Mini Lamb Burger

June 23, 2013 Ceri

Esme’s got a new obsession with favourites. “Who do you love more, Julian or me? If you had to choose!” To which I reply, “Nice try, small fry, I don’t have to choose.” Or she’ll ask me a series of questions, “What do you like more, daisies or roses?” “Roses.” “And what do you love more, roses or chocolate?” “Huh?” And so on, until she is satisfied that she has landed on your favourite of favourites. I guess it’s human nature, right?

Burgers are a favourite of mine all year round but particularly in the summer. It’s an obsession that is usually frustrated. For all the burger places here in Toronto I find it maddeningly hard to find a really great burger. They’re usually too dry and dense. Why is that? Anyway, not these little babies. Taking a spin through the SPC burger archive I realized we’d never done a lamb burger and I thought it would be nice for the kids to make them mini and serve them in little pita pockets. Both Esme and Julian love burgers too but Julian can sometimes struggle to manage keeping them together. Which leads to a very messy, layer-by-layer approach to eating them I’d rather never see again. If you don’t have time to whip up the tzatzki-ish sauce to go with the lamb burgers it’s no big deal but it is super delish. And I love the contrast of a cool, fresh tasting sauce on a hot burger. I think of lamb as being a rather rich-tasting meat but these are actually quite lean. You’ll probably have to ask your butcher to grind the lamb for you as you don’t often see it ready to go in the meat section.

So, what about you? As Esme would ask, “What do you love more, salads or burgers? Do you love ice cream more or popsicles?” Tell us about your summer favourites — we love hearing from you!

photo by Maya Visnyei

Mini Lamb Burger

Ingredients

1 lb ground lamb
1/4 cup red onion, finely minced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano (or 2 tsp fresh)
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper
mini pitas
lettuce leaves, washed and torn
tomatoes, sliced
Tzatziki-ish Sauce
1/2 English cucumber, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp fresh mint, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Method

In a large bowl, mix together all the burger ingredients together until everything is well combined. Cover and place in the fridge while you make your tzatzki-ish sauce or anything else you need to prepare for your barbecue.

In a medium sized bowl, mix all of your sauce ingredients together and let them sit in the fridge for a bit to get the best flavour.

Form the meat into small patties — you should get about 8 or 9 out of the batch. Place them on a clean plate. Heat your grill or pan to medium, medium/high heat and if you're using a pan, add a bit of vegetable oil. Cook your burgers, about 5 minutes on each side until the internal temperature is 160 degrees if you've got a meat thermometer or just barely pink in the centre if you don't. You'll need to work in batches, you don't want to over crowd the pan.

Cut each pita in half and tuck in a lamb patty, some lettuce, tomato and a good dollop of the tzatziki-ish sauce. Serve and watch these babies disappear.

Sweet Potato Chronicles