Curry-Spiced Lamb Burgers

This recipe came from a revelation in the ’70s, when my friend Semeon Tsalbins introduced me to the lamb burger. It is ground lamb — shoulder is best — highly seasoned and grilled rare. Because lamb is the most full-flavored of the everyday meats, it makes a more delicious plain burger than beef. Cooked with nothing but salt, it’s fantastic. Cooked with a variety of spices, as it is here, it’s a game-changer. You can also stuff the burger, as Mr. Tsalbins does on occasion, with smoked mozzarella.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut into chunks
• 1 medium (or 1/2 large) onion, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 fresh chili, preferably jalapeño, seeded and minced
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• Salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Diced mango to garnish (optional)
• green and red pepper to garnish (optional)
• red onion to garnish (optional)
• scallion to garnish (optional)
• shredded carrot to garnish (optional)
• shredded lettuce, to garnish (optional)

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

    467 calories; 36 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 15 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 28 grams protein; 122 milligrams cholesterol; 106 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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4 burgers

Preparation

1. If grilling or broiling, heat should be medium-high and rack about 4 inches from fire. Put lamb and onion into a food processor (in batches if your machine is small) and pulse until coarsely ground. Put in a bowl with chili, coriander, cumin and turmeric, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix, handling the meat as little as possible, until combined. Taste and adjust seasonings. Handling meat as lightly as possible to avoid compressing it, shape it into 4 or more burgers.
2. To broil or grill, cook about 3 minutes on each side for rare and another minute per side for each increasing stage of doneness. For stovetop, heat a large skillet over medium heat for 2 or 3 minutes, then add patties; cook, undisturbed, for about 2 minutes, then rotate them so they brown evenly. Turn once and cook for a total of about 6 minutes for rare.
3. Garnish with diced mango, green and red pepper, red onion and scallion, and with shredded carrot and lettuce.

20 minutes