It’s National Burger Month, and from the bun to the fixings to the meat patty, chefs are putting new spins on America’s favorite picnic food. Take your lead from these chefs, and build your best burger ever this summer.
Some like it hot. At Back Alley Burger in Elmhurst and La Grange, chef/owner duo Christopher and Mary Spagnola have a hamburger so packed with heat that they even require customers to sign a waiver form. They call their signature burger The Most Insane-est Hottest Burger Ever-est. “It’s extremely hot, yet flavorful,” Christopher said. The spice and flavor comes from fixings like their house-made habanero jam, a Trinidad scorpion sauce, bhut jolokia ghost pepper chili flakes and Thai chili cream cheese.
The Spagnolas have owned and operated four different restaurants in La Grange over the past 16 years. They met in culinary school in San Francisco, and have been cooking together ever since.
One day, a customer challenged them to make a really hot burger. “We wanted it to be hot, but we also wanted it to be more than that,” Mary said. “It needed to be a balance of extreme heat and flavor so that everyone could enjoy it.”
It is. Each condiment brings its own heat intensity but also a special flavor. “The bhut jolokia flakes are from an Indian pepper that adds a different kind of heat. It is very extreme, but a heat that hits you a little later,” Mary said. “The habanero jam adds a sweetness to counteract some of the heat and stimulate your taste buds.” The Thai chili cream cheese also mellows out the heat a bit. “We add it to provide a texture and mouth feel,” Mary said. “The cream cheese tames the heat but still adds its own heat in a savory way.”
Even the Kaiser bun gets a dusting of spicy cayenne pepper.
Their tips for home grill masters? Mary said to get the grill hot enough to get a good, carmelized burger patty. “That is the key to getting good flavor out of the meat,” she said. “Only flip the burger one time and don’t flip it until it has that nice sear on it.”
For the meat patty, they prefer a blend of ground chuck, short rib and brisket. The trio seems to be trending in burger patties this season. It’s what the popular Top Drawer Burger is made of at Country House in Clarendon Hills. “It makes for a richer, more steaky-flavored burger,” Co-owner Dean Timson said.
And there are plenty of other burger options on his menu. He recently added a burger made with elk meat. “Elk meat is delicious and has no gamey taste to it at all,” he said. “It’s also leaner and lower in calories than beef, chicken, pork or salmon.”
Timson said his favorite burger is actually plain, with just a simple tomato slice. “Skip the cheese,” he said, “but I do like to upgrade sometimes with a knob of compound butter. It is an easy way to dress up any burger without any fuss. My favorite is a Gorgonzola butter made with equal parts of a good Italian Gorgonzola and salted butter.”
In contrast, the Benchmark Burger at Palmer Place in La Grange is topped with plenty of fixings like pickle slaw, red pepper remoulade and smoked paprika ketchup. “A great burger should strive to include the five flavor groups, including sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami (pungent and spicy),” Chef Steve Lawhorn said. “The brioche bun is buttery sweet. The picante ketchup has the umami flavor. The pickle slaw is both sour and bitter. The sharp cheddar cheese adds depth of flavor. The beefsteak tomato adds a cool sweet and slight sourness. The pepper-flavored Neuske bacon adds a wonderful peppery crunch. The red pepper remoulade combines the flavor of sweet and sour.”
The Benchmark Burger is made with 50 percent ground chuck, 25 percent brisket and 25 percent short rib. “Each cut of meat has its own distinct character, and when they are combined the flavor is more intense and complex, and basically more beefy,” Lawhorn said.
Lawhorn reminded home grill masters to be gentle and to resist the temptation to over flip. “The more you work the meat, the more you increase the risk of making it tough and chewy,” he said. “Don’t press down on the meat while cooking, this will dry the burger out.”
And then there are burgers with a Creole twist. Tim Shanahan’s Cheeseburger Po-boy at Shanahan’s in Forest Park even comes with red beans and rice. It’s made with two ground beef patties with American cheese and he jazzes it up with Creole mustard and Creole mayonnaise. “It’s a little bit of zing with all the pepper (a blend of black, red and white) and the mayo and mustard add a bit of sweetness,” Owner Tim Shanahan said. He serves it on French bread.
Rich Labriola with Labriola Café in Oak Brook (and a new spot in Chicago) likes brioche or pretzel rolls for burgers. “A pretzel roll just seems to be a natural fit for red meat,” he said.
At Hackney’s on Lake in Glenview, the burger bread is their house signature dark rye. Co-owner Bill Blair explained the recipe is from original owner Bebe Hackney. “Jim and Kitz Masterson, the owner-founders of Hackney’s, Inc. bought Hackney’s on Harms from Jim’s Aunt Bebe Hackney in 1939,” Blair said. “Jim went off to World War II and Kitz ran the show while he was fighting for freedom in the Pacific.”
Whether celebrating Memorial Day or just any day, nothing says summer like a burger — made whichever way you like it.
Benchmark Seasoning Mix
4 tablespoons La Baleine French Sea Salt (fine)
1 tablespoon dustless fine tellicherry pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon smoked Spanish paprika (hot)
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons granulated onion, toasted
1 teaspoon granulated garlic, toasted
1/2 teaspoon very fine garlic powder
In a small cup, combine all spices, and blend well. Sprinkle a little of the seasoning mix on each burger patty (add to taste) before grilling. All the spices came from The Spice House in Evanston.
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Steven C. Lawhorn, Palmer Place
Roasted Red Pepper Remoulade
1/2 cup purée fire-roasted red peppers
1 tablespoon onion, finely diced
Salt, to taste
11/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 cup mayonnaise
In the order listed, add ingredients to blender or food processor, and blend until smooth.
Refrigerate 4 to 6 hours.
Steven C. Lawhorn, Palmer Place
Thai Chili Cream Cheese
8 ounces cream cheese
3 tablespoons crushed Thai chilies
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, chopped
2 ounces lime juice
Beat the cream cheese until softened, add the other ingredients. Allow mixture to sit for at least one hour prior to serving so the flavors come together.
Christopher and Mary Spagnola, Back Alley Burger
Habanero Jam
6 cups fresh apricots, (peeled, pitted, and chopped)
6 cups sugar
2 cups fresh pineapple (skinned and chopped)
1/8 cup fresh lime juice
10-12 habanero peppers
Combine first four ingredients in a sauce pan, and cook over medium heat until thick, stirring frequently (for about 30 minutes).
Heat the oven to 400 degrees and roast the habaneros for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove stems and chop. Reduce oven heat to 200 degrees and then spread out peppers on a sheet pan and dry out in the oven for 2 to 3 hours, or until crisp. Add to mixture in sauce pan (jam).
Christopher and Mary Spagnola, Back Alley Burger