Build A Better Burger: Celebrating Sutter Home's Annual Search for America's Best Burgers (Paperback)

by James Mcnair (Author), Bob Trinchero (Foreword) "As patties sizzling on hot grills exude their seductive aromas, Sutter Home Family Vineyards' annual nationwide search for the best burger comes to another rip-roaring..." (more)
Key Phrases: Napa Valley, San Francisco, Sauvignon Blanc (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Each summer, thousands of cooks complete in the Build a Better Burger recipe contest, a winner-takes-all national cook-off at Sutter Home Family Vineyards in Napa Valley, In this collection marking the 15th Anniversary of the cook-off best-selling cookbook author James McNair presents a mouth-watering look at the contest, including each of the 44 recipes that have won awards since BBB began. Twelve of the illustrious chefs and cookbook authors who have judged the cook-off also have their creative burgers, Sutter Home’s culinary director and executive chef, Jeffrey Starr, suggests a wine match for each and offers general burger-and wine pairing tips. With recipes bound to please every backyard cook, BUILD A BETTER BURGER is perfect summer companion.

From the Publisher
 A collection of the prize-winning recipes of the national Build a Better Burger contest, along with 12 judges’ recipes.  Represents the best of the more than 50,000 contest entries Since 1990, including Caesar Salad and Flank Steak Burgers with Garlic Crostini; Hazelnut-Crusted Lamb Burgers; Carolina Pork Barbecue Burgers; Green Chile Chicken Burgers; and Mediterranean Tuna Burgers with Lemon-Basil Mayonnaise.  Includes full-color photographs of all 56 recipes in the book.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (August 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580087205
• ISBN-13: 978-1580087209
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #414,280 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars INTERESTING RECIPES BUT WILL YOU MAKE THEM?, July 19, 2005

By	Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Build a Better Burger presents the winning recipes from the annual Build a Better Burger National Cook-off held annually and sponsored by Sutter Home. Recipes begin trickling in during the Summer and the best are invited to compete in early Fall in the beautiful Napa Valley where the grand prize is a whopping $50,000. With that kind of money on the line, you know that these are people who take their burgers seriously. The book begins with a brief but breezy history of the burger as well as some of the notable fast food burger chains such as McDonald's and White Castle.

The book presents the winning recipes by year beginning with 1990. These are no everyday burgers, however. These creative recipes use just about any ingredient you can think of. Not limited to just beef, these recipes call for ground turkey, chicken, pork, buffalo, lamb, tuna, Salmon, even Italian sausage and shrimp! Among the exotic burger recipes contained in the book are such gems as: Three nut turkey Burgers with tropical fruit salsa, Peppered Lamb Burgers with hot tomato jam, Salmon Burgers with Lemon cilantro mayonnaise, Samurai Burgers made with tuna, plum jam, and fish broth, and Chipolte Honey BBQ Bacon Burgers with Gorgonzola cheese. No...these are not your everyday backyard burgers.

That's its appeal and maybe a bit of its weakness as well. First, many of the recipes contain some rather unusual ingredients. Items such as Moscato, South African peppadew, and dried Guajillo chiles are things you probably won't find in the average grocery store. The recipes are well presented with gorgeous color photography of the finished creations. They're certainly mouth-watering to view but I wonder if they will have broad appeal. Honestly looking through the dozens of recipes I could only pick a handful that I'd really want to try out. Perhaps others are more adventurous than me. If you are, then this is certainly a great place to start for some new and exciting recipes.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Narrow Target Audience, January 27, 2009

By	Ghostman (LA, CA) - See all my reviews

I'm a sucker for cookbooks that accompany each recipe with a color photo of the end result. I saw this book for six bucks at the bargain section, so I thought it was a steal. However, when I got home to actually read some of the recipes, I was very intimidated and discouraged. I had never shopped for, nor heard of the majority of ingredients that the recipes were calling.

What I eventually realized, was that this book is listing nothing short of award-winning burgers. Thus, the contestants who were vying for a spot on this cookbook had to be extremely creative. All of these burgers would take at least an average of 30 minutes to prepare and build, not to mention tons of money spent on locating foreign ingredients that you'll probably never use again until you make the same burger in the future.

Furthermore, you will not find these gourmet burgers anywhere, other than perhaps upscale restaurants that would probably ring up tabs in the $100 range for two. It's just not practical from an average restaurant's perspective, due to the cost, time and effort required to construct one of these things.

Perhaps this is the kinda book that I'll come to appreciate several years down the road, as I hone my cooking skills and expand my culinary IQ. But currently as a self-teaching, novice chef, operating out of a small apartment kitchen, these recipes are way over my head.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars build a better burger, September 7, 2008

By	Mr. J. Mccormack "Count Johnny" (East Cork, Ireland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fabulous book - I ran a burger restaurant in Dublin, Ireland for sixteen years in the 70's and 80's and thought I knew it all 'till I saw this. Takes the humble burger to new heights. I haven't had a chance to try the recipes but they sound absolutely delicious. Tell me, how do I become a judge?