Lamb Burgers with Garlic Sauce

Sammy’s obviously telling me something:

Lambburger01

I’m guessing he’s letting me know it’s time to start grilling again. To start out I thought I’d try something a bit different, so we came up with Lamb Burgers. Most recipes that I’ve read use a 50-50 mixture of lamb and ground beef, so that’s what I stuck with. First to North Park Produce for some ground lamb, then a quick trip to Iowa Meat Farms for some ground sirloin. Back home we got the charcoal going and made them patties.

Lamb Burgers
1 Lb Ground Lamb
1 Lb Ground SirloinLambburger02
1 Large Onion Diced
Salt
Pepper
Granulated Garlic

1 – Mix ingredients – do not over mix.
2 – Form into patties.
3 – Grill away

I wanted something a little different for the "spread" as well. So thought I’d attempt to make a "Lebanese – style", garlic paste/sauce. I just went for a straight forward sauce, and didn’t add any secret ingredients, like bread or potatoes, or what not.

Lambburger03

Garlic Sauce
3 Whole Heads Garlic cloves peeled and separated
1/2 Cup Lemon Juice
2 Tsp Salt
1 1/2 Cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 – Combine garlic, lemon juice, and salt in a blender.
2 – Blend until a smooth "paste" is achieved
3 – While blender is running, slowly add olive oil into the blender in a thin stream until the mixture thickens.
4 – Refrigerate. The sauce will last up to a week in the refrigerator, though the "pungency" will weaken over time.

A quick note: I think next time, I’ll use canola oil. I didn’t really care for the taste olive oil gave to the dish. Olive oil also gave the sauce a slightly green tinge. I may add some mashed potato to thicken the sauce out a bit, and maybe cut down on the lemon juice as well. Still the sauce was pretty tasty.

We’ve also been infatuated with these chips:

Lambburger04

They are Cassava Chips, and if I’m to believe the label; are lower in Cholesterol and fat than Potato Chips. The chips are slightly sweet, yet still crunchy.

Lambburger05

17 comments

  1. Kirk,
    Ohhh the burgers, and the chips look so good! I can just about taste the burgers. I have to agree I have been dissapointed with olive oil in some instances. Easpecially in baking it has let me down.
    Sammy is so cute, and I hope you gave all your Boyz a treat and didn’t torture them so badly with the burgers…:)

  2. Hi Mills – The garlic sauce was pretty good. And the “Boyz” did get their share!
    Hi Ben – Yep, your right, taking that grill out of mothballs was over due! Good thing I had Sammy to remind me.
    Hi Reynila – Got them at World Foods Supermarket – 5245 El Cajon Blvd. San Diego, CA 92115. I think they’re really good!

  3. Mmm that burger looks absolutely yummy!! I know what you mean about olive oil. It can be surprisingly ‘stinky’ or have a wierd taste when used in combination with some things, yet in others like char grilled veggies, its nice! Have you ever tried cassava chips coated with sweet chilli ? Its really addictive!

  4. Hi Reid – It’s really not too bad.
    Hi Rachel – Cassava chips with sweet chili sauce, eh? I’d never even had cassava chips before these – so that’s a combo I need to try! Thanks!
    Hey Jack – They always hope – but they know they’ll get their own “special” (no onions, salt, or pepper) version!

  5. Kirk, maybe look in your asian (try indo or malaysian type) supermarkets and the chips come pre-coated with the sweet chilli. If you see tapioca chips that style, try them too. They have a more thick texture but also quite tasty. The Indonesians use tapioca chips to garnish some of their soups eg. soto kambing (one I know you’ll looove, a hearty goat soup) or soto jarkarta which has “mixed” beef bits in a coconut tasty sweet sour style soup. If you can’t find any, drop me a line. I’d find some and mail the chips to you 😀

  6. I’m drooling. Lamb burgers sound awesome. And yours look splendiricious. And those cassava chips! I love em too! They’re made in Indonesia, IIRC. Damn tasty and addictive.

  7. Hi Rachel – This was the first time I’ve seen them – and they are really tasty. I’ve found them at only 1 SE Asian Market here in San Diego.
    Hi Elmo – Cassava Chip…mmm-yoso!!! I’d rather have them over regular chips any day!

  8. Hi Mills – The garlic sauce is Ono, I’m going to have to work on a method to thicken it out a bit. somebody told me they used mashed potato??????!!!!
    Hi Rachel – Ah yes, us Asians! I prefer salty-sweet, over sweet too!

  9. Hiya Kirk,
    Do you happen to know of a Cuban market in San Diego? I’m just getting in to this cuisine and am having a tough time finding ingredients.
    Love your recipe, makes me want to immediately fire up my grill…

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