Greek Burger with a minty garlicky cucumber sauce

We took delivery of a lamb we'd ordered from the University of Arizona's Meats Lab on Friday and to be honest I was a little worried. You see I'm pretty darn fussy when it comes to my lamb - it needs to be on the lean side because I find the taste of the fat can be too overpowering. I also much prefer home grown lamb over imported because,in my opinion, the flavor profile is better. After all, they are what they eat aren't they?

Well, I need not have worried my pea brain over it because we tried some yesterday and it is quite simply sublime!

Mixed with bread crumbs, onion, garlic, fresh mint, a touch of oregano and a smidge of lemon juice, the patties cooked quickly in our trusty cast iron pan and topped a bed of mixed greens, sliced tomato and sweet onion on a piece of flatbread. Dressed with a creamy yogurt cucumber sauce (tzatziki), it went down the hatch darned easy. Only after we'd finished eating these glorious little morsels did I remember that I'd forgotten to put the feta cheese on the table. Darn! Guess we'll just have to do it all again PDQ!  Download Greek Burger with Tzatziki

If you're not much into lamb, you could certainly use ground chicken or turkey and it would taste wonderful. As for us, we'll be chowing down on some great bahhhhh ...about 57 pounds of it over the next little while. Lucky us, eh?

Greek Burger with Tzatziki (adapted from epicurious.com))

1/3 cup soft bread crumbs

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 cup dried panko crumbs

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic

Small handful fresh mint

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 pound lean ground lamb

Salt & coarse ground black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cups mixed greens

2 tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 sweet onion, thinly sliced

1/3 cup feta cheese (optional)

Mediterranean flat bread or pita, warmed

Combine soft bread crumbs and milk in a bowl and set aside. In bowl of food processor place onion, garlic, mint, oregano and lemon juice. Pulse until finely chopped. Add to softened breadcrumbs in bowl along with ground lamb. Add dried panko, season with salt and coarse ground black pepper. Mix together lightly until combined. Using a quarter cup measure, form into balls then flatten into small patties. Set aside in refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up. Heat heavy pan with olive oil until oil is shimmering. Add patties and cook quickly for 2 minutes on one side and 1 minute on the other, being careful not to crowd the pan. Remove and keep warm until all patties are cooked. Serve on flat bread along with mixed greens, tomatoes, onion and feta cheese. Garnish with tzatziki.  

Tzatziki

2/3 cup Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon chopped mint

1 large clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 cup peeled, seeded finely chopped cucumber

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle over lamb burgers.  Serves 4.

Hint - for a lower carb version, serve without the flatbread.

Comments

[Mags]

I'm fairly new to lamb, but this burger looks like a great way to familiarize myself with the flavor.

[June]

The flavor is so fresh, likely because of the mint but I think you'll love lamb after trying these.

[Nanan]

William would be in heaven - he LOVES lamb!!!!! Can't go wrong with the University raised stuff!!! You know they do stuff the right way!

[June]

They sure did this time! It's really wonderful and we can't wait to try another cut.