MONROE — You may think you eat a lot of hamburgers and cheeseburgers, but maybe not as many as the 150 people in the region who devoured all 15 juicy entries in this year’s Green County Beef Producers’ Best Burger Contest 2023. And they have the receipts to prove it.

Indeed, thousands of burgers were sold to many who did not complete the whole burger tour, but nonetheless, got a great sampling of the creativity and quality of burgers from area kitchens, organizers said. 

The top prize — Best Burger 2023 — went to New Glarus’ Ott House, with its Ott Haus Burger, a fresh beef patty topped with homemade bourbon bacon jam and Swiss cheese.

“We were very surprised to win, it was our first year doing the contest,” said Ott Haus owner Amber Tierman, who said she sold so many, it was hard to keep track of the exact number.

The customers were asked to rank the burgers from 1 to 10 on their ballots and write a word or two of comments about each burger.

“Green County has so much to offer,” said Nelli McDermott, the organization’s chair, when asked to summarize many of the comments received about the contest on various entry forms. “It was hard to decide (a winner) among so many entries.”

The second-place win went to Monroe’s Minhas Kitchen for its ‘Slayer Burger;’ while Suisse Haus took third for its Bleu Bomber. The Slayer is a half-pounder, with Swiss cheese, onion straws, peppered bacon; and King Sauce on a sourdough bun. The Bomber is a third-pound patty with a special seasoning blend, topped with Red Rock Cheddar Bleu Cheese, piled with pickled red onions, a secret sauce; and jalapenos. 

Many also responded that they hope all the various restaurants in the county keep their burger entries permanently on the menu. Still others said they enjoy the contest and look forward to seeing what the chefs come up with year after year, according to McDermott.

The Beef Producers’ announce the winner of the contest each year at their annual steak fry event at The Green County Fairgrounds.