The winner was recently announced of this year’s Build A Better Burger Contest sponsored by Sutter Home.  The winner was Kristine Snyder from Hawaii with her Hawaii Da Kine Burgers with Sweet Chili Glaze, Ginger Goat Cheese Spread and Hot Watercress Salad.  Susan Scarborough was the runner-up winning $10,000 for her Tidewater Boil Burgers with Charred Sweet Corn Salsa and Lemon-Lime Crem-onnaise.

Here are the winning recipes.

Hawaii Da Kine Burgers with Sweet-Chili Glaze, Ginger-Goat Cheese Spread, and Hot Watercress Salad

Ingredients

Ginger-Goat Cheese Spread

• 4 ounces Surfing Goat Dairy Rolling Green goat cheese (made with fresh garlic chives) or other garlic-flavored mild goat cheese
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 1/2 tablespoons finely minced fresh ginger

Patties

• 3 ounces spicy Hawaiian Portuguese sausage or other Portuguese sausage, such as linguica
• 2 pounds ground chuck
• 1/3 cup minced ripe papaya
• 1/3 cup minced Maui or other sweet onion
• 5 teaspoons McCormick’s Gourmet Collection Asian-style Spiced Sea Salt, or 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

Sweet-Chili Glaze

• 2/3 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Japanese shoyu (soy sauce), preferably Yamasa brand

Hot Watercress Salad

• 3 tablespoons macadamia nut oil or peanut oil
• 2 small ripe Hass avocados, pitted, peeled, and thinly sliced lengthwise
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, preferably Meyer variety
• 1/2 ripe papaya, coarsely chopped
• 5 cups chopped watercress
• 2 small Maui or other sweet onions, thinly sliced and separated into rings
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons Japanese shoyu (soy sauce), preferably Yamasa brand

• Vegetable oil, for brushing on the grill rack
• 6 high-quality seeded hamburger buns or sandwich rolls, split

Directions

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium-high.

To make the spread, combine the cheese, mayonnaise, and ginger in a small bowl. Cover and set aside.

To make the patties, place the sausage in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl and add the chuck, papaya, onion, and spiced salt. Combine well, handling the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it. Form into 6 patties and refrigerate until ready to grill.

To make the glaze, combine the sweet chili sauce and soy sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.

To make the salad, pour the oil into a fire-proof skillet and heat on the grill until it reaches its smoking point. While the oil is heating, halve the avocado slices and place in a large bowl. Add the lemon juice and toss gently. Layer the papaya, watercress, onions, garlic, and pepper flakes over the avocado and carefully drizzle the hot oil over the top. Add the soy sauce and toss to combine.

Brush the grill rack with oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes per side, basting often with the glaze until the desired doneness is reached. During the last few minutes of cooking, place the buns cut sides down on the outer edges of the rack to toast lightly.

To assemble the burgers, spread the goat cheese spread over the cut sides of the bun tops. Place a patty on each bun bottom and top with equal portions of the salad. Add the bun tops and devour.

Makes 6 burgers

Suggested Wine Pairing: Zinfandel

Comments: Hawaii’s Surfing Goat Dairy has won 16 national awards, and their cheese can be found in Hawaii and California or purchased online. Due to papaya’s tenderizing enzyme, do not make the patties more than 2 hours before grilling. Some sweet onions can still have a pungent bite. To remove the “bite,” soak the onion slices in iced water for 15 to 20 minutes; drain on paper towels. The quality of the buns or rolls is more important than the type. They should be fresh and moist but not airy or delicate; they need to be substantial enough to hold the patties without falling apart.

Kristine Snyder, Kihei, Hawaii

Tidewater Boil Burgers with Charred Sweet Corn Salsa and Lemon-Lime Crem-onnaise

The southeast coast of the U.S. from Maryland to Texas is riddled with back yards serving up these same fresh ingredients as Frogmore stew, lowcountry boil, or tidewater boil. This built-on-a-bun version has all the elements that are usually tossed in a pot: seasoned crab, shrimp, corn, sausage, and even potatoes. Spread some newspaper on the picnic table and dig in, America.

Ingredients

Charred Sweet Corn And Chorizo Salsa

• 1 large ear fresh sweet corn
• 2 tablespoons Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup small diced chorizo or kielbasa sausage
• 3 tablespoons minced Vidalia onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Lemon-Lime Crem-onnaise

• 1/2 cup quality mayonnaise, preferably southern-made Duke’s
• 1/4 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (3 key limes or 1 regular)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly pressed garlic
• 6 soft medium-large quality bakery potato buns, split

Crab N Shrimp Patties

• 1 pound fresh crab meat, picked through for shells
• 3/4 pound fresh medium wild-caught North American shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped
• 1 large fresh egg plus 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon Creole mustard
• 1/4 cup minced green onion, including green part
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning, such as Zatarain’s or Old Bay
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs

• Vegetable oil, for brushing on the grill rack

Directions

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium-high.

To make the salsa, clean the corn and brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Place directly over the hottest part of the grill. Cover and grill the corn, turning as needed, until char marks appear on some areas, about 10 minutes. Cut the kernels from the cob with a sharp knife and place into a small mixing bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. In a small frying pan over the grill rack or side burner, cook the sausage until browned, then transfer with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the corn. Add the onion, parsley, salt, and pepper and toss. Cover and set aside.

To make the crem-onnaise, in a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, crema, lime juice, and lemon juice. Cover and chill.

Melt the butter with the garlic in a small skillet over the rack, and then remove from the heat. Brush the cut sides of the buns with about 3 tablespoons of the garlic butter.

To make the patties, in a medium bowl, lightly mix the crab, shrimp, beaten egg and egg white, mustard, onion, lemon zest, salt, seafood seasoning, and 2 tablespoons of the remaining garlic butter. Add half of the panko and let rest 5 minutes. Add additional panko as needed until a good consistency for forming. Form into 6 patties. Brush the patties with the remaining garlic butter. Set aside at room temperature.

Brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover, and cook until just opaque inside, turning once, about 6 minutes total. Meanwhile grill the buns until golden.

To assemble the burgers, spread the buns with the crem-onaisse, place the patties on the bottom buns, top with the salsa, and add the bun tops.

Makes 6 burgers

Suggested Wine Pairing: Chardonnay

Susan Scarborough, Fernandina Beach, Florida