Lamb Burgers with Oregano, Mint, and Cucumber-Garlic Sauce

Paul whipped these up last night. He actually first made this recipe last year and we loved the results. For some reason (likely the fact that I get far too many food magazines and cookbooks) we never made it again until last night. These really are the best burgers I have ever had (and I have eaten my share over the years folks!)

Easy to put together and quick to cook, these burgers would be a welcome choice on a week night. We used fresh herbs and tomatoes form our garden. That is one of the nicest things about this time of the year; the ability to open the patio, door walk outside, and gather whatever I need to add to a recipe. I know that the herb is the freshest it can be!

Some folk might be put off by the use of ground lamb. I think that we were at first. We quickly got over it - there is not a strong lamb taste just the wonderful combination of garlic, feta, herbs, and onion all held together with the lamb. In a pinch you could use prepared tzatziki but it won't taste as good!

This recipe originally appeared in the Weber's Real Grilling cookbook.

Sauce:

4 oz English Cucumber
2 tsp minced garlic
8 tablespoons finely chopped mint, divided
1/2 cup plain yoghurt
1/2 tsp kosher salt
few drops Tabasco sauce

Directions:

Peel, grate, and seed the cucumber. Drain in a sieve while preparing the rest of the ingredients. In a small bowel, stir together the garlic, 2 tablespoons of the mint, the drained cucumber, and the remaining sauce ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Burgers

2 pounds ground lamb
2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup minced onion
3 tablespoons finely chopped oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper

6 onion or Kaiser rolls
6 slices of ripe tomato

Directions

In a large bowl, gently mix the burger ingredients, including the remaining 6 tablespoons of mint. The shape the meat into six patties of equal size, about 2 cm thick. Refrigerate about 15 minutes before grilling.

Grill the burgers over direct heat until cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes, turning once.

During the last 30 seconds, toast the buns, cut side down.

Serve the burgers on the toasted buns with the tomato slices and cucumber sauce.

Serves 6

Comments

[Diva]

oh that looks so greek and so good!

[Donna]

Yummm that looks so good!!

[Jerry]

Judy and Donna - they were. We made half the recipe (3) and only planne don one each. They were so darn good that we fought over the last one! LOL