Relish

Bon Appétit and the Illinois Restaurant Association kicked off Chicago Gourmet 2011 at Millennium Park with the Hamburger Hop, a burger shootout fueled with premium cuts from Allen Brothers Steaks and featuring 17 area teams vying for top burger honors from a panel of distinguished judges and the nearly 800 people in attendance.

Judges voted Bandera Executive Chef Colleen McHugh’s “Bandera Burger” (at left) - Allen Brothers' prime ground chuck topped with homemade hickory sauce, Ding's Pickled Relish, lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, cabbage, mayonnaise and mustard on a homemade poppy seed bun (a nod to the Chicago-style hot dog?) - as this year's best.

The People's Choice award went to Palmer Place Executive Chef Steven Lawhorn’s “Benchmark Burger” - a patty of Allen Brothers short rib, brisket, and prime chuck, topped with chopped pepper-cured Neuske's Bacon, aged Wisconsin cheddar, sliced heirloom tomato, crispy-pickle slaw, roasted red pepper remoulade and smoked picante ketchup on a toasted onion brioche bun.

For all the high end toppings - specialty cheeses and cheese curds, heirloom vegetables in a dizzying combination of preparations, sauces ranging from fiery-peaches and habenero peppers to upated classics like A-1, pickles and housemade charcuterie--on display, it was the makeup of the competitors' patties that highlighted where the humble burger has come from, where it is, and for better and for worse, where it is headed.  

For as long as back yard cooks have been perfuming hand packed burgers with Kingsord charcoal lighter fluid, the ratio of 80/20- -a grind of 80% beef and 20% fat, commonly known as ground chuck-- has been the standard foundation for a great burger. Chances are your favorite burger falls into this category, as did Chef McHugh’s 100% chuck burger. Two fine examples of burgers using this ratio in St. Louis? Brasserie by Niche in the Central West End and Michael's Bar and Grill in Maplewood. 

In recent years. there's been an evolution from the 80/20 ratio to an even more specific combination of cuts--chuck, strip, brisket, rib, even tenderloin-- and specific breeds like Wagyu or Piedmontese, supplementing beef fat with fat from non-beef sources like pork belly. Chef Lawhorn’s People’s Choice winning burger (at right) falls into this second category. The Five Burger (on the rare occasion it is offered) at Five Bistro on The Hill, The Tavern in Valley Park, and Home Wine Kitchen in Maplewood consistently prepare excellent examples of this specialty burger.

This year’s Hamburger Hop saw yet a third wave of burger construction, with patties mixing elements of the classic chuck burger, the specialty burger, and meat sources not typically associated with hamburgers --cuts of pork shoulder, crisped Jamón serrano ham, and sausages such as chorizo--in addition to fat ratios well in excess of 20%. These high-fat burgers made for spectacular views for people looking beyond the chefs to the grilling areas just behind, where entire cooking surfaces regularly erupted into balls of flame from excess fat rendering onto hot coals. In St. Louis, seek out the lamb burger at Dressel's Public House and the pork burger at Taste Bar for the best local example of this third style, with additional examples undoubtedly following suit as this trend continues to take hold.

All told, the Hamburger Hop was a comfortable balance of the predictable and unexpected. Toppings consistently overshadowed the patties they rode upon, a crime for an event serving up burgers made of prime beef. Many contestants showcased their own house- or specially-sourced hamburger buns, with several organizing secondary areas for preparing and grilling rolls before assembly, which was great to see. There were fewer sliders than one would have expected, especially at an event where whole burgers are built then quartered and plated, arguably not the best way to preserve the integrity and quality of a finished product.

And the most unexpected? Well, let’s say I got a lesson in Chicago burger politics when I felt an arm around my shoulder as I pulled back from a booth (of a team that did not finish in the top two) and was informed by a jovial gentleman in a crisp bow tie that votes for a particular burger would be celebrated with “shots of Maker’s Mark."

Nine times out of ten I can be tempted with Kentucky bourbon, but alas I tipped my ball cap in thanks to Chef David Gresh of David Burke's Primehouse and his Allen Brothers dry-aged beef burger topped with truffled egg salad and pickled vegetables on a housemade, bacon-spiked bun. Over the top? Obviously. However, for my tastes--actually for the tastes of people who appreciate the depth of flavor produced by the expensive, time-consuming dry-aging process--it was Chef Gresh's decision to use this style beef that made his burger stand out from all the others.   

Photo credits: Jeff Schear Photography; 

Editor's Note: St. Louisan Andrew Mark Veety has written extensively on the subject of hamburgers, and was even tapped by St. Louis Magazine for his opinions in the February 2011 "Best Burgers" issue. Last year, Veety organized the "Church of Burger," whose yearlong mission was to seek out "The Best Hamburger in St. Louis." Read about the COB, the high priest's extensive research--and his winning burger--here.