| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 21 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 6 min |
| Yield: | about 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 pint plain Greek-style yogurt, preferably full-fat
- 1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
- Kosher salt
- 1 loaf brioche bread
- 2 pounds ground lamb (preferably shoulder meat)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon salt
- About 20 grinds fresh black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1 small head red leaf lettuce, washed, dried, trimmed and torn into small pieces
- 4 ripe plum tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch thick rounds
Instructions
- Make the sauce:
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the yogurt and lemon zest and juice. Season, to taste, with a couple pinches of salt. Sauce can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to use. Bring to room temperature before using.
- Cut the brioche into about 1/3 to 1/2-inch thick slices and then use a small glass to cut out as many circles as possible, about 3 inches in diameter, from each slice. Place the bread “buns” in an airtight container until ready to use so that they stay moist and soft.
- Make the burgers:
- Preheat the grill.
- Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and work together until they are fully incorporated. Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop the mixture into little balls about 1 to 1 1/2 inches big and place them on a parchment paper-lined baking pan. Using your hands, flatten burgers to about 1/2-inch thick and just a couple inches in diameter.
- Once the grill is hot, place them on the grill and cook, about 2 to 3 minutes per side or until fully cooked through; cook time varies based on how hot your grill is.
- Place the cooked mini burgers on top of the cut brioche and add a piece of lettuce and a tomato slice. Top with a dollop of the lemon yogurt sauce and serve.
Reviews
I can only comment on the seasoning for the meat since we used mini water rolls and a different yogurt dip (greek yogurt with minced garlic and mint mixed in. The combo of seasoning for the meat was great. The burgers came out juicy and delicious. I wasn’t sure about this recipe and thought about using another that had bread crumbs and eggs in the mix, but I was pleasantly surprised. This was easy and really brought out the flavor of the lamb. Try it!
What a delicious recipe! Had mini brioche rolls on hand which were perfect. The seasonings were just right. Also tried them with fresh mint added on top! The burgers and the yogurt sauce can be made ahead. Thanks for the suggestion of slaw on the side-I sauteed 1/2 head of Savoy cabbage with 1/2 sliced red onion and sprinkled with seasoned rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, salt and pepper. A quick delicious meal!
I made a burger using this recipe as a guide. I didnt have fresh garlic so added garlic powder instead. I used it for full size burgers and did them on a cast iron grill pan. the seasoning was perfect! I set the burgers on some crubled feta on the bun, I used the yogurt sauce on the top and served with a side of home made slaw. A combination of whatever veggies I had (fennel, celery root, carrot, zucchini and julienned them and mixed in sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, 2 tiny pinches of stevia extract powder, a touch of soy sauce, mixed with toasted sesame seeds and almonds in butter. Next time i will use a pita and stuff the lamb , yogurt sauce and slaw all in together. Excellent meal!
I made them in a pinch, because I had nothing else to feed the family but frozen ground lamb (which I personally dislike). The recipe was super quick and easy and I cooked them into meatballs and served them over a bed of lettuce with cucumber slices and tomatoes. I will always make my meatballs from lamb seasoned this way from now on. It was great! Plus the lemon yogurt added a little creamy tartness that complimented the meat perfectly.
For two people who aren’t lamb fans – my husband and I really enjoyed this recipe! We made full sized burgers out of them. I had trouble finding ANY plain yogurt in the store I was in – so I had to settle for non-fat plain yogurt – and it was still good. I look forward to trying it with the Greek-style in the future.
This recipe would be great for regular burgers too. Definitely use REAL Greek yogurt…seasonings & yogurt sauce made this a very tasty burger.
I served these great meatballs for a buffet supper. Everybody loved them especially the yogurt sauce -USE REAL GREEK YOGURT!