MONROE — Pineapple salsa and a succulent piece of smoked, barbecue brisket were among the novel ingredients topping this year’s three big winners in the Green County Beef Producers’ annual “Best Burger” contest.

Now in its 10th year, the contest had 20 restaurants in the field, spanning the boundaries of Green County. All told, participants ate more than 5,400 burgers, nearly double last year’s total. The contest runs annually from May 1 through July 31.

Taking first place and awarded the contest’s giant spatula was Suisse Haus Food and Spirits. The downtown favorite sold 2,372 of its “Smokehaus” burger entry, which featured a seasoned patty with smoked brisket, onion straws, cheddar cheese and Carolina-style barbecue sauce.

“For one burger, that’s a lot of them,” said Suisse Haus owner Dan Schindler, adding that he is honored to win first place and looks forward to coming up with a new burger with his staff every year. “Once we made it and put it out there, we had a good reaction to it.”

For his part, Schindler said he is going to keep the “Smokehouse Burger” on the menu through the end of August. Putting it on the menu permanently, he said, is something he is considering but notes it might be difficult to source the brisket, while minimizing food waste. For now, though, he is comfortable saying it would be offered “periodically.”

The entry from second-place Jailhouse Tap was “Sloppy Toppy”, a creative colossus of a beef patty, two onion rings, pineapple salsa; and topped with teriyaki sweet and spicy drizzle. (The restaurant also has other adventurous burgers on its permanent menu, including a “Jailhouse Burger” with ham, and a “Blues Burger” in which blue cheese and bacon play a key role).

Third place in the contest went to the “Good, Good Smashburger” from the Fat Badger at Monroe Golf Club. That popular burger included beef and cheddar bacon topped with a “secret sauce.”

Nellie McDermott of Green County Beef Producers, who has worked the contest for years, said a whopping 175 hungry patrons ate all 20 of the featured burgers. And that is the idea behind the contest — promote the beef industry in Green County, as many, but not all, of the restaurants source their meat locally.

“Those are maybe 175 sales that maybe all of the places might not have had,” said McDermott, adding that many of the burger joints are at out of the way and in rural spots. “Some commented that the contest took them to places where they might never have even gone otherwise.”

McDermott added that in addition to signing up even more participating restaurants for 2025, organizers may expand the amount of time allotted for the contest, perhaps by starting it in April instead.

“We want to make it easier for people to try as many as they can,” she said. “That’s a lot of restaurants to go to in just a few months.”