海角大神

Burger makers have tried so many different patty blends鈥攃ombinations of beef, bacon, pork, chorizo, sausage, bison, even Spam鈥攖hat it鈥檚 possible to question whether the options have been exhausted. But they haven鈥檛. A few intrepid kitchen magicians already are working with what may be the next on-trend burger ingredient: 鈥楴duja.

鈥楴duja (sometimes spelled N鈥檇uja; pronounced 鈥渆n-doo-ya鈥�) is a spicy, spreadable pork sausage that tastes like fine salami. It鈥檚 a specialty of Calabria, Italy, where it鈥檚 often spread on bread or mixed into pasta sauce. And鈥攚ho would have guessed鈥斺�榥duja is great mixed with beef or other proteins to make rich, spicy burgers. It can be a topping on its own or as the basis for an a茂oli or sauce.

In its spring聽Menu Trends Survey, British foodservice researcher Horizons cited 鈥榥duja as one of several international foods gaining presence on menus.

鈥楴duja is Calabrian, but one of it most creative champions is Bread Meats Bread, a burger bar in Glasgow, Scotland. Its Black Label house blend is a mix of Scotch beef cuts. For the more adventuresome, there are Red Label Burgers, blending Scotch beef and 鈥榥duja. Four Red Labels are offered, including the Caribbean, topped with caramelized sweet-potato fries, crispy fried onions and spicy 鈥榥duja mayo (also available with any other burger for a 50p upcharge).

鈥溾�楴duja is that beautiful artisan sausage from Southern Italy, Calabria. It is still done the way it was done for centuries and we thought it would be brilliant to infuse our burger blend with it and create our Red label burgers,鈥� Ylli Dushi, operations manager for Bread Meats Bread, told BurgerBusiness.com.

鈥溾�楴duja is not crazy common here yet and we have done wonders in popularizing it in Scotland, where it now makes the menus of the best artisan wood fire oven pizzerias.

I have seen its popularity soar in London, too, with food trucks and other street food merchants.鈥�

Dushi said he first saw 鈥榥duja in sliders made by Chef Mario Batali, who menus 鈥淏lack Spaghetti with 鈥楴duja and Sicilian Pesto鈥� at his B&B Ristorante in The Venetian in Las Vegas. It鈥檚 not just Italians who have discovered it: A special menu offered in September at Chef Daniel Boulud鈥檚 db Bistro Moderne in New York City included 鈥淗and-Rolled Gemelli with 鈥楴duja, Rock Shrimp and Blistered Tomato.鈥�

The London-based Byron burger chain offered a Miami Spice special this year that included 鈥榥duja. Byron Chef Fred Smith told blog聽Burgeracthat the burger was inspired by one he鈥檇 had at El Mago de la Fritas in Miami鈥檚 Little Havana, but with 鈥榥duja substituted for the spicy chorizo of the original.

Sourcing Italian 鈥榥duja can be a bit tricky, though domestic versions can be ordered聽onlineand found at some聽marketsand delis (also聽here). Dushi says Bread Meats Bread 鈥済ot our buyer/supplier to import 鈥榥duja directly for us as we go through a lot. You still are not able to buy 鈥榥duja in high street retail shops, unless you鈥檙e in London, where you can find it in specialized charcuterie shops or big department stores like Selfridges and Harrods.鈥�

As availability increases, 鈥榥duja is showing up more often on U.S. menus. Davanti Enoteca in Chicago created the 鈥淣鈥橠uja Love Me鈥� burger (brisket-and-chuck patty, 鈥榥duja, provolone, caramelized onions and cucumber yogurt) for a burger battle event this summer. CDB Provisions in Dallas offers 鈥楴duja Pimento Cheese to spread on sourdough toast. And 鈥楴duja Pizza is offered by Chefs Ken Orringer and Jamie Bissonette at their Boston restaurant聽Coppa.

This article appeared first at BurgerBusiness.