Garlic Lamb Smash Burgers with Tzatziki Yogurt Sauce
We were craving burgers. It’s not often that we eat burgers but when we do, it’s a treat and we go all out. Last week we made these garlic lamb smash burgers and wow. Wow. Wow. The juicy Greek inspired smash burger is going to be on our list of Summer cookout burgers!
Greek Lamb Burgers with Tzatziki
Now we’re not saying these are authentically Greek in any way because our American-Greek friends might remind us that there’s always something missing. LOL. They’re always polite and we know this is a dang good recipe because our tzatziki sauce was approved from a taste test! But we used some really fragrant fresh mint and rosemary in the lamb mix. These aromatic herbs highlights the flavors of this beautiful Mediterranean country. Give it a try and let us now if this deserves a double thumbs up!
Video: Garlic Lamb Smash Burgers with Tzatziki
Grilling vs Griddle (or skillet) for Garlic Lamb Smash Burgers
Ok, so here’s a conversation to have. We love our burgers in different ways from grilling vs cooking on a griddle flattop or cast iron skillet. All are great but there’s something about a griddle or skillet smashburger that still holds a special place in our culinary hearts and hungry bellies.
- Grill can give a nice smoky and charred texture, especially if you use your favorite smoking chips.
- Using a griddle flat top or hot cast iron skillet sears the whole lamb burger evenly and it cooks within it’s own juices fat. This really is the key to why we love smash burgers so much. The rendered juices and fat from the meat patty enhances the flavor of the meat and most importantly, keeps the meat tender.
- Use what ever technique you like and we’d love to hear how you prefer to cook your burgers.
- What about air frying? We have you air fryer lovers covered too. Here’s our article for air fryer lamb burgers recipe on Air Fryer World.
Garlic Lamb Smash Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients
For the Lamb Burger Patties
- 1 pound (454 g) ground lamb
- 3 cloves garlic , minced (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1-2 teaspoons (5 ml) chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) chopped fresh mint
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) kosher salt , or to taste
- fresh cracked black pepper , to taste
- olive oil , for brushing
For Assembling Burger
- 3-4 hamburger buns
Additional toppings we love with the lamb smash burgers
- crumbled feta cheese, arugula, sliced red onion, sliced cucumbers (preferably Persian, English, or pickling cucumbers), additional chopped mint, hot sauce
For Tzatziki Sauce (optional)
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) plain greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) olive oil
- 1/4 cup (35 g) minced cucumber , (preferably Persian, English, or pickling cucumbers) remove seeds if using bigger seedy cucumbers
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) chopped fresh dill or 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
- Zest of 1/2 medium lemon
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) salt , or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) black pepper
Instructions
Make the tzatziki sauce:
- Combine all tzatziki ingredients (1/2 cup (120ml) greek yogurt, 2 teaspoons (10ml) olive oil, 1/4 cup (60ml) minced cucumber, 1 teaspoon (5ml) chopped dill, lemon zest, 1 teaspoon (5ml) lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon (1.25ml) garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon (1.25ml) salt, and 1/4 teaspoon (1.25ml) black pepper) in a bowl. Stir to combine everything well. If your yogurt is super thick, you can thin the sauce with a little milk, sour cream, or even water. Cover and chill in the fridge until ready to serve.
Make the burgers:
- In a bowl combine the 1 pound (454g) ground lamb, minced garlic or 1 teaspoon (5ml) garlic powder, 1-2 teaspoons (5-10ml) chopped rosemary, 2 Tablespoon (30ml) chopped mint, 1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) ground cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon (1.25ml) salt (or to taste).
- Form the ground lamb mixture into 3-4 rough balls. Don’t pack the meat. You want it fairly loose so it is more tender when it cooks.
- Heat a large skillet or flat top over medium-high heat. Add a bit of oil to lightly coat the skillet or flat top.
- Place the balls of lamb mixture on the heated skillet and smash into patties.
- Generously season the patties with fresh cracked black pepper and some additional salt (it’s nice to have a touch of salt on the outside of the patties besides the seasoning in the patty).
- Cook the lamb patties for about 2-4 minutes on each side or to your desired doneness. Remove the patties and cover with aluminum foil and allow to rest while toasting the buns.
- While the patties are resting, brush the cut sides of the hamburger buns with olive oil and toast the buns until golden brown, about 1 minute.
- Serve the lamb burgers garnished with the optional tzatziki sauce, and whatever additional toppings you like. We love it with sliced red onion, arugula, and sliced cucumbers.
Nutrition Information per Serving
Using Fresh Herbs vs Dried Herbs
Our garden, especially in Summer, is loaded with fresh mint and rosemary. Even in the winter season our local markets always have an abundant stash of fresh herbs. But we now not everyone can get access to fresh herbs. So using dried herbs is fine! Dried rosemary is easy to find but dried mint is a challenge, if it even exists at all. Even if you didn’t use any herbs in the ground lamb burger mix, the flavors are still exceptional. We use lots of garlic and with the touch of ground cumin, there’s no lack of flavor here.
Doubling the Ground Lamb Burger Mixture
If you’re having a party, it’s easy to double or even triple this recipe. The flavors are still fantastic these greek burgers are made in a large batch. Just remember to season the meat well and we can’t emphasize that enough. The flavors really come through more when you add enough salt.
Make Garlic Lamb Smash Burger Sliders for Parties
For parties, sometimes eating a whole burger is often too much. With all the other foods that are at parties, so many people usually wants to share a burger. So we started to just make sliders and these Greek garlic lamb smash burger sliders will be a hit for our next menu. Sliders are the perfect size and still leaves stomach room for the other foods. If someone is still hungry, they can always eat another slider!
