Merguez Lamburger

Provenance

Merguez traditionally is a sausage from north Africa made with either lamb or beef and this really delicious seasoning consisting of red pepper and chili with some additional seasonings such as sumac, cumin, coriander, fennel, or caraway.  Tonight we are going to tweak that a bit and make a merguez lamburger.

I buy my merguez seasoning from the spice house in Evanston.  You can buy it on line at thespicehouse.com.  If you cannot find Merguez Seasoning, you can make your own,  see the note below.

Ingredients

Lamburger

1 lb ground lamb
3 Tbsp Merguez Seasoning
1/2 cup crumble goat cheese
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Tzatziki

1 10 oz container Greek Yogurt
1 small cucumber, seeded and diced, about 1/4 cup
1 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1/2 Lemon, juice

Fried Shallots

1 Medium shallot sliced thin
1/4 C olive oil


4 Brioche or Pretzel buns
Broad leaf lettuce

To Prep

Start by making the lamburgers, break the ground lamb into large chunks into a large mixing bowl.  Add 1/2 the Merguez seasoning, all of the goat cheese, diced onion and cilantro.  Gently turn the mixture, without over working the lamb.  You do not want the fat to melt by touching the lamb too much.  After the seasoning is well mixed, add the remaining merguez and continue to turn the meat.

Make 4 patties out of the mixture.  Store them in the fridge before cooking on the grill.  This can be made ahead in the morning and held until the guests arrive.

For the tzatziki sauce, empty your yogurt container into a medium mixing bowl.  Add the lemon juice, the diced cucumber and chopped dill.  Stir until well mixed.  This too can be made ahead and kept in the fridge until ready to plate.

For the fried shallots, preheat an 8" skillet and add the oil.  Prepare a plate with a couple of paper towels to recieve the fried shallots.  Once the oil is hot, add 1/2 of the sliced shallots.  They will cook fast and you have to watch the entire time (you do not want to burn the shallots.)  As they start to turn dark, remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon or a skimmer.  After the first batch is complete, add the second batch.  These will cook a little faster. so again you must watch them like a hawk.

To Cook

When the guests arrive, start the grill, serve them La Palomas and get ready to make your lamburgers.  Pull the lamb out of the fridge and let them rest for about 15 minutes.  Grill the lamburgers until medium rare about 5 minutes per side.  After turning the lamb, add the buns cut side down to the grill.  Keep an eye on them so they don't burn.

To Plate

Set up the plates with your favorite sides or try the roasted Parmesan fingerling potatoes.  Assemble the burger by placing a lettuce leaf on the bottom bun, a dollop of the tzatziki sauce, add the burger, top with tzatziki and the fried shallots.  Serve the burger open faced with the top of the bun cut side down.

You can watch my video on YouTube:

Note:

You can make your own merguez seasoning:  1 1/2 Tbsp Harissa, 1 tsp corriander seed, 1 tsp fennel seed, 1 tsp cumin seed.  Toast the seeds until aromatic.  Grind the seeds in a spice grinder or use a mortar and pestle.  If you cannot do that, you can substitute the seeds with ground seasonings.  Cooking is an art.  You make the best of the situation you are in.  Add the ground seeds to the harissa and mix until fully combined.  Add 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Makes enough for this recipe.