We were very busy the last couple weeks, so please forgive us, but on June 29, 2012, WindsorEats, along with Jay Souilliere of Motor Burger and others, was proud to be a judge for CBC Windsor‘s burger competition, searching for the best burger in Windsor. The recipes came flooding in to CBC Windsor with 3 being selected as the finalists.

So here they are, the recipes for the 3 finalists:

Tina Gobbo's Italian Burger in CBC Windsor’s 2012 search for Windsor’s best barbecued burger

Tina Gobbo’s Italian Burger

  • 1 lb. lean ground beef
  • 1/2 lb. sweet or hot capicollo sliced
  • 1/4 tsp of each salt, black pepper, chopped fresh oregano and basil
  • 1 med. size red pepper
  • 4 slices of provolone cheese
  • 4 ciabatta or onion buns
  • Italian Relish
  • 1 cup jarred gardinera drained (pickled vegetables)
  • 1/4 cup mayo
  • 1 tsp. lemon juice (half a fresh lemon)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Preparations:

  • Take the sliced capicollo and put in a food processor and blend until fine ground.
  • Add to ground beef, also add seasonings and mix until well blended. Form a round ball and divide into four, make patties and make a small dent in the middle of the burgers, this helps when grilling burgers. Place burgers on hot grill. Grill about 8-10minutes on each side, do not try and flatten burgers.
  • While burgers are cooking coat red pepper in oil (olive or veg) cut top and bottom off peppers and then cut remaining pepper into four pieces and place all 6 pieces of pepper skin side down on grill. Grill until you have nice grill marks on the peppers and then flip over and do the same. Once done set aside. This can be done ahead of time.
  • Once burgers are almost done place a piece of pepper on each burger and then Prolovone cheese. close lid and let cheese melt.
  • To make the relish, place the top and bottom of grilled pepper in food processor until pureed, add Gardinera and pulse until coarsely ground, place in bowl and add lemon juice, mayo and salt and pepper to taste. This can also be made ahead of time.
  • Assemble burgers on toasted buns and place a spoonful of relish on burgers and enjoy!
Jerry Stasiuk and his Jer-Bear’s Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger in CBC Windsor’s 2012 search for Windsor’s best barbecued burger

Jerry Stasiuk and his Jer-Bear’s Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger

Serves 2 to 3 people:

  • 1 pound freshly ground skinless turkey breast meat only
  • 1 Granny Smith apple peeled and finely diced
  • 1 stalk of celery also finely diced
  • 2 green onions thinly sliced (just a bit of the green portion)
  • ½ fresh lemon; juice and grated zest
  • 2 tablespoons pureed mango Major Grey Chutney
  • 1 teaspoon Tabasco hot sauce
  • 2 teaspoons canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon ground sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Burger Preparation:

  • Sauté the green onions, celery and diced apple in canola oil until tender & cool
  • Place ground turkey meat with all ingredients in mixing bowl
  • Refrigerate for minimum 2 hours to macerate flavours
  • Shape into 4 ounce burgers and keep refrigerated until grill is ready
  • Place on pre-heated lightly oiled grill for approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side
  • until meat is cooked through. Let cooked meat stand for a couple of minutes
  • serve on grilled whole wheat bun with Anjou Pear Chutney (recipe below)

Anjou Pear Chutney:

  • 1 Anjou pear peeled and finely diced
  • ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground sea salt
  • 1 cup Major Grey Chutney
  • 2 tablespoons of dried currants or raisins

Chutney Preparation:

  • Toss dice pear with cinnamon and salt
  • In pre-heated oven of 350 degrees bake on parchment paper covered sheet for
  • 10 minutes
  • Cool and mix with Major Grey Chutney and currants or raisins
  • Spoon on turkey burger and enjoy
Dan Cockerham’s Peanut Butter Bacon Burger in CBC Windsor’s 2012 search for Windsor’s best barbecued burger

Dan Cockerham’s Peanut Butter Bacon Burger

For 4 patties, 6oz each.

  • 24oz, 50/50 mix of lean and medium ground beef. Fresh.
  • 1 tsp mustard powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter

Preparations:

  • Mix well. Hand form. Let refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to solidify before grilling.
  • You need a grill with a second level grilling shelf, or you make your own raised grill platform with 3 inch high legs that you can put above of the burgers. Toss the patties on the grill, when done half way and you flip them (assuming they will be cooked med to med-well) you lay 2 strips of bacon per patty on the grill platform sitting just above the patties. The bacon will grill quickly and crisp up very nicely. And all the delicious bacon fat will drizzle down onto the burger patties for the final few minutes of cook time.
  • Melt some medium cheddar on each patty.
  • The bun choice is either whole wheat or well buttered Texas toast.
  • Caramelized onions are option.

The competition was fierce and voting was extremely close (just 1.5 points separated 1st from 3rd on my card), but Tina Gobbo’s Italian Burger was a unanimous champ. Congratulations Tina!