Mediterranean Lamb Burger with Feta and Garlic Dill Mayonnaise

Next time you grill up some burgers, take your guests to the mediterranean with this ultimate recipe for lamb burger with feta and garlic dill mayonnaise. 

Lucky for us, May is National Burger Month. Although I don’t many burger recipes (I really need to change that!), I do love a fabulous burger! For me, homemade burgers are the BOMB!

I like them big, fat and juicy, requiring two hands to hold together. And of course, the very best burgers are grilled over fire, for a little touch of smoky goodness. Today I am sharing something my whole family enjoys, this fabulous Greek inspired lamb burger.

The flavors of Mediterranean Lamb Burger

Lamb is one of the staple meats in Persian cuisine. We use lamb shanks in stews, marinate leg of lamb in yogurt and grill it, and use ground lamb for kabob. But here in the US, lamb can be expensive and hard to find.

If you were not raised on lamb, then perhaps you are not fond of the flavor. But my family is simply crazy about lamb, so I do my best to keep it on the family menu.

Lamb is also a popular meat in the Mediterranean Diet. I wanted my lamb burger to reflect all the fabulous colors and flavors found in the Mediterranean. This means fresh vibrant herbs like oregano, dill and chives.

The lamb burger is flavored with onions, garlic, and coriander. And of course, my Mediterranean lamb burger is topped with feta and pepperoncinis along with fresh vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes red onion and arugula.

How to cook lamb burgers on the stove

I personally prefer to cook my lamb burgers on the grill, with some hardwood lump coal or wood chips for smoky flavor. But I live in Southern California, where it’s grilling season 365 days out of the year. And of course, not everyone is blessed with this kind of weather!

If you can’t grill then you can totally cook lamb burgers on the stove. I like to use my cast iron grill pan. The grill pan lets the lamb burger cook to perfection allowing the fat drippings to collect underneath, away from your burger and mimicking a grill. And because it’s a cast iron pan, you get excellent even heat to cook your burger.

Can lamb burgers be cooked rare?

There is a great debate on how well cooked your burgers should be. When I enjoy steak, there’s no question to how done I like it: medium rare, baby! But with steaks, any harmful bacteria sits on the surface of cuts of meat. They are killed off by searing and cooking the meat, even when the center is left rare.

But burger meat is minced and mixed together, so the harmful bacteria is all over, including the center of the meat and can only be killed if cooked completely. This is the case whether you are using ground beef or ground lamb.

Cooking your lamb burger to medium heat internally doesn’t mean you are left with a dry burger. However you like to enjoy your burger, I give instructions for either doneness in the recipe below.

What to serve with your lamb burgers

For my lamb burgers, I created an extra special garlic dill aioli for it. What is an aioli? It’s basically a fancy mayonnaise seasoned with garlic. This garlic mayonnaise also has lemon zest, lemon juice and fresh dill and chives. It is so incredible and the perfect topper for this lamb burger.

If you are low carbing it, feel free to omit the bread, wrap in butter lettuce leaves or use some cloud bread. My kids wanted french fries with their lamb burgers, so I topped them with feta and some more oregano to keep the Greek theme going. You can also serve your lamb burger with cucumber tomato salad (Shirazi Salad) – another family favorite!

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Yield: 6 burgers

Lamb Burger with Feta and Garlic Dill Mayonnaise

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Next time you grill up some burgers, take your guests to the mediterranean with this ultimate recipe for lamb burger with feta and garlic dill mayonnaise.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 lb ground lamb
• ½ cup grated onions
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed (divided)
• 2 TBS chopped fresh oregano
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp ground pepper
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 4 tsp chopped fresh dill
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1 tsp chopped fresh chives
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• ½ cup crumbled feta
• 2 Persian cucumbers, sliced
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• 1 red onion, sliced
• ¾ cup arugula
• 6 pepperoncinis
• 6 hamburger buns

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine lamb, grated onions, 2 crushed garlic cloves, coriander, oregano, salt and pepper. Let mixture sit for one hour for the flavors to meld together.
2. To make the mayonnaise, mix together mayonnaise with lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 crushed garlic, chopped dill and chives. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
3. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.
4. Divide meat into 6 equal portions and shape each into a patty that is ½-inch-thick and roughly ½-inch wider than the burger buns.
5. Using your thumb, make an indentation into the center of each burger patty. This prevents burgers from doming up in the center while it cooks.
6. Brush grate with oil then place hamburger patties on the grill indentation-side up.
7. Grill burgers for 4-5 minutes on each side (8 minutes total for medium-rare, 10 minutes total for medium). Let burgers rest 2-3 minutes.
8. To assemble the lamb burgers, place a patty inside a hamburger bun and spread garlic dill mayonnaise on top along with a sprinkling of crumbled feta. Add slices of pepperoncinis, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions with a pile of arugula.

Notes

If serving with french fries, top potatoes with more crumbled feta, grated lemon zest and fresh oregano.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1 hamburger
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 768Total Fat: 48gSaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 28gCholesterol: 165mgSodium: 1830mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 4gSugar: 10gProtein: 46g

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