How To Make Smoked Ground Beef and Smoked Brisket Picadillo by Chef Wenford Patrick Simpson — Recipe
March 22, 2016 | Joe Gorgone
March 22, 2016 | Joe Gorgone
Let’s talk about picadillo for a minute, because it is crazy good. Popular in Spain, Latin American, and the Philippines, picadillo is usually composed of ground beef, tomatoes or tomato sauce, onions, peppers, olives, and a host of other savory ingredients. It can be served over rice, folded into a taco, stuffed into a Cuban pastry—the possibilities are endless, really.
Such possibilities take on a new and interesting light when placed in the hands of an expert. Take, for example, Chef Wenford Patrick Simpson, the chef at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill and the Highline Ballroom. Raised in Jamaica and living in New York City, he is no stranger to combining flavors and cuisines to create amazing dishes.
For our non-Burger ground beef cookbook, This Is Not A Hamburger Cookbook, Chef Patrick contributed one of the most decadent and, quite frankly, gorgeous takes on picadillo we’ve seen in a while. Check out the recipe below, and enjoy!
Chef Patrick began cooking as a young child in St. Ann’s Parish, Jamaica. In high school, he interned at Club Caribbean and was offered a job immediately after graduation. He worked in several resorts and then took his talents to the seas, working for the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and Disney Cruise lines. After returning to the land, he settled in New York City where he took the Executive Chef position at Negril Restaurant.
Chef Patrick now delights customers at B.B. King Blues Club and Grill and the Highline Ballroom in the heart of New York City. When he isn’t in the kitchen overseeing anywhere from 40 to 50 people, he’s handing out samples in Times Square or giving presentations in Bloomingdales or Macy’s.
Chef Patrick pushes the boundaries in the kitchen, creating a truly unique dining experience born out of Caribbean spices, Southern cooking and an American flair. Each dish he creates is a work of art, not only in flavor combinations, but on the plate as well.