propane vs charcoal — charcoal wins

Shanisty 23:44

I was gonna say, you're the tailgate expert. Um, but you know, but making sure that you have everything prepared. And then whenever you're loading all of this stuff up, I really recommend when you're loading up your car, when you're loading up your cooler, you stop, you start from the bottom up, meaning the stuff on top is the stuff that you need first. And then you kind of go from there. That way you're not just pulling everything out and then you're like, oh my gosh, now I gotta get everything started and that kind of thing. So um yeah, I you know, grilling is great. I think that doing extravagant, um, really fun meats and vegetables and skewers and stuff is wonderful, but also kind of sticking to the basics really wins over a crowd.

Luke 24:27

All right. So are you team uh propane or team charcoal if you had your uh your pig?

Charcoal fails — go to Taco Bell

Shanisty 24:33

I think charcoal is the way to go. I really do. I mean, if you if I flipped the camera around and you saw outside there's a propane tank out there, but it doesn't taste the same. It really just doesn't. Um you know, I'm I my husband as a household is, he typically does the grilling. And um, you know, we just kind of go with what's easy, but um, we don't have the with the five kids, that's the wonderful thing about it. They're not like super, they don't have these palettes yet. So they're just like, oh, this is wonderful. And we're like, oh, we made the hot dogs in the microwave. Thanks, you know. So it works just as well. Yeah.

Luke 25:11

And if if it fails, go to Taco Bell. That's what we learned earlier.

Shanisty 25:15

Yeah, go to Taco Bell. Yeah, I know. We got the wrappers over there and everything. So that's okay. That's all right. Mom can take it. I got a tough skin.

Luke 25:25

You mentioned uh hamburgers, cheeseburgers, right? Well, one of my one of my favorite things, and kind of one of the classic things for a tailgate. So build the perfect hamburger right now. What's going on in?

Shanisty 25:36

Okay, so we're gonna have the brioche buns because they're just way better, in my opinion. We're going to put mayonnaise on them instead of butter to grill them. That's gonna give it a little bit more flavor. So you put the mayonnaise on the buns, you stick those on the grill. Okay, I like the smash burgers. Interesting fact about smash burgers: when you put all of the meat together, roll it into the ball, form it, smash it, put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes before you put it on the grill, if you can, or put it on ice. Then when you put it on the grill, it's gonna hold the form better. It's gonna hold everything together. Put the cheese in the meat too. You gotta put the cheese into the hamburger meat before you put it in a smash burger. Then if we're talking about, um, I love aioli, I love uh Chipotle ranch, I've got to have the fresh lettuce, the onion, the tomato all piled up. I'm not a huge fan of mustard. That's just my own personal preference, but some people are. You gotta have the bacon on there as well. Um, what am I missing? Um, I don't know. I think that's about it. I think I think that would be probably the perfect burger to me.

So many flavors — shares several

Luke 26:40

Excellent. No, I again I haven't had dinner yet at the time of this episode, so I'm getting hungry right now, talking about everything. Um, I see those pork rinds over there too. I'm like pork rinds and the beers you have. So I'm like, I'm also thinking to myself, like, is there a pork rind beer pairing? And what I'm thinking, like, like all the different flavors of some of these pork rinds that I love. And I was like, I wonder, do some go with different styles of beer more? Have you ever experimented with that or am I going crazy because I'm hungry?

Hot honey is Luke's favorite

Shanisty 27:08

No, I think you're 100% right. You know, Southern Recipes Fall Batch pork rinds has so many different flavors. They have the hot honey, spicy dill, cratch pepper. I think I just have the original one out here. Um, they even have a pineapple chili. They've got so many flavors. I I love what this brand has done with pork rinds because I think they've really stretched the horizon and they've reinvented themselves to have new flavors on there. So I think pairing the original with just a normal, you know, light beer is perfect. You could pair some of the more bolder ones, like the hot honey, perhaps even with a stout, just to make it go crazy. IPAs as well. Um, and then the the the chili or the spicy dill, I think would go really well with a hoppier bill with a hoppier beer. What I also love about the pork rinds is you can use these in place of bread crumbs if you're doing any kind of fried chicken or anything like that. You can crush them up and put them on top of your macaroni and cheese casserole. You could crush them up and put them on top of your beer cheese. Uh the pork rinds are delicious, especially if you're gonna be tailgating for football. You know, pork, it makes sense. Um, and they're just, you can even create a DIY nacho bar where you have pork rind instead of tortilla chips because it's got a little bit more crunch to it. They're packed with protein and collagen, and they are keto friendly if anyone's gonna be counting their carbs out there at the tailgate. Um, so they're they're really wonderful and they're really flavorful, and they are um they're really versatile too. You can use them in a bunch of different recipes.

Pork rinds are always out at her events

Luke 28:41

Yeah, and I I will person like the hot honey one is one of my favorite flavors that that I've had. I it's like I didn't know growing up, I was a potato chip kid. And it's like as I've as I've grown up, I'm like, pork rinds, I feel like, and some people may not like to hear this, but I feel like I I will take a pork rind or a potato chip any day of the week. Any day of the week right now with where I sit in life.

Trust Luke on the pork rinds

Shanisty 29:04

And it's funny that you mentioned that because whenever I'm hosting, I will also have pork rinds out, and they're one of the first things to go because it's unique, it's something different. You don't usually see pork rinds served with your dips, and uh you don't see it on the side of uh of many things. So, like I said, a bunch of different flavors. They've really come a long way. You know, I I sometimes when people think of pork rinds, they think of the things at the gas station that look like a piggy or and it's just they're not like that anymore.

Luke 29:32

It's not bad. It's delicious. Trust me, trust me, trust me.

Hot honey is Shanisty's favorite too

Shanisty 29:35

Very, yeah.

Spicy dill is also really good

Luke 29:36

Okay, all the flavors you mentioned, what's your favorite? I said hot honey was mine, what's yours?

Shanisty 29:40

I know, I know. I hate to piggyback, but hot honey is the best one. I think spicy dill is really well, is really good as well if you want a little bit of a kick. But the hot honey one is like it's amazing. And that's one I actually use on a lot of recipes is the hot honey because it just has that extra flavor that you weren't expecting. It just kind of seeks up on you and it's really, really delicious. And they're it they're not too hot, too. I think some people get nervous about hot, the word hot in anything. I don't think they're too spicy. I think they've got a really great flavor.

Food segment stories from TV career

Luke 30:11

Yeah, I I I had to bring it back. I saw what you did a minute ago when you said piggy back on there. So I appreciate that pun right there. Um, and I also agree, like I am, I I do not like hot. I'm not a spicy guy. I don't like hot, but there's none of these flavors that make me be like, oh, I can't, I can't eat it. Because people make fun, they're like, I'll start sweating and everything if I get something too hot. And like these have the perfect amount of spice for a guy that's a little bit uh spice averse, if you will.

The anchor who hated spicy — got set up

Shanisty 30:38

Oh my gosh. Uh, you know, I I wish, well, you know, if I ever see you in person, I did a segment once with um a couple of news anchors that was like a take off the hot ones. Have you seen hot ones on YouTube?

Luke 30:50

Like that I mean, I've seen them before. I don't watch it because I was like, I don't want anything to do with anything that hot.

Friend prank with hot sauce back in the day

Shanisty 30:56

But one of the anchors I did not know, like he hated, he hated spicy and they totally set him up. And they were like, oh, he's gonna be so excited, all this stuff. The poor guy was just like swollen and like crying, and just I was I felt terrible. I felt terrible. So I'm glad you brought up the point of hot, you know, even at tailgates, I think it's totally acceptable to put on there like a little note that says this is spicy or contains jalapenos or something. And you can even have jalapenos on the side of your dips or have the hot sauce on the side. That way people can kind of make their own because there's a lot of people, you know, out there, a lot of adults that just can't handle the spice. And you don't want to be miserable. You don't want to be miserable for the entire game because you accidentally picked up a wing that was inferno or whatever, you know?

That would have been done to her too

Luke 31:46

Yep, yep, yep. I I remember, like, not to get off topic here, but I remember I had a friend back in the day when we were in college and he worked at a wing restaurant, and he would bring me uh like leftover wings because I was a poor college kid at the time, but he would always sneak one like really, really, really hot wing in there, and it's like, good luck finding it. And I was like, I loved him for bringing me the wings, but I hated him for that one part too.

Favorite tailgate game — washers (not cornhole)

Shanisty 32:10

Well, that's evil. I uh I mean funny, because that's probably something somebody would have done to me as well. But yeah, yeah, that's funny.

Luke 32:19

Good stuff. All right, uh, so let's uh get to know you a little bit better here with a few tailgating questions. Favorite tailgating game. Do you have a favorite tailgating game?

Shanisty 32:29

Game?

Luke 32:30

Game.

Shanisty 32:30

I've been to is that what you were gonna do?

She didn't know it was called washers

Luke 32:32

Well, no, like I think cornhole, beer pong, like a game you played a tailgate.

It IS called washers

Shanisty 32:36

Well, I mean, I saw on your bio that you're like the cornhole champion, so I feel like I should say cornhole, but um, yeah. But um, I do, I mean, I do love cornhole. That was the big one uh in in college. That was a lot of fun. Um, can jam's a lot of fun. Um we do that one a lot. Um, what else do we do? We have, I don't know what it's called, but we have washers. Do you know what I'm talking about? And you you gotta throw the washers. What is that called?

Neighbor confirmed it

Luke 33:03

It's actually called washers.

Shanisty 33:06

Is it is it really called that? Oh my gosh. You see, a neighbor told me it was called washers, and I was like, yeah, right. It's not all the washers.

Luke 33:13

No, they weren't, they weren't, they weren't lying, too.

Washers is fun

Shanisty 33:16

Yeah, well, that one's fun too. I like I like washers. Um, but you know, I'm glad tailgate games are just so fun. I just think you gotta have them at every tailgate for sure.

Favorite tailgate food — marinated grilled chicken breast

Luke 33:26

Agreed. And there's so there's so many out there now, too. And that's why I always like to kind of spread the gospel of just like, there's more than just like ladder ball, washers, beer pong, cornhole. I mean, it goes on. I mean, there's hundreds of tailgating games now because it's blown, especially since it's COVID. Like it's blown up because of all the gays people want to play. All right, so we got your favorite game. What's your favorite? I mean, we talked about some of the foods you would grill, but if someone's grilling something for you, you can have your favorite grilled meal at a tailgate. What's that gonna be?

Shanisty 33:54

Oh my gosh, I'm gonna be so boring, but I love a good marinated grilled chicken breast. Like I'm talking really good barbecue, ranch, all of the good things. I love chicken. My family makes fun of me because I could make it and serve it every single night of the week, but I love chicken and wings too. Excellent.

Tracking

Luke 34:17

I mean, a chicken is a is a wing, right? So chicken wings, yes, chicken.

Favorite tailgate snack — dips and Chex Mix

Shanisty 34:21

Yep, yep, yep. You're you're tracking.

Luke 34:25

All right. So aside from pork prize, what's your favorite teal getting snack?

One non-food thing every tailgate needs — music

Shanisty 34:28

Snack. Um I mean, dips, any kind of a dip is really good, I think. I also really like, you know, at the checks mix that are really spicy that they mix up with the nuts and the, you know, I don't know exactly what people everyone calls it something different, but you know, it's it's kind of got all of the ranch and the seasonings, and it's just something that you can grab and go, that's something that I love. I have a recipe for it. I can't remember what it was called. It was my husband's grandmother's recipe, but any kind of like spicy checks, I know you don't like spice, but I I love a little bit is good, but inferno status is no bueno. It's fair, that's fair. I I I get that.

Music with variety — not just one genre

Luke 35:11

All right. Um, what's the aside from from food, what's one thing that every tailgate needs to be fun that you want to go to? Like what's something that it has to have aside from food?

Favorite tailgating song

Shanisty 35:22

I think music. It's gotta have some tunes. Yes. If you have a tailgate that does not have music, and I'm not talking like you have to blare out the neighbors with, you know, profanity, but you've gotta have music. Otherwise, it's just a dead, it's just dead, and you're just sitting there. If if if I don't have tailgate, or if I don't have music at the tailgate, I'm at, I'm looking at the people that have the music, and I'm like, I think I'm gonna go hang out with them now.

For Alabama games — Sweet Home Alabama and Dixieland Delight

Luke 35:48

All right, so music, but what do you have a favorite tailgating song? Like if this if this were to come on this fall when you're sitting at a bear's tailgate or something, like what are you gonna jam to? What's that be that tune?

Shanisty 36:01

I mean, so I would say, well, bears, maybe not, but if I'm going to Alabama, it's home, Alabama, it's Dixieland Delight, it's all those, you know, Rocky Top, even though that's a Tennessee song. Um, but those are all the songs that kind of, I don't know, it just takes me back to like the college bar days when it was like everyone sing that, and it's like, woo, you know, it's a lot of fun.

Ohio State — Hang on Sloopy

Luke 36:26

Well, sure. I remember because I'm a University of South Carolina alumni, so I'm from the South as well, too. And so like Sweet Carolina would be one of the ones that they pump in the in the stadium and everything, too.

Shanisty 36:36

Yeah, and if you're going down Ohio State, it's Hang on Sloopy. That's the one everyone just goes crazy over. Yeah.

That IS the Ohio State song

Luke 36:44

We interviewed the Ohio State host like a week ago, and he said that exact same song on there. So that is the song for Ohio State, no doubt about it.

Shanisty 36:52

That is, yeah, the song for the Ohio State University.

Luke 36:57

All right, so one of the things, I don't I don't know if I coined this term, but there's a term that I have, and it's called instead of tailgating, it's called failgating. So basically, something that went wrong at the tailgate. What is something people need to avoid to make sure they don't have a failgating experience when it comes to food?

Other tips or anything else?

Shanisty 37:16

When it comes to food, okay. Um, well, you have to have enough, okay, because if you don't, people are gonna be moving on. You have to have enough food, you have to have enough drink, you also have to have trash cans, things people can throw stuff away. That's gonna be a nightmare for the host. And also, I mean, this is gonna sound ridiculous, but I don't go anywhere without baby wipes and just like little tiny wet, wet ones, just things that people can wipe their hands with because hopefully they're getting really messy with the sauces and the ribs. So I think thinking of all of those things, uh, making sure that you have enough seating if people want to sit, the games, the music, you just gotta have it all. And I think that now is the time to start preparing it, making those checklists and making sure you have everything and then keep that checklist for next year so you know what to bring and you know what to expect.

Luke 38:09

Excellent. Excellent. All right. Um, well, that's what I had for us today. Are there any other tips or anything else you wanted to share that we didn't get to that we need to make sure people know about?

Shanisty 38:20

No, I just think preparing and having a good time. And um, you know, I guess one thing is just don't say next year we'll host or next year we'll go. Just make it happen and go and have a great time. Make it happen. I like it. Make it happen. Yeah, yeah.

Five kids so YouTube is a work in progress

Luke 38:38

Excellent. Well, t well, tell people like that they're like, man, like she dropped some knowledge. I want to follow her. Where can people find you? Get give your shameless plug for yourself right now.

Still does TV segments — Columbus local stations

Shanisty 38:46

Sure. Um, I'm on Instagram. It's just at Shannisty Ireland. I have a YouTube channel. I'm trying really hard. My 12-year-old is trying to help me. It's it's not nearly what your YouTube channel is, but I'm trying. Um, and then I'm on TikTok and I also have a blog. It's called She's Becoming Domestic.com. But I tell people, Luke, if you Google my name, Shannisty Ireland, I think I'm the only one out there. So you'll find me. So it's really easy.

Nine years freelancing

Luke 39:15

So and and maybe I missed this part, but remind everybody of me too. Like, so you were in the TV biz and then you shifted gears with with the children. Where where I how long now have you been out in the TV biz and into this side of life?

Can say yes and no as a freelancer

Shanisty 39:28

I have been out for nine years doing the f doing the doing the freelance part. So I still go down to the local Columbus stations once a month. I go up to I go up to Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, and do all of that. And then I do a ton of zooms as well. But actually going into the station, punching the time clock, I've been out for nine years.

Luke 39:50

So it sounds like you still have your your toe in the in the pool over there, right? Still doing some of the fun stuff at the TV station.

Outro

Shanisty 39:57

I mean, yeah, and I don't, and I can I can say yes and I can say no. Where when you work, you know, at the station, you say yes. I miss it. You say yes, and you miss all the Christmas and you miss everything. So yeah, yeah, it's it's really good to be on this side of it.

Luke 40:13

For sure, for sure. Well, Chansey, thank you so much for being on our show today. We talk pork rhymes, we talk some good beers, recipes, tips got to know you better, got to know some of your favorite songs, all kinds of good stuff. Thank you for all the listeners that listen to the end. Thank you for listening to the end. We are your one-stop shop for all the good tailgatey stuff with the easy button tailgate. So if you need tailgate and tickets, whether it's an Alabama tailgate, Ohio State tailgate, or anything in between, tailgateconnect.com has you covered. Thank you all for tuning in. I hope to see you at a tailgate soon.

Music 40:46

Tailgate Connect, it's all here for you, four drinking friends on the