Tzatziki Lamb Burgers. I’ve been on a lamb kick. It’s probably related to Spring Fever – even though until today, it’s been more like summer lately in Los Angeles.
This burger was inspired by the lamb leftover from a de-boning exercise gone terribly wrong and a fun weekend in Palm Springs that included group training on grinding your own burgers.
Which is interesting, because I didn’t think I needed to learn anything new about grinding meat. I’ve always used the blade attachment on the food processor and I’ve never been disappointed. I’m not a gadget guy. So I typically resist owning appliances or specialty tools that do one thing and one thing only. This weekend in the desert we used a grinding attachment on a stand-mixer that none of us had used enough to really understand its finer points. Which proved to be no big deal, because the meat grinder is great tool that’s easy to use. The results were beautiful. In fact perfect.
When I say “meat grinder” do you think about your Grandma’s big, hand-cranked piece of steel – the one Grandpa had to clamp to the kitchen counter? Do you simply refuse to screw that thing onto your gorgeous granite counter top. Well don’t worry, today’s stand-mixer attachments don’t even touch the counter, so you won’t need Grandpa. Besides, there’s always the food processor. I know you’re not afraid of the food processor. It does nearly as good a job as the grinder attachment – not perfect – but it’s close. Meaning I’m not quite ready to conquer my single-subject appliance phobia.
Tzatziki Lamb Burgers
Which brings me to Tzatziki Lamb Burgers. Sometimes I get creative when I’m deciding what to make for this blog – other times I turn to the classics for inspiration. When faced with freshly ground leftover lamb, I’m traditional enough to think “burger” and creative enough to think “Greek”. When I think Greek, my mind turns to the handheld gyros I’m old enough to incorrectly pronounce as “jiii-ROWs”.
Once I’d chosen a gyros (YEE-ros) approach to this burger I went to Google for inspiration. There are plenty of lamb burgers featuring tzatziki. I found nit-picky issues with a lot of them.
That’s because we cooks like to get clever. Once we have a theme we love to run with. Which means I saw a lot of Grecian influence lamb burgers with superfluous ingredients. Too many cucumbers. Too many herbs and spices. Too much opa! One version even featured bulgur – enough bulgur to seem vulgar to me (sorry, I couldn’t resist).
When I eat good quality meat I want to taste the meat. Which isn’t to say the meat should be unseasoned. Especially lamb. Lamb has a rich quality that lends itself to all sorts of big flavors. Whereas I might chose salt and pepper only to season a very good beef burger, I don’t mind getting a bit bolder when it comes to lamb burgers. Mint is a natural with lamb. It’s got an assertive flavor that’s strong enough to balance lamb’s tendency towards gaminess. However as I said, I tend to prefer my burgers simply seasoned. Big handfuls of fresh mint would change the texture of the meat too much for my tastes. So I chose dried mint. Dried herbs have a stronger, more condensed flavor than their fresh counterparts. I can get the punch and balance I’m looking for without filling up on chlorophyll. Not so with the fresh rosemary I added. I find the dried form of the herb too powerful for this burger. See what I mean about nit-picking?
Tzatziki is a different matter. It may be a thematic no-brainer, but its flavors are appropriate to this burger. In fact tzatziki is the first word in this recipe’s title. That’s because the cool, clean swipe of yogurt and cucumber is the best part of these Tzatziki Lamb Burgers. I’ve included a simple version of tzatziki in this recipe. Feel free to use your own recipe, or get as creative as you like.
Speaking of creative, I have to bring up the bun. The bun is not the place to get creative.
When it comes to a burger I like a soft bun. Greek-style Tzatziki Lamb Burgers seem to cry out for a pita container. Most of the recipes I came across chose this direction. I think a pita is fun idea, but perhaps too thematic. A pita lacks the absorbancy a good burger requires. The juices should run, and the bun should soak them up. Proportion is also important. The right ratio is about 50–50 burger to bun in every single bite. A pita could never accomplish this, it’s far too single-subject. GREG
Ingredients
- 1 pound freshly ground lamb
- 2 tablespoon crushed, dried mint leaves
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
- 2 clove garlic (peeled, minced and divided in half)
- salt and pepper (as needed for seasoning)
- 1 pound English cucumber
- 1 ½ cup Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 soft burger buns (split)
- 3 lettuce leaves (sized to fit buns)
- 3 slice tomato (large enough to fit buns)
- 3 tablespoon crumbled feta
Directions
Make the patties: In a large bowl combine lamb, dried mint, fresh rosemary, half of the minced garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Using your hands, gently mix the ingredients together; do not over mix. Divide the mixture into 3 equal portions and form each portion into a 3/4‑inch thick patty (about ⅓ lb each). Make a small indentation in the center of each patty. This will ensure that the meat maintains it’s form as it plumps in cooking. Wrap the burgers in plastic and refrigerate at least 4 hours prior to cooking so that the flavors meld.
Make the tzatziki sauce: Peel, halve lengthwise, and seed cucumber, then coarsely grate into a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl. Press lightly on the cucumber to drain as much of the liquid out as you can. Discard liquid.
Combine drained cucumber, yogurt, olive oil, dill, remaining minced garlic, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Grill the burgers: Bring the burgers to room temperature, season with salt and pepper, then heat a grill pan over medium-high heat (I don’t recommend charcoal grilling because the smokiness will obscure the aromatics of this burger).
Oil the hot pan and place the burgers onto it, cook until desired doneness; about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare.
While the burgers are cooking place the buns cut side down onto a large heated skillet or griddle, rotating as needed, until lightly browned. Remove from heat and place a lettuce leaf, a tomato slice and 1 tablespoon of feta onto the bun bottom. Top with cooked burger and tzatziki sauce to taste. Cover with the top bun and serve warm.
Tzatziki Lamb Burgers
Has anybody on here actually make the burger?! Was looking for some more tips and everybody is joking about their meat grinder
I totally agree with you about lamb. I love the taste of lamb and don’t want competing flavors with my meat or with the bread. I think you got it PERFECT with this recipe.
That is the best looking burger I’ve seen in a LONG time.
Yum! Well I love lamb, and lamb burgers and this looks absolutely fabulous to me. I;m hungry for it right now. And yes, I’m with Liz and the others- I have never used my meat grinder 🙁
I’m conflicted because I don’t really care for lamb but I’d eat Tzatziki with a spoon. Fantastic shot of the burger, prize worthy shot.
As far as the Kitchenaid attachment, I have one and it does okay for small batches. One of the advantages to the old hand crank ones is their die cast metal body holds temp well so if you freeze it the night before, it stays cold during grinding, minimizing the melting of fat during the process. The plastic body parts (hopper, etc) for the stand mixer attachment seem to warm up so quickly. So if I’m doing a small batch for burgers, I’ll use the mixer. If I’m doing several shoulders of sausage, I drag out the medieval equipment.
Okay, Greg, unlike you, I love my specialty gadgets — there is, to me, a beauty in their design. I like specialty utensils, too — what boy doesn’t need a set of sauce spoons or asparagus tongs? And, to this end, I love my meat grinder. I am trying to grind all my own meats now — for burgers, ragùs, meatballs, and so one. It does, as you note, make a difference. But I wish I had my grandmothers old one, too.
Beautiful burgers. Beautiful.
These are so timely, as I’ve been thinking about trying to make a good lamb burger. There’s a place here in town that does it wonderfully with fig jam and real bun. Forget the pita. I’m inspired to grind my own. (I just wrote a whole comprehensive article on nash rest scene for a big magazine here and I talk about that lamb burger!
So you are talking about the grinder where the meat comes out of the little holes? Back before Cuisinart my mom used to make her chopped liver with this attached to her mixer. I always thought it was so magical and so did the dog! Like you I am not a gadget person so I use the food processor, too! This recipe would have me grinding away. Opa!
My dad made his chopped liver an I still have the grinder . Have used it to grind roast etc to make sauce . My dad was from the early 1900 ‘s
I really need to make these for my husband. He loves lamb burgers and this is such a perfect twist on them!!
I bought one of those grinder attachments for my stand mixer. Don’t use it all that often, but I love the results. Really good ground meat — makes wonderful burgers, and you can have a really chunky grind for chili. Freezing the meat a bit before grinding helps. Anyway, terrific burgers! I love lamb, although rarely use it in burgers. But this is inspired — terrific recipe. Thanks.
Greg, you nailed it here. These burgers look perfect! And those seasonings? Yes, please. I might have to go dig out my meat grinder now that I’ve seen this recipe. 🙂
The grinder is one of the few unitaskers allowed in our kitchen, because it keeps proving its worth with burgers and chilis and sausages…etc. And these would be enough to convince me anyway. Props for keeping your eye on the ball and not letting a “theme” take away from the end result.
Greg these sound absolutely amazing. I love a counterpoint to the richness of lamb through mint or lemon. And tzatziki? Perfect! 😀
That is a gorgeous burger and I loved following your reasoning behind the ins and outs of every step of this burger! That reminds me, I haven’t used my meat grinder attachment in ages — it’s time to make some sausages!
Yes! Lamb is my favorite burger meat (actually, my favorite red meat, period), so you know I am all about these. I love the tangy herbs and feta!
Wow, get in my tummy! Greg, you have inspired me to finally get my grinder attachment out and USE it!
My mom actually had one of these Etruscan grinders…I think the food processor is a much better way to do the job. These burgers looks scrumptious!!
Love lamb burgers! The tzatziki takes it right over the top! nom nom nom
What a mouth watering sandwich!
Like Liz, I’m totally inspired to get the grinder out. I think I’ve only used it a couple of times — about a decade ago. The flavors in this burger sound amazing! And those images are so stunning!
My meat-grinding attachment has been collecting dust for ages — you inspire me to drag it out and make some lamb burgers for my lamb-loving husband.