Lamb, Feta Sliders with Garlic Mint Sauce

Mini burgers have started to answer the call of diners looking for a quick, fun bite that packs good burger flavour. Known as sliders, these bite-sized treats have been popping up on restaurant menus and in cookbooks regularly.

Paul first made sliders about three years ago. At the time we had to make our own buns from scratch because it was impossible to find mini-hamburger buns. When I was doing the grocery shopping on Friday I found mini-burger buns - clearly a sign that the slider has gone main-stream.

At another store I spied some wonderful, fresh-ground lamb . . . there was feta in the fridge to eat up. I recalled a wonderful lamb burger Paul made in the summer of 2007 (I don't remember when our anniversary is but I can recall a burger he made 3 years ago . . . how messed up am I?) and decided to try and duplicate them but as sliders.

I whipped these up last night after a busy day of chores, hiking, and napping! The recipe made wonderful sliders - in fact I think that I liked them better as mini-burgers for some reason. Anyway, if you're looking for a great way to impress family and friends give these a try!

Lamb, Feta Sliders with Garlic Mint 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

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.

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

18 slider rolls
18 thin slices of ripe tomato

Slider Directions

In a large bowl, gently mix the slider ingredients, including the remaining 6 tablespoons of mint. The shape the meat into 18 mini-patties of equal size, about 2 cm thick. Refrigerate about 15 minutes before grilling.

Grill the sliders 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 sliders on the toasted buns with the tomato slices and cucumber sauce.

Comments

[Kayte]

Sold! With teens, I make a lot of these for "snacks" when the friends are over, but never with lamb before, going to try that one this week for us. Thanks for the idea. They look wonderful in your photo.

[nancyhol]

Yes, you are right - sliders have gone main-stream!

Our local supermarket is now selling five flavors of slider patties. We did a taste test of four of them a couple of nights ago.

Your lamb sliders sound great! On the to-do list, for sure!

[JDeQ]

Thanks kayte - they tasted great. We finished the laft overs last night. They get better and better. *smile*

Five flavours nancy? What could they be?