No fairweather fans here!

Once a year, in late summer, occurs this state's most emotional football match-up of the season. 

Now, my alma mater is the perpetual underdog in this annual event. As we rejoice in small victories, celebrating positive yardage, first downs, and successful open-field tackles, nothing softens the blow of inevitable defeat like a certain quantity of beer. However, before the game begins, while we still have hope that a day of upset after upset in other match-ups may somehow mean the same outcome for us, nothing tastes better than a great tailgate burger.

I'm not usually the one to host the tailgate, but this year, living minutes walk from the stadium made my place pretty ideal. In honor of my beloved team, I thought I'd class it up a little and attempt making my own burger patties.

I found an easy recipe with a relatively short list of ingredients, something I could make quickly and easily that morning.

Tailgate Burgers

Ingredients:

I used 3 pounds of 85/15 (15% fat) ground beef for about 12 patties.

1/2 onion, finely chopped

3 tsp soy sauce

3 tsp Worcester sauce

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper (or, my personal method, a few good shakes from the shaker)

1. Place ground beef in a large mixing bowl and add the above ingredients.

2. Knead until the ingredients are spread evenly throughout.

3. Form into burger patties. I made 12, about 1/4 pound burgers, but bigger would be tasty too.

4. Grill! And add toppings of your choice. (I found some amazing Wisconsin cheddar-bacon cheese, does it get better than that?)

5. And pair with a great beer. I love local beers and have found a good one brewed in Knoxille, IA. I have to admit, I bought Cornucopia by Peace-Tree Brewing Company for the great-looking bottle, and I'm going to keep buying it for the great taste!