I’ve been working on this recipe for a few weeks, I think I’ve got it! And just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. Ground lamb can be a tough one to get right. It’s most often too “lamb-ey”, even though I like lamb. I wanted a moist and tender lamb burger with a more subtle taste. A post with a recipe for chicken meatballs on the blog “The Frugal Hausfrau” gave me an idea. What if I took her idea and adapted it to my lamb burgers? She used ricotta in the mix to lighten things up and keep the meat moist. I had tried feta, it didn’t do the trick. But ricotta….hmmm.
Tender Lamb Burgers
- 1 1/4 lbs. of ground lamb
- 1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger
- 2 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon of lemon zest
- 1/2 cup of chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon of Ras el Hanout (paprika, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, grains of paradise, allspice, nutmeg, mace, cayenne from the Oaktown Spice Shop)
- 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
- 1/4 cup of chutney (any kind), chopped if large pieces
- 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese
- 1 egg, lightly whipped
- squeezed juice of 1 lemon
- Kosher or sea salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)
- Olive oil for frying
Lamb Burgers Before Cooking
- Mix the seasonings (everything but the lamb) with the ricotta.
- Add the ground lamb to the seasoned ricotta and gently mix everything together.
- Form into patties of your desired size (I made 5 generous ones).
- Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Preheat a large skillet on medium high, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan
- Fry the patties until done to your liking, for me that was about 4 minutes to a side.
Serve with in a roll with humus, cucumber, sliced red pepper, avocado, thinly sliced onion and parsley.
Lamb Burgers
Or with sauteed greens or other veggies.
Lamb Burgers with avocado and greens
They turned out to be what I was looking for.
I’m going to take these to Fiesta Friday #59 to share with Angie and the gang at the Novice Gardener. Friday goes with burgers. Please come and check out the rest of the party.
Fiesta Friday
These could also be made into meatballs and browned in a skillet or the oven. Because of the chutney and bit of sugar they brown up beautifully.
Oh, these look so good and the spicing sounds like it must be just amazing! I wasn’t expecting it to go in this direction and I bet the chutney just pops with every bite! It was sweet of you, too, to give me a “shout out!”
Thank you for giving me the idea. I used green tomato chutney, made from tomatoes in my garden in 2008, as it’s not too sweet. And, it gets better every year. I think mincemeat would also be interesting.
I can see we think a lot a like on using ingredients, and all of them, and I can’t tell you how many people I know who would be totally freaked out by that 2008 mention! A friend of my son’s told me a few weeks that canned food should always be used up within a year or donated, which is so ridiculous! And if she’s afraid to eat it (which is such nonsense) why on earth would she donate it?
I bet it does just keep getting better and better! 🙂 Wish you lived closer, I’d love to check out your garden. 🙂 And do a little sampling…
In 2008 we had an early winter and I ended up with a ton of green tomatoes that were not going to ripen. I think chutney is a bit like wine, it needs time mellow. Actually at first I didn’t think I was going to like this recipe…it took a few years for the flavors to blend. As long as there is no sign of spoilage or an off putting scent, I say it’s ok. Eventually things taste dead, but that is WAY down the road.
I’d love it if you lived closer. It would be great fun to have a fellow blogger to taste and chat with, maybe over tea or wine.
I once tried eating meat balls using lamb because I just took it by mistake. I found the taste a little off, but in this burger, you made it sound awesome. Thanks for bringing this amazing burger, Liz. Happy FF to you. 😉
I agree Jhuls, it does taste too gamey for me “as is”. The ricotta really tames it.
Wow, this looks simply delicious! I’m getting hungry just from staring at my computer screen 😛
Hi Becca, thanks for visiting…don’t take a bit out of your computer as it’s bad for you teeth. Happy Friday.
Nice work Liz!
Lamb is often overlooked as a burger meat, which is a shame really, because it’s virtually impossible to over grill / fry / broil it to the point of dryness, which can be all too easy with lean beef, for example.
I notice you use a lot of lamb as well. I agree it’s a shame we don’t see more of it.
I think the price puts a lot of people off, Liz…
I love lamb so much! What a great idea! I have never tried lamb this way…this looks yummy!
It was good. We eat so much chicken in our house (which I love) but it is nice to have a change.
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Ooh these look yummy! I don’t cook a lot of lamb because like you I don’t like it when it’s too lamb-y, so will have to try this one!
I agree, it can be very strong. These are much mllder and very moist.
This is a very exciting recipe for me! My husband loves lamb, and I want to but find it a bit bold. I am definitely going to try this one and surprise the heck out of him. Thanks Liz!
Hi Julie, let me know how he likes them. My family loved them, they were still moist reheated the next day.
I will!
Wow! You have a flavorful burger here! Amazing flavors!
Thank you so much for visiting and commenting. They were very flavorful.
Lamb is so delicious! And what better than juicy burgers? These looks so full of flavour I really wish I had one for lunch! 🙂
They would be good for lunch…especially on St. Patrick’s Day. Be sure and wear your green! Thanks for visiting.
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