Kentucky Beef Council

KATELYN HAWKINS

KBC Director of Product Marketing

The leaves are changing color, cool winds are moving in and all of a sudden sitting on your front porch doesn’t result in the feelingofbeingsuffocatedbyKentucky’s humidity. The seasons change is here and fall is upon us. While fall is my favorite season of the year, mainly because of the colors, cool weather and slightly in part to my birthday being in the fall, the most important word in the previous sentence is change. Throughout the past few months all of us have experienced change in our normal routine and the theme of change is not lost on your Kentucky Beef Council programs. We have changed our approach on executing some of our promotions to ensure we are maintaining beef’s presence at the center of the plate. Traditionally KBC spends July promoting our Burger Week partnerships; however, July came and went in 2020 without the buzz of one-ofa-kind burgers, non-menu burgers being offered for 7 days only by restaurants across Louisville and Lexington. Burger weeks are great for restaurant patrons to experience new flavor combinations and ingredients atop juicy burger patties, the promotions are designed to increase beef sales in restaurants during a time ofyear when restaurant traffic is typically lower due to family vacations and summer activities. As restaurants began to come back online following quarantine and their staff adjusted to social distancing parameters, KBC and our burger week partners adjusted our promotional efforts to postpone Burger Weeks from July into August and September. Louisville Burger Week was held August 10th – 17th with 41 participating restaurant locations. While seating capacity may have been reduced at the locations, patrons did not let that stop them from experiencing this year’s stand out burger line up. In its 4th year, Louisville Burger Week sold 45,000+ burgers during the 7 day promotion surpassing 2019 numbers with 9,000 more burgers sold in 2020.

Lexington Burger Week is scheduled for September 21st – 27th, 2020. Rose garlands, mint julips and Derby pie are usually essentials for late April/ early May in the Bluegrass State as all eyes are centered on Louisville for the Kentucky Derby. Keeping with this season of change, August/ early September became Derby season as the 146th Kentucky Derby ran on September 5th instead ofthe first Saturdayin May. KBC and our partners at the Kentucky Derby Festival began transitioning our annual Derby Burger Challenge promotion to the new Derby season following the official announcement of race day. Nearly 100 recipes were submitted for the 2020 Derby Burger Challenge in early spring. These optimistic and sometimes eccentric recipes were narrowed down to the top 8 for voting. For the first time the general public chose the overall winner from the top 4 as opposed to a panel of judges as in years past. Donna Gribbins from Shelbyville, KY was chosen as the 2020 Derby Burger Challenge winner with the Blackberry Bourbon Glazed Bacon Cheeseburger. Donna’s recipe was featured in 24 Kroger locations August 26th – September 8th with ground beef and the additional recipe ingredients conveniently located in Kysor cases. While certain aspects of life begin to return to “normal” and each of us adjust to changes in our personal and professional lives as ongoing effects of COVID-19 remain, one constant in our approach to reaching consumers is beef’s ability to be a high quality protein to fuel their family, celebrate life’s little moments and showcase Kentucky farmer’s desire to feed families across the Bluegrass State and the nation. We are proud to work on behalf of Kentucky’s farm families and look forward to seeking additional opportunities to reach consumers to share the beef story.

BLACKBERRY BOURBON GLAZED BACON CHEESEBURGER

by Donna Gribbins Shelbyville, KY

INGREDIENTS: 2 lbs. Kentucky Cattlemen’s Ground Beef • 1 tsp. salt • 1 tsp. black pepper • 1 tbsp. bourbon brown sugar seasoning • 1 clove minced garlic • 3 tbsp. grated onion • 1 tsp. smoked paprika • 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce • 8 slices cooked, peppered bacon • 4 slices smoked cheddar cheese • Butter lettuce • 4 brioche buns

BOURBON BLACKBERRY GLAZE • ½ cup blackberry jam • 2 tbsp. bourbon • 1 tsp. smoke paprika

BURGER SAUCE • 1 cup mayo • 2 tbsp. bourbon brown sugar seasoning • 2 tbsp. bourbon • 1 tsp. smoked paprika

BURGER DIRECTIONS

1.

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, salt, black pepper, bourbon brown sugar seasoning, minced garlic, grated onion, smoked paprika and Worcestershire sauce. Form four patties and place patties on grill grid over medium, ash covered coals. Cook 10-12 minutes or until internal temperature of 160F, turning occasionally.

In a small sauce pan, combine blackberry jam, bourbon and smoked paprika for the Bourbon Blackberry Glaze. Heat until jam melts and flavors combine. About 2 minutes before burgers are done, glaze burger with the Bourbon Blackberry mixture.

To assemble the Burger Sauce, combine mayo, bourbon, bourbon brown sugar seasoning and smoked paprika in a small bowl.

About 2 minutes before the burgers are done, place buns, cut sides down, on grid. Grill until lightly toasted. During the last minute of grilling, top each burger with smoked cheddar cheese slice.