Burger Parties: Featuring Winning Recipes from Sutter Home Winery’s Build a Better Burger Contest by James McNair and Jeffrey Starr (Ten Speed Press, $19.99)
With Tucson temperatures creeping into the 80s, it is the perfect time to return to the family patio and prepare one of America’s favorite foods — the hamburger. When a prime beef patty is charred on the outside and moist and tender on the inside and then presented on a high-quality bun with all the fixings, is there really anything better?
James McNair, who has written more than 40 cookbooks and the honorary chairman of the Sutter Home Winery’s Build a Better Burger Contest, and Jeffrey Starr, the culinary director and executive chef for Trinchero Family Estates, sifted through the thousands of recipes that were submitted for the 20th annual event at the winery in the Napa Valley in California to find the top burger in the United States. Their new cookbook features the very best.
The collection is divided into sixteen main chapters: A Place in the Sun (Wine Country-Style Outdoor Lunch); Big Fat Greek Night; Burgers and Blues (New Orleans Jazz Brunch); Burgers in Paradise (Think tropics!); By the Sea (Picnic at the Shore); Fall Frolic (Autumn Harvest Afternoon); Festa Italiana; Flip ‘n’ Splash (Poolside Gathering); From the Good Earth (Celebrating Bounty in the Garden); Game Plan (Evening of Sports, Cards, or Boards); Jamaican Me Hungry (Caribbean Cookout); Moroccan Mystique; Sip and Slide (Wine and Slider Tasting); Southeast Asian Odyssey (Exotic Street Fare Adventure); Southwest Fiesta (Border Food Feast); and Summer and Smoke (Southern Garden Party Barbecue). In addition, there are hints on how to create the perfect burger party, how to make good burgers even better, and pairing wine with burgers.
Three recipes were tested from “Burger Parties.” The Smokey-Sweet Bacon Burger with Apple-Blue Cheese Slaw was a nice change of pace. My two favorites came from the Southwest Fiesta chapter. The Albuquerque Chicken Burgers with Jicama Slaw and Chile Cream was delicious, especially when topped off with the Cajeta Flans.
This collection is fun and features burgers in new and exciting ways. A burger isn’t necessarily just a burger if you have the ability to use a little imagination and experiment.
ALBUQUERQUE CHICKEN BURGERS with jicama slaw and chile cream
Serves 6
Cream
1 c sour cream
One and one half tsp ground dried chile, preferably ancho
Slaw
Three fourths c thinly shredded green cabbage
Three fourths c julienned jicama
One half c julienned red peppers
2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 Tbs freshly squeezed lime juice
Patties
2 lbs ground chicken thigh meat
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp died Mexican oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
One half tsp ground cloves
One and one half tsp kosher or coarse sea salt
One half tsp freshly ground pepper
6 onion rolls, split
One and one half c crumbled Cotija cheese (sometimes labeled queso anejado)
Prepare a medium hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium high (I used a gas grill)
To prepare the cream, combine the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Cover, then refrigerate until assembling the burgers.
To make the slaw, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
To make the patties, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, handling the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it, mix well. Form the mixture into 6 equal patties to fit the rolls.
Brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover, and cook, turning just once, just until the juices run clear when the patties are pierced at the center. This takes about 4 minutes per side. During the last few minutes of cooking, place the rolls, cut size down, on the outer edges of the rack to toast lightly.
To assemble the burgers, spread a generous amount of the cream on both sides of the cut sides of the rolls. On each roll bottom, place a patty, some crumbled cheese, and some slaw. Add the roll tops and serve.

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