Owensboro Burger Week kicks off Friday, March 3rd here in Owensboro, Kentucky, and the third annual event is shaping up to the big the biggest and best ever!  And, like he has the previous two years, Jim Gilles, who owns Hillview Farms Meats here in town, is a proud Burger Week sponsor.

Hillview, of course, is incredibly well-known for their locally-raised beef. If you visit their farm store, you'll find a variety of steaks, beef tips and, yes, beef burgers.

I am a huge Burger Week fan.

Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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I have been an official judge the last two years and, in 2022, I ate 26 of the 32 burgers available in just five days. This year, Burger Week's expanding to nine days and there are 37 restaurants competing, which is a record number of participants for the event. **I have photos of this year's competing burgers below!!

To help get people excited about Owensboro Burger Week and to celebrate Hillview's sponsorship, I shopped Jim's farm store last week and, with the help of trusty sous chef Nina Wathen, put together four hamburger kits that you can make at home. Each one features Jim's famous Hillview Farms Meats' beef patties and a variety of Kentucky Proud products that will enhance the flavor.

Here's what we came up with!  By the way, we (and some lucky customers who were in the right place at the right time) sampled these and every single one was a hit!

THE HILLVIEW BOURBON & GARLIC BURGER

Nina Wathen
Nina Wathen
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This burger was SENSATIONAL. And, look. I speak as someone who has judged Owensboro Burger Week on a couple of occasions. This burger is good enough to win and it's made entirely with ingredients you can find at Hillview Farms Meats.

I roasted garlic cloves, which had been coated in olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper, in the oven (400 degrees for about 40 minutes). My other sous chef Brooklyn minced those when they were finished. I generously seasoned the burger patties with Hillview Farms' Butter & Garlic Seasoning, then cooked them in farm-fresh butter. I toasted the buns in the oven, then spooned onto each a tablespoon of Rattlesnake Hill Farm's Bourbon Garlic Glaze, which I heated on the stove. We shredded some Country View sharp shredded cheese and topped the burger with spinach, tomato, red onion, our roasted garlic and another generous dollop of the Bourbon Garlic Glaze.

Nina Wathen
Nina Wathen
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The burgers were juicy, delicious and incredibly popular with everyone who tried them!

THE HILLVIEW FARMS MEATS MEXICAN BURGER

Nina Wathen
Nina Wathen
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There's no disputing that this was THE most popular burger I made last week. For me, it's another Owensboro Burger Week contender and it's made entirely with products available at Hillview Farms Meats.

Nina Wathen
Nina Wathen
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The burgers were seasoned with Hillview's new Spicewalla spice selection. I seasoned one beef patty with the Chilli Lime Steak Fajita blend and the other with the Carne Asada Tacos blend. The burgers were sauteed in butter. The buns were lathered in the Mexikana Spread and toasted.

We topped the burgers with shredded Spicy Chipotle cheese from Country View, spicy locally-grown microgreens and Winchester, KY-based Ale-8 salsa.  I topped one burger with Ale-8's Spicy Tomato Salsa and the other with Ale-8's Sweet Salsa.  Plus, I threw on a little red onion.

These burgers were increiblemente delicioso. Do yourself a favor! Go to Hillview Farms Meats and get every single thing you see in the photo above. Your Mexican burgers are going to be AMAZING!

THE HILLVIEW FARMS MEATS PIZZA BURGER

Nina Wathen
Nina Wathen
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Hands down, pizza is my favorite food. A good burger is likely a close second. So, I was really excited to use Hillview Farms Meats products to craft my version of a pizza burger. Here's what I used, though I have already pinpointed additional ingredients I will use the next time I make these.

Here's what you do!

Coat the burger (both sides) in Spicewalla's Sicilian Pizza blend. Don't be shy.  Use it liberally!  Cook that burger in a skillet (medium heat) in butter or olive oil.  Then shred some locally-produced mozzarella cheese and warm up some of the LocalFolks Foods pizza sauce.  Also, toast the buns and bake some mozzarella into both sides!

Build the burger this way. Spread some tomato sauce on the bottom bun. Place the burger on top of it. Top the burger with Pepperizo from Hillview's new artisan meats line. Pepperizo, by the way, is a blend of pepperoni and chorizo (a spicy, Italian sausage). Top that with another tablespoon of pizza sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. It's like Sicily meets Kentucky!  Delicious and your kids will LOVE it!

**Pro tip.  I would also consider topping that pizza burger with your favorite pizza veggies- onion, peppers, mushrooms. I would also consider cooking up some of Hillview Farms Meats' "medium" sausage and topping the burger with that AND the Pepperizo. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to sprinkle a pinch of Spicewalla onto the top of the finished product just before serving.

THE HILLVIEW FARMS MEATS SPINACH & ARTICHOKE BURGER

Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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This burger is an exercise in simple and delicious! Here's a look at the ingredients I used to craft this one.

Nina Wathen
Nina Wathen
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I dusted the burgers with some salt and pepper and cooked them (on medium heat) in olive oil. While the burgers were cooking, I diced up fresh Roma tomatoes and gathered some beautiful spinach leaves.  I toasted with buns in the oven with some butter and warmed some Robert Rothschild Artichoke Spinach Dip.

I spread the dip on the bottom bun then topped it with a couple of spinach leaves. The burger was placed on top of the spinach and it then got its own slathering of the dip. It was then topped with more fresh spinach and those Roma tomatoes.

The burger was rich and delicious! It was basically an appetizer-meets-main-course creation.

**Pro Tip! Top the burger with some fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese!

So, there you have 'em! Four gourmet burgers you can make at home using ingredients from Hillview Farms Meats, which is located at 5024 Lee Rudy Road here in Owensboro, KY.

As I mentioned, Hillview Farms Meats is a proud sponsor of Owensboro Burger Week, which runs March 3rd through March 11th, 2023. Here's a look at the burgers competing this year!

 

The $7 Burgers in Owensboro Burger Week 2023

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