Spiced-Up Lamb Burgers with Feta
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Juicy ground lamb burgers seasoned with Middle-Eastern style spices, topped with feta cheese, tangy yogurt sauce and a crisp fennel slaw.
This lamb burger recipe makes super-tasty, spiced-up burgers, Middle-Eastern-style. Every bite contains layers of flavor from the seasoning blend, crunchy toppings and creamy, tangy yogurt sauce. You’re going to love them!
I’m crazy about making and eating burgers because their construction — layers of ground meat, sauces, condiments, vegetables and hamburger buns — are open to so many creative variables beyond basic beef and ketchup.
Ground lamb meat makes fantastic burgers!
- Lamb’s earthy flavor pairs so well with seasonings like garlic cloves and red onions and all kinds of spices.
- If you’ve ever tasted Greek-style kabobs or Mediterranean grilled meat, you get an idea of what I’m talking about.
Lamb burger spices
Middle-Eastern fragrant spices are a natural partner with ground lamb burger patties, including shawarma spice blends that are associated with Eastern Mediterranean street cooking. They contain a range of spices that vary from mix to mix.
Many of those spices are “sweet” ones like allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon, often associated with pastries and desserts in European culture.
I mix up a small batches of homemade shawarma-style spice blend to make these burgers, and it comes in handy to spice up other meats I like to cook on a charcoal or gas grill.
I highly recommend that you make a batch of my simple green sauce or basil pesto sauce to top them off, which makes them taste insanely delicious!
Spiced-Up Lamb Burgers with Feta
Ingredients
Spice mix:
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) ground coriander
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Yogurt sauce:
- ½ cup (75 g) crumbled feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) Greek-style yogurt
Fennel slaw:
- 1 small fennel bulb, halved and thinly sliced or shaved
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Burgers:
- 1 ½ pounds (680 g) ground lamb
- 1 small yellow or white onion
To serve:
- 4 burger buns or small pita, split and toasted
- Lettuce leaves and sprouts
- Thinly sliced cucumber
- Simple green sauce – recipe here , optional but delicious!
Instructions
Mix the spices
- Stir the cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, allspice and nutmeg together in a small bowl to blend.
Make the yogurt sauce
- Stir the feta and yogurt together in a bowl.
Mix the slaw
- Toss the fennel in a bowl with the lemon juice, olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt.
Lamb burgers
- Preheat a grill to medium-high for direct grilling.
- Put the lamb in a large bowl. Grate the onion on a box grater and add to the lamb. Add the spice mix. Blend well with your hands or a large fork and form into 4 patties.
- Grill or broil the burgers until cooked to your liking, about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare.
- Serve the burgers on buns or pita, topped with some of the feta-yogurt sauce, fennel slaw, green sauce, lettuce, cucumber and sprouts.
Notes
- The yogurt sauce and slaw can be prepped and refrigerated up to 6 hours ahead.
- Season the lamb and shape the burgers up to 6 hours ahead. Put them on a lightly oiled plate or baking sheet, cover and keep refrigerated. Bring them to room temperature for about 15 minutes before cooking.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
