Greek-style Lamb Burgers

Burgers, burgers! They are a summertime classic. Beef burgers are the most common I'd suspect, but other types have crept onto the burger scene and are gaining in popularity, such as turkey, and veggie burgers. But one kind that you don't see as often, but is really quite tasty is the lamb burger.

I first had a lamb burger a few years ago at a pub and was instantly struck by the taste. I was pretty sure I could do this myself at home, so I looked around the internet for recipes and have tweaked about three that I'd come across, until I made this one into my own. It's a Greek-style lamb burger served in a pita.

Here, I'd also like to give a shout out to the place I get my ground lamb from. I discovered Mint Creek Farm at Chicago's Green City Market. Their lamb is free-range, grass-fed and never given hormones. It has such a delicate taste and I love the idea of supporting a sustainable, local farmer. AND, the best thing is that they are very reasonable in their prices...a full $2.00 per pound less than the cost of ground lamb from Whole Paycheck.

Ingredients

1 lb ground lamb
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tsp oregano or marjoram
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Toss all of the ingredients into a bowl and mixed up well.



Form mixture into patties, how many depends on how big of a patty you want.

Since I was using my toaster oven this night to make some roasted potatoes to go with this, I cooked these in a pan. You can throw these on the grill, toaster oven, pan or any other way you cook any other type of burger. Just lightly brush with olive oil prior to cooking, so they don't stick to whatever surface you are cooking them on.

One thing I learned on the Food Network about cooking burgers is to let a burger cook without fussing over it. Let one side get brown, and flip once to brown the other side...and NEVER take smash them down to make them flatter. This only squeezes out the good juices. This is something I see people do ALL the time. I wonder where that came from. Maybe from wanting a flatter burger on the bun. Well, whatever the reason, don't do it. lol

For a medium-cooked burger cook to 160º. In the meantime, warm some pita pockets to prepare for serving. I had this burger with Greek tzatziki sauce, lettuce, black olives and tomatoes in the pocket. OH-Pah!!!!