By Douglas J. Peckenpaugh, Managing Editor
Perhaps the idea first set roots when an enlightened soul added crisped, smoky, peppered bacon—and maybe a slice of vine-ripened, heirloom tomato—to that most comforting of childhood classics, grilled cheese, instantly updating it for a more-adult audience.
Sandwiches—from erstwhile lowly burgers to hot dogs and sausages, among others—remain open books to inspired accents, creatively transforming the everyday into gourmet.
Burgers, particularly, have taken the spotlight of late. Tony chefs like Daniel Boulud and Tom Colicchio have thrown their toques into the burger ring, and chains have eagerly joined the fun—all collectively feeding on the energy of an American audience ever-willing to advance into new culinary territory, particularly when such indulgences remain affordable.
Independent inspirations
In key cities across the land, restaurants offering upscale takes on burgers, hot dogs, sausages and other sandwiches have inspired serpentine lines and otherwise-insufferable wait times.
Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack—a leader in the galvanizing “better burger" movement (and no stranger to dogs)—has maintained an endured wait since its 2004 inception in New York’s Madison Square Park (and is now actively expanding well beyond the Big Apple).
Chicago’s home to two similarly pacesetting establishments: Kuma’s Corner and Hot Doug’s. Kuma’s dishes burgers dubbed heavy-metal-style. A few samples: the Metallica (Buffalo sauce, bacon, blue cheese), Brujeria (topped with a jalapeño popper stuffed with cream cheese and chorizo, Cheddar, charred tomato salsa) and Lair of the Minotaur (caramelized onions, pancetta, Brie, bourbon-soaked pears). Hot Doug’s offers regular Polish, bratwurst, Italian, andouille, thuringer and, of course, dogs, but the specials—such as Chardonnay and Jalapeño Rattlesnake Sausage with Roasted Yellow Pepper Mayonnaise and Morbier Cheese; Philly Cheesesteak Beef Sausage with Cream Cheese Mustard, Caramelized Onions and Smoked Provolone Cheese; and Smoked Portuguese Linguiça with Saffron Rouille and Olive Manchego Cheese, to name a bare few—ratchet up the creativity.
“Those places in particular are helping set trends. Burgers and sausages—encased meats—are just vehicles for delivering new flavors," says Chris Kline, senior executive chef, Sara Lee Foodservice, Downers Grove, IL. “They’re taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary. They’re taking things that people maybe have heard about but aren’t very familiar with—perhaps that they might be a little nervous about trying—and putting it into an affordable price range." Particularly in the current economy, this level of affordable adventure works.
The rise in popularity of hot dogs and sausages likewise is connected to economic concerns. “Sausage is recession-proof," says Kline. “Burgers are affected by fluctuating beef prices, but sausage has more flexibility," particularly in foodservice, where ingredients can shift a bit with the times. The rise in ethnic exposure in the sandwich world also plays to sausage’s favor. “Most countries around the world have some kind of encased meat." Although he taps Italian as the king of sausages, “chorizo is going to be the next big sausage to take hold on the national level."
The daily grind
When it comes to sausage, it’s all about the grind. But more burgers are stepping outside of purely beef territory. Adam Moore, corporate chef, Charlie Baggs, Inc., Chicago, suggests operators use alternate proteins to create “‘wow’ flavor profiles with blends of meats and herbs—for example, ground turkey, duck and chicken with rosemary, thyme and garlic."
According to Barbara Zatto, executive chef and sales manager, west region, Mizkan Americas Inc., Mt. Prospect, IL, “Restaurants are developing individual flavor profiles for their own burger meat created from a blend of beef cuts, such as brisket, short rib, sirloin or chuck—or even a white meat," noting that in some markets, these artisan burger meats will be ground in-house, and sometimes sourced from a local farm.
Saucy secrets
Sauces often come into play on today’s gourmet burgers. Zatto sees sauce options like wine reductions, vinaigrettes, balsamic glazes, sriracha types, sake glazes, and even something like a Port wine onion jam, as viable options for accenting burgers beyond everyday ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise and barbecue sauce. “Sauces build flavor and add either bright or low acidic notes, which help balance the richness of the meat," she says. “The ethnic trend also allows chefs to be creative and innovative in their definition of a burger. We’re seeing influences from the ethnic food trucks, and the sauces carry the ethnic and upscale concept of a burger."
