The Cattle Call – Ian Russo AKA The Dirty Chef

The Cattle Call –  Ian Russo AKA The Dirty Chef

The Cattle Call – All the beef that’s behind the people who make & connect us to the Burgerverse.

Name: Ian Russo (AKA The Dirty Chef)

Website: dirtyburger.com

Where do you live: Brooklyn, New York

Favorite style of Burger:  Traditional American made using the Dirty Style of Cooking.

Favorite Childhood Burger:  Gil Hodges bowling alley and grill in Brooklyn (No longer open).

Burger that haunts your dreams at night: Nothing haunts me.

What is the one Burger you’ve always wanted to try but still have not:  In-N-Out.

The secret to making a great Burger: Have great quality meat with the proper thickness. It is important to salt (using a snowing technique) the burger prior to seasoning it on both sides. Be sure to flip the burger as many times to keep it cooking even and create a crust so all the juices stay inside the burger. Yum.

Under no circumstances whatsoever, what should NEVER be put on a Burger:  Anything goes if you love it…..

If you could eat any Mythical Creature which would it be: Pholus- Mythical creatures make me think too much. Pholus was a friend of Herculous. Seems harmless.

If you could have a Burger with anyone alive, or dead, fictional or real, who would it be and where would you take them: My best friend, Wendy. We would be in Hawaii COCKROACHE COVE, North shore Hawaii with a full moon at 1 am after a night swim we would get out of 80* water while the grill is hot and I would make her my Dirty Burger while I use the light from the moon to see and sip two glasses of her favorite red wine.

Name one Burger in LA that for once, people should get off a plane and go eat instead of In-N-Out: Not that familiar with LA.

Please use this space to talk about or plug anything else you want: About 6 years ago I created Dirty Dust. Within the next couple years tables all around the world will have salt, pepper and Dirty! Dirty Dust® is my spice blend which transforms foods that are ordinary to extraordinary! From sweet things like chocolate and caramel to savory foods such as chicken, fish or burgers and everything in between, Dirty Dust® gives you the creativity to enhance the flavors of any food! Along with a mix of other spices, it includes three different peppers—black, white and cayenne, so it’s safe to say Dirty Dust® has some kick to it.

You can add a little honey… or not… it is up to you, but knowing when to add honey can remain your dirty secret. With meats like beef, lamb or chicken, you’ll want to cool the heat by adding honey. For fish and seafood the honey is optional, since the oils in them already balance the heat of the Dirty Dust®.

To learn more about how to incorporate Dirty Dust into your kitchen, visit cookdirty.com. You can also catch Ian compete in the Blue Moon Burger Bash at this year’s Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival, Friday October 17, 2014.