Editor's note: The following is one in a series of tailgating articles that will be posted weekly throughout the football season.SALT LAKE CITY — Well, we’ve done it, just like the Utes: Last week we failed to deliver on our duty to submit a tailgating article and disappointed our fans.

We wish we had a better excuse than a wicked work-related travel schedule, but we don’t. It’s a sad excuse, but putting on an epic tailgate isn’t free. Anyway, our apologies for missing last week; here’s this week’s installment of the Utah Pig Bus tailgate adventures.…

It was a rough week, on and off the football field. The cold, wind and rain hurt the performance of our tailgate even more than it hurt the performance of our team. But, being the Utah Pig Bus Tailgate Boy Scouts that we are, we soldier on and make the best of the situation. To that end, we decided to provide some tips for the not-so-fair-weather fans' tailgate even when there’s a tropical depression heading their way.

No. 1: The weather forecaster is your friend.

Regardless of how many times the weather man has disappointed with his boom-or-bust forecasts, always prepare for the worst when he's predicting the next “WeatherMageddon” is coming. The timing for college football in Utah leads to some challenging weather circumstances. Utah’s weather is about as unpredictable as Utah football’s offense, as hot as the surface of the sun one game and as cold as a Fargo tundra the next. This is the reason almost all the clothing in our closets is red. You never know which will end up as your outer layer, and you’ve got to represent!

For the Utah Pig Bus Crew, our weather modus operandi has always been to stash warm-weather stuff in the bus (except umbrellas. Umbrellas are not allowed in Rice-Eccles Stadium and most other stadiums. Don’t be that guy/gal). That’s a great upside of having a bus with plentiful storage; you can be prepared for every imaginable weather event. Plastic weather gear is inexpensive and you can get freebies from different product vendors who give them out when it’s perfectly sunny out. Hoard those, and when it pours, you can be the hero and hand out dozens of garishly colored, logo-festooned rain ponchos to your grateful, but ill-prepared, friends.

No. 2: Store towels, towels and more towels.

As "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy" famously noted, “A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.” What rings true for interstellar hitchhikers rings true for college football tailgaters — a towel is a massively useful thing. We make it a point of stocking up on oversize beach towels when they go on sale every fall at the local big-box store. Sadly, our towels will never see the beach, but they’re great for drying up just about anything and everything that’s soaking wet and will save you a lot on paper towels. Just remember to take them home and wash them when the party wraps up, lest you discover a mildewed mound of what used to be towels when you next pull your tailgate vehicle out of storage. Yeah, we’ve made that mistake a time or two.…

No. 3: Keep the menu simple.

It goes without saying that bad weather doesn’t lend itself to breaking out the smoker and prepping 40 pounds of brisket. Bad weather means cooking up delicious stews, chili and anything you can put in a Dutch oven that will delight the belly and warm your cold bones while you watch the waterfalls cascade off your pop-up tent. You can have a fun tailgate under a tent, waiting on a bowl of tender beef or pork chili goodness to finish up. At times we prefer bad-weather tailgates because they tend to be more mellow, less crowded and easier to clean up. Plus, you really get to know who the REAL fans are during these tailgates because, come hell or high water, they’ll be there with you enjoying a bowl of warm deliciousness, wearing a hideous poncho and having a great day ... regardless of how your team does on the field.

We’ll keep writing about tailgating as the season rolls on, and we’d love to answer any questions you might have. Visit www.utahpigbus.com for more info or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook!

Welby Evangelista (@utahpigbus) and Ryan Lufkin (@ryanLufkin)

Menu note:

Our Pig Bus Green Chili Verde has become somewhat famous in the last few years. While we slow-smoke the pork and fire-roast the fresh chilies ourselves, here’s a version of our recipe you can make at home:

PIG BUS GREEN CHILI VERDE

• ½ cup olive oil
• 4 cups chopped onion
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 serrano peppers, chopped
• 4 jalapeno peppers, chopped
• 20 Anaheim peppers, left whole
• 15 tomatillos
• 3 pounds pork shoulder, cut into about 1-inch cubes
• 1 quart chicken stock, plus more if needed
• 3 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons salt (more to taste)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add 1/2 cup of olive oil. Stir in the onion, garlic, serrano and jalapeno peppers and cook until soft. Remove from heat and set aside.

Place the pork shoulder in a large heavy-bottomed pot, coated with oil (2-3 tablespoons), over medium heat, and sear until well browned on all sides. Deglaze with the chicken broth and then add onions and peppers. Turn heat to low, cover and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Combine the garlic powder, black pepper, ground cumin, Mexican oregano, ground coriander and salt in a small bowl, then add to pork mixture and stir well.

Meanwhile, place the Anaheim peppers on a sheet pan.

Peel the outer paper skins off the tomatillos, then coat with olive oil and place on another sheet pan. Place both pans in the preheated oven and roast until the peppers are nicely charred and the tomatillos are soft. This takes about 20 minutes.

Remove pans from the oven and place the peppers in a plastic bag to let them steam for 5 minutes. This lets you easily peel and seed the peppers; then puree them with the tomatillos in a food processor. Add the puree to the pork mixture, stir, and then let simmer on low heat.

Let the chili mixture simmer for approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours on medium-low heat, or until pork is nice and tender.

Serve to the cold and huddled masses!

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