lamb kuftah burgers with tahini

kuftah lamb burgers with tahini

Yield: 10-12 large hamburgers, or 18-20 sliders

Rating: Pretty straight forward and easy to master. You may have to special request the ground lamb beforehand from your butcher.

Ingredients:

½ small onion, chopped

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 pounds ground lamb

1 pound ground beef

Zest of 3 lemons

3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped small

1 handful parsley, chopped

1 handful mint, chopped

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon coriander

1/8 teaspoon all spice

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

In a small sauté pan place your onion, olive oil and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Cook slowly under a medium-low flame for about 6-7 minutes. Allow the onions to cool.

In a large bowl mix the lamb, beef, lemon zest, garlic, parsley, mint, cumin, coriander, all spice, black pepper and the remaining ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt.

When you are ready to cook, preheat your grill to high for about ten minutes. After it’s hot, clean your grill grates with a metal BBQ brush to ensure the grill is clean. With the grill on medium-high, cook your burgers 8 minutes per side for large burgers and 6 minutes per side for sliders. I like my kuftah burgers medium-well. If you like yours less done then cook them 1 minute less per side.

Plan Ahead:

The formed, raw burgers can’t really stay in the fridge for more than 8 hours. However, you can freeze them to better prepare ahead or to stock up your freezer. I like to plastic wrap the burgers individually and place them all in a zippered bag. Or stack your burgers with wax paper in between each burger, place in an aluminum pan and plastic wrap the entire thing well. You do not need to defrost the burgers before cooking. Just add 1 minute of cooking time per side if they are frozen.

Homemade Tahini

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons sesame paste (I prefer the ones in the plastic containers. The ones in the jars are too hard and oily)

Juice of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons of water

1 teaspoon salt

1 clove smashed garlic, or finely chopped

Directions:

Mix the sesame paste with the lemon juice in a small bowl. With a small whisk or fork, mix well until the paste thickens a lot. Then add the water, salt and garlic. Continue to mix till it is a smooth sauce that will coat the back of the spoon. If the tahini is still too thick, slowly add more water one tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Plan Ahead:

You can keep the tahini refrigerated for up to one week.