Crafting great burgers has been one of the most satisfying experiences his culinary career. This from a man who earned three stars from The New York Times and oversaw President Barack Obama’s first state dinner.

“As a chef coming up, I always had this love affair with the burger,” says Marcus Samuelsson, who got his start at a three-star Michelin restaurant in France. “We work with this French food all day. But at night we want a burger.”

And so Samuelsson — who was born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden and learned to cook across Europe — embraced the burger, which he calls “the most iconic meal in America.”

But like the rest of his cooking — a fusion of European sensibilities and American and African ingredients — Samuelsson’s burgers blend cultures. And he says he has a rich palette from which to draw.

“When you do the history of the burger, you realize that every country and culture in the world has something like a beef patty with bread and a pickle,” he says. “It really shows how unified we are as a people. We want something comforting. We want some heat on it. And we want something pickled on it. And that’s essentially what a burger is.”

For his contribution to the AP’s 20 Burgers of Summer series, Samuelsson went with bison meat because of its iconic stature in the U.S. He tops that all-American meat with a fried egg, heirloom tomatoes and a spicy ketchup spiked with horseradish, smoked paprika and chili powder.

“It’s something you can really put your personality into,” Samuelsson says of burgers. “You can’t do that with beef bourguignon.”

Buffalo Burger with Spicy Ketchup

Serves 4

For the ketchup:

2 red bell peppers
2 poblano peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons horseradish
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
8 drops Tabasco or other hot sauce

For the burgers:

1 pound buffalo loin, fat trimmed, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1/2 pound flank steak, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped, plus 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
2 shallots, chopped
1/4 pound shredded Jack cheese, plus 4 slices
5 drops Tabasco or other hot sauce
4 drops Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Salt and ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 Napa cabbage leaves, cut in half
4 potato buns
4 eggs
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 heirloom tomato, sliced

 To make the ketchup:

1. Brush all 4 peppers with the olive oil. One at a time, use tongs to hold the peppers over a gas burner, turning until well charred. Set the peppers aside until cool enough to handle. Once the peppers have cooled, peel and discard the skins, then halve each pepper. Discard the ribs and seeds.
2. In a blender, combine the ketchup and peppers. Puree until smooth, then transfer to a medium bowl. Add the mustard, horseradish, paprika, chili powder, pepper, garlic powder and hot sauce. Mix well, then set aside.

To make the burgers:

1. In a large bowl combine both meats, the chopped garlic, shallots, shredded cheese, hot sauce, Worcestershire, mustard, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper and the chili powder. Use your hands to mix until well combined. Shape the meat into 4 patties, about 4 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick.
2. In a large saute pan over medium, heat the olive oil. Add the cabbage and sliced garlic and saute for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. Heat a grill to high. Place the buns on the grill and toast.
4. Place the burgers on the grill and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Let rest for 3 minutes.
5. While the burgers are resting, heat a nonstick pan over medium. Crack the eggs into the pan and cook to over-medium. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve:

Place a dollop of spicy ketchup on the bottom half of each toasted bun. Layer with the cabbage-garlic mix. Place the burger on top and arrange an egg, cheese, tomato and onion slice on the burger. Top with the other half of the bun and serve.

When crafting a great burger, check the weather.

So goes the advice of Adam Perry Lang, owner of New York’s Daisy May’s BBQ USA restaurant, a classic rib shack known for its whole pig, pulled pork and beef ribs.

“Sometimes I love a burger that is rich in fat — 70-30 blend of protein to fat,” he said in an email. “I like these on colder days when I need fat and heartiness. In the summertime, a leaner burger is appreciated. 90-10 can do the trick.”

Whatever your blend, cook with care. He aims to create a moist, tender interior and a well-developed caramelized crust. He also favours a liberal amount of salt.

For Daisy Martinez, a great burger does a bit of tug-of-war in your mouth.

“I always like to put together flavors that complement as well as contrast each other. This concept is especially important when creating a burger because you should experience that ‘kapow factor’ with each and every bite,” she said in an e-mail.

So for her contribution to AP’s 20 Burgers of Summer series, Martinez sought a balance of salty and sweet, which she satisfied by pairing grilled fresh figs with serrano ham.

Unlike the other pushers of AP’s 20 Burgers of Summer, I’m no celebrity. I’m just a guy who happens to work with AP’s food editor, and who has spent much of the past decade pushing carnivorousness upon Said Food Editor and taking unfair credit for his rejection of vegetarianism.

In short: In this crowd of gastronomic hauties, I’m the token vox populi. I’m the man on the street they always interview after someone important comes to town, only with hamburgers.

For Michel Nischan, building a better burger is part of making the world a better place.

“I have seen all kinds of outlandish burger ideas, from making burgers with vegetables, fish, shrimp, you name it,” said Nischan, whose cookbook, “Sustainably Delicious,” and Westport, Conn., restaurant Dressing Room focus on ecologically sound eating.

“Yet as great and creative as these burgers can be (and fun), nothing beats a burger made with the meat that burgers were meant to be made with — grass-fed and grass-finished beef,” Nischan said in an e-mail.

When Eric Ripert set out to make the perfect burger, he found his inspiration in an unlikely place.

“It may sound crazy coming from a French chef, but the inspiration behind this burger is actually McDonald’s and Burger King,” said Ripert, the man behind New York’s award-winning Le Bernardin restaurant and Westend Bistro in Washington.

For Ripert, a great burger must be perfectly proportioned, a trait he thinks the fast-food giants have aced.

“All the elements are carefully controlled,” he said via email. “The way they cut the pickles, the way they cut the tomatoes, the way they slice the salad, and the size, obviously make those burgers perfect.”