Start your grilling season with these simple lamb burgers! Made with ground lamb and packed with aromatics, they turn out incredibly juicy and tender.
At Weschenfelder, we love our burgers and are huge advocates of using alternative meats to beef for making patties.
Lamb may not be the first meat you think of when it comes to burgers, but lamb burgers are naturally juicier and hold on to the flavour of the seasoning you add to them. With this recipe, we used the Leonards gluten-free lamb burger mix, which has a lovely fresh minty aroma that is balanced out by the nutmeg, parsley and kick of white pepper.
Why We Love Making Lamb Burgers?
Mouthwatering - The patties by themselves are tender, juicy, and absolutely full of flavour.
Quick and Easy - Combine the minced meat with the burger mix and add a little water to bind the mixture together.
Prep ahead - These burgers are perfect for batch prepping. Make in bulk and freeze until ready for use for those mid-week dinners.
How Many Burgers will this Recipe make?
That depends on how you like your burgers! At fast food chains, the standard burger is a quarter-pounder, which weighs in at 113g.
At Weschenfelder, we like our burgers a little bit thicker and certainly more juicy! We aim for a burger between 140g and 180g, which is what most restaurant-style burgers are.
This recipe will make between 65 and 70 burgers, each weighing 140g.
Burger Toppings & Sauces
Lamb Burgers are hugely versatile when it comes to toppings. For this recipe, we made our own Tzatziki sauce. We pre-salted the cucumbers to remove moisture, but you can do it with a tea towel if you are in a rush. The tzatziki sauce really brings out the best in the lamb and really is a match made in heaven.
INGREDIENTS
The Burgers
8.172kg Mincer Lamb Meat (15% fat ratio)
454g Leonards Gluten Free Lamb Burger
454g Cold Water
The Tzatziki Sauce
1 Cucumber (thinly sliced)
1 tsp Blackthorn Salt
500g full-fat Greek yoghurt
110g Finely Chopped Fresh herbs (Dill, Mint, Parsley)
1 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
Note: For smaller mixes, reduce the quantities above equally.
METHOD
For The Tzatziki Sauce
1. For the Tzatziki sauce, thinly slice your cucumber into wafer-thin pieces. Pop the cucumber slices in a sieve over a bowl to drain. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of salt over the cucumbers and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 24 hours, turning them occasionally.
2. Once the cucumbers have drained, mix them with the yoghurt, dill, mint, parsley, vinegar, and garlic. Stir together until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed in. Taste and add more salt if needed. This step can be done up to 3 days before serving.
For the Lamb Burgers
1. Mince your lamb, ensuring a 15% fat ratio. If the lamb appears too lean, add pork fat, which is commonly available at most butchers.
2. Add your Leonard's Gluten-Free Lamb Burger mix to a large bowl and mix it vigorously with your hands.
3. Slowly add the cold water a little at a time while mixing with your hands. Keep going until all the water has been added and the mixture has soaked it up. The meat should come to the side of the bowl without sticking, similar to dough when making bread.
4. Take a handful of meat from the mixture and roll it into a ball before weighing it to between a target weight of 140 and 180g. Repeat the process for the first 5 or 6 balls, then go off eye for the rest of your mixture to speed up the process.
5. Place the meat balls on the worktop and press down using your burger press. If you don't have a burger press, apply pressure and push down using the palm of your hand.
6. Use burger discs to separate the burger's topping and tailing them ready for storing in the fridge or freezer.
7. Grill the patties on each side for 4-5 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 74°C (165F).
Weschenfelder Top Tip: Serve in a classic brioche bun with fried red onions and your homemade tzatziki sauce!
