Rebecca Nielsen's Recipe

Gyro Burgers with Zouped up Tzatziki

Category: Hamburgers

Serves/Makes: 4
Difficulty: 3
Prep/Cook Time: 25 minutes
Inactive Fridge Time: 6 hours

Ingredients:

Burgers
1 1/4 pounds ground lamb
2 T chopped roasted red peppers
1 T chopped fresh basil
1 T chopped fresh oregano
2 large garlic cloves, grated on microplane
4 ounces crumbled feta
1 1/2 t kosher salt

Tzatziki Sauce
2/3 of a English cucumber
2/3 cup Greek yogurt
2/3 cup sour cream
2 large cloves garlic, grated on microplane
1 T chopped fresh dill
1 T chopped fresh oregano
1 1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 t fresh ground pepper

Preparation:

For Burgers - In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients and mix with hands. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours to allow ingredients to get friendly. I usually do this in the morning before work so the meat is very well seasoned by dinner time.

For Sauce - Trim ends of cucumber and grate on the small side of your box grater. Put the grater inside of a bowl to catch the liquid. When done place a sieve over the bowl. Add 1/2 t of kosher salt to the shredded cucumber and put in sieve. Press with palm of your hand to release liquid. Leave in sieve over bowl for about 1 hour in the fridge, pressing to release liquid every 15 minutes or so.

In a medium bowl mix the rest of the sauce ingredients and put in fridge. When hour is up remove cucumbers from fridge and give it one last press. Remove cucumbers and add to sour cream mixture. Mix well separating cucumbers so as not to leave any clumps. Taste and adjust salt content in necessary. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Remove meat mixture from fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Divide into 4 pieces and make patties. Don't make your patties too thick as lamb cooks up more dense than beef. Grill for 5 minutes each side.

To serve, put patty on your favorite bun and top with the Tzatziki sauce.

Cooks Notes - I love lamb, gyros and burgers. I married all three and came up with this burger that really tastes like a gyro. You could grill them off immediately but it is really worth it to make them up ahead of time.