First things first: Fire up that grill! With the air a bit chillier and the leaves changing colors, we know it’s football season. And it’s the perfect time to stuff our faces with delicious tailgate dishes. Schweid & Sons are here to help you with the most important part of the meal: the burger.

No matter what team you root for, football fans have something in common: the love of combining great-tasting food with football. And burgers are the centerpiece of any great tailgate party.

Chips and dip are fine, but what fans want is to bite into a juicy patty. And chef Nick Hufft, owner of Curbside, a popular burger joint and food truck in Louisiana, knows this. He uses Schweid & Sons patties to create the mouthwatering burgers on his menu.

Chef Hufft offers the following tips to make an amazing tailgate burger:

1. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Do this right before you cook your patties, adding too early could pull out too much moisture and dry out your meat.
2. Sear, don’t smash. Especially when your cooking on a grill. You want the burger to keep its juiciness, and not extract it. You can do this by getting one side of your grill extremely hot and searing in the flavor. After patties are seared on both sides, use the other side of the grill to cook through. This will allow you to do that without burning your burgers. It will give you that perfect temperature to melt the cheese.
3. Keep the toppings simple. Cheese, onions, and bacon is all you need. You can add more flavors (lettuce, tomato, mushrooms, etc.), but keeping it simple with solid ingredients is the way to go.

These tips will come in handy when you try this recipe made with Schweid & Sons Sliders. They are the perfect size patties for a tailgate party. 

Curbside Slider

Ingredients

1 package Schweid & Sons Sliders

1 large onion, sliced thin

1 package white squishy burger buns (no more than 3-inches across)

2 tablespoons olive oil

American cheese

Dill pickle slices (optional)

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. On a stove-top, preheat a skillet over medium heat with oil (on a grill, use a camp griddle) about 5 minutes.
2. Add thinly sliced onions to the skillet and cook until onions are golden-brown on one side. Give the onions a quick stir, releasing them from the skillet.
3. Place Schweid & Sons sliders on top of the onions. Using the back of a spatula gently spread the patties out to about 3 inches in diameter.
4. Season the burgers lightly with salt and pepper. Cook until brown on one side, approximately 3 minutes.
5. Flip one, placing a slice of cheese immediately on the patty, as well as the bottom of the bun, upside down.
6. Place the tops of the buns cut side down, on top of the bottom buns so they steam from the cooking of the ground beef and onions.
7. Once other side is brown, remove and serve. Pickle slices are optional.

Curbside introduced this slider at the Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festival.

To find where you can buy Schweid & Sons Sliders near you, visit https://schweid2017.npgdev.com/locations/.