Sturgis Contest to Pick Biggest, Bestest Burger

The makers of the Weber Grill have named the three finalist competing in their Big Burger Battle, sponsored by both Weber and Harley-Davidson at the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota.

All three finalists — Amy Meiers, 31, from Santa Rosa, California, Ramon Douglas, 37, from Altadena, California, and Dafna Mizrahi, 23, from New York, NY — get an all-expense paid trip to the rally to compete for prizes valued approximately $5,000. Amy will present her Nacho Average Burger; Ramon is bringing his Sweet and Spicy Burger, and Dafna competes with the 870 Broadway Burger.

The finalists have all cleared contests around the country over the last year, two of which were the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and the Jack Daniels Championship Invitational. Barbecues are America’s great contribution to world cuisine, so you can bet these burgers are as good as they get, anywhere, anytime.

The grill-off begins at 11 a.m. on Aug. 3, 2014, at Third and Lazelle streets. Contestants have 30 minutes to grill and assemble their burgers, and as you’d expect, Weber is providing the grills. The burgers will be judged on the usual burger attributes: taste, texture and appearance.

Everyone gets prizes, though the tastier stuff goes to the tastier burger. The prizes include a trophy to impress your friends and neighbors, a top-of-the line Weber Summit S-670 gas grill, grilling accessories, the newly published burger cookbook from Weber (240-something pages and 160 burger recipes), and a $500 Harley-Davidson gift card.