Oct 27, 2009 11:36 am US/Eastern
Hagerstown Has Nationally Noticed Chorizo Burger
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) ―
It was a chorizo quesadilla Jason Vogel once tasted that led the chef to come up with his own chorizo creation, one that got national attention this summer on TV.
Hempen Hill BBQ Bar & Grill's one-half pound chorizo burger was one of five finalists in the Ultimate Hometown Grill-Off burger category on "Live! with Regis and Kelly" in June.
The burger didn't win, but the restaurant north of Hagerstown scored three months worth of chorizo burger sales in a week's time due to the TV exposure, said Vogel, 38, of Martinsburg, W.Va., who is executive chef at Hempen Hill.
Vogel said a chorizo quesadilla he tasted years ago lacked flavor.
"It needed something more," Vogel recalled.
So Vogel created his own chorizo quesadilla for the restaurant he was working for at the time. That quesadilla didn't garner a great response, so Vogel decided instead to make a chorizo burger.
"I'm a big fan of sausage," Vogel said.
But sausage can be rich to eat, so he mixed loose chorizo with ground beef to cut the richness.
Then he added his own Cajun spice blend. Chorizo sausage is already spicy, and his spice blend took that up another notch.
When Vogel got the call about the burger being a finalist on the morning show, he thought it was a hoax.
Kathy Reeder, who owns the restaurant with her husband Jay, had entered the burger in the contest. She mentioned it to Vogel, but Vogel said he wasn't sure what the contest was.
Vogel said the chorizo burger sold well before the national attention, but afterward, sales of the spicy burger were really hot.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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