The Lamb Burger

I’ve finally made the perfect cheeseburger after being disappointed on many other
occasions. And, no cow was harmed in the making of this burger. It’s not like I 
haven’t enjoyed my burgers in the past, it’s just that I haven’t hit that bliss moment 
the way I have during other burgers at my favorite burg spots. Until yesterday. This 
burger could make a lamb lover out of you, if you aren’t one already. So if you read 
on, I’ll share my holy moment with you and even suggest a wine pairing that worked 
wonders!

I won’t take credit. I followed the recipe from this link almost exactly for the burger 
(although I used different toppings): Saveur Lamb Burger

Lamb-Burger
To top my burger, I kept it simple: Goat cheese and pickled onions on French 
bread, which I grilled with olive oil and flavored with a touch of kosher salt. I tried 
sundried tomatoes as suggested, and also a homemade roasted tomato spread, but 
these were both rejected for the simplicity of goat cheese and onions. The flavor 
of the burger was perfect as is. Even the best beef burgers tasted better with many 
add-ons including ketchup, but this lamb recipe was enough for me, who can be a 
condiment queen. 

The pickled onions are divine, and I must share the website link that made them 
possible (THANK YOU to a Farm Girl’s Dabbles- I’ll be a repeat visitor!) They will 
be used for the next month, as this is how long they keep (unless I polish them off 
before then which is very possible). Farm Girls Dabbles

After mixing sautéed onions, chopped garlic, Dijon, coriander, cumin, fresh herbs 
(parsley, mint and dill, though I cheated and used freeze dried parsley/ dill), 
oregano, scallion, salt and pepper with the lamb/ pork mixture (3:1 ratio), I formed 
two large patties (and one baby patty for a little leftover treat). Though this may 
sound like a lot of ingredients, the flavor they created easily made this a winner in 
the “best seasoned” category of my burger history. 

Outside, the grill was waiting and oiled. I kept the coals on one side, since the 
burgers drip a lot of grease which fuel the coals and create a lot of flame. They 
worked nicely not directly over, but close to the coals and cooked in the same 
amount of time mentioned in the recipe link- 5-ish minutes on each side for medium 
rare. A note about medium rare- it was really more like medium, pink but not too 
pink. I was nervous about this because of the pork included, but the meat tasted 
cooked through and not overdone, which was perfect. To add to the grill, corn on 
the cob cooked in the exact same amount of time, how convenient is that? So the 
burgs and corn both kept each other company after brushing some oil on the corn 
for roasting quality. One note about “roasting quality-“ The corn, over the coals, 
blackened from the smoke created by burg juice on coals. Next time I’ll put them on 
the other side of the grill, not over the coals.

OK- that’s it really! After grilling the oiled bread, I brought the goods inside and 
prepared the toppings: Just a smear of spreadable goat cheese and onions, which 
added a crisp, fresh crunch to the perfect flavor of burger. My dinner companion 
and I looked up and made eye contact after the first bite- the first wordless sign that 
something had gone very, very right in the preparation. I should mention here that a 
parsnip/ potato mix was roasted and served on the side, but it was kind of lackluster 
compared to the burger.

On a wine pairing note: I got it right the first time (I won’t pretend I didn’t look up 
good pairings, though I had to take a chance on a different brand of wine since I 
was at your average grocery store). A Rioja Tempranilla reserve was suggested, 
and I found one on sale for $12 (Campo Viejo 2007). It was smooth with an earthy, 
peppery quality, and stood up to the intense flavor of the burger. Damn if it didn’t 
go with the goat cheese as well. I think the reason wines don’t usually pair perfectly 
with burgers is because of ketchup, which just isn’t a friend of vino. Good thing this 
burger is perfect without it. 

And a delicious Friday night BBQ was had by all. It’s on my repeat list and I hope you 
agree.