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NY chef points the way on road food, burgers

One of New York's top chefs was in town last week to help judge a national burger recipe contest staged by Cargill. Naturally, I had to ask Marcus Samuelsson where he'd eaten in Wichita the night before.

"I'm from New York," said the co-owner of Aquavit and the youngest chef to ever receive three stars from the New York Times. "I wanted some barbecue."

And he wasn't going to look for it at his hotel or a in a chain restaurant.

Instead, Samuelsson asked around and was told about a locally owned eatery, Julius Rib Cage, 2958 S. Seneca.

"I had the ribs and brisket," he said. "It was great."

With vacation season coming, Samuelsson's approach is worth remembering.

Those huge clusters of hotels and chain restaurants that crowd our nation's highways make it easy to settle for a meal that varies little whether you're in Miami, Seattle or Omaha.

On the other hand, local restaurants can give you the "flavor" of a city like few other places.

I also asked Samuelsson about his own recipe for a perfect burger.

Born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden, Samuelsson specializes in food from those two places. So I'm not sure how many hamburgers he's actually made.

But I followed his advice and prepared this tasty burger, which I've named for his restaurant. As for the winning recipes from the contest, you can find them in Monday's WichiTalk.

AQUAVIT BURGER

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. ground sirloin

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 onion, thinly sliced

Juice from pickle jar (enough to cover onions)

1 cup ketchup

2 canned chipotle peppers, minced, with sauce

1 poblano pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon lime juice

6 to 8 potato burger buns

Melted butter

Mix the hamburger and sirloin together. Form into 6 to 8 burgers. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place sliced onion and pickle juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

In a small bowl, combine ketchup, chipotle and poblano peppers and lime juice.

Grill burgers to desired doneness. Brush buns with butter and toast on grill.

Place burgers on buns, top with pickled onions and ketchup and serve.

Source: Chef Marcus Samuelsson

The Wichita Eagle

Reach Joe Stumpe at 316-269-6752 or jstumpe@wichitaeagle.com.