Lamb Merguez Burgers With Harissa Mayonnaise

Amarante

Tue, Aug 18 2020, 11:16 am

This was a fun way to incorporate Moroccan flavors onto the grill.

Per the notes you can use plain beef or even ground turkey.

Lamb Merguez Burgers With Harissa Mayonnaise

Excerpt From: Melissa Clark - Cook This Now

There is a minimalist elegance to a good hamburger. Simply seasoned with salt and pepper and grilled to medium-rare perfection, it needs nothing more than a soft white bun to reach its meaty potential, though an assortment of tasty accoutrements (pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, ketchup, blue cheese) can only make things better—if you’re the burger-topping type.

At the other end of the spectrum is my spicy lamb burger. Imbued with coriander, fennel, cayenne, and plenty of onion and garlic, it’s got the same flavor profile as a merguez sausage but is shaped into a burger-patty package. When served charred on the outside and juicy within, it is bold, intense, deeply savory, and about as far from minimalist as you can get, in the best possible way.

I like to serve it in a whole wheat pita pocket swathed in harissa mayonnaise and piled high with crunchy vegetables. But the fiery, gamy flavors of chile and lamb can easily stand alone on the plate—before you come along to gobble it up.

Serves 4

½ teaspoon coriander seed
½ teaspoon fennel seed
1 pound ground lamb
¼ cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces ( subbed Country Crock plant butter and only used 1 tablespoon) - this could be eliminated since most meats are fatty enough unless you are grinding very lean lamb.
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon paprika
Pinch cayenne
Olive oil, for brushing

⅓ cup mayonnaise
1 ½ teaspoons harissa, or to taste

4 whole wheat or regular pita breads

Sliced cucumber, for serving
Sliced tomatoes, for serving
Salad greens, for serving

1. In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the coriander seed and fennel seed until fragrant. Transfer the spices to a spice grinder and finely grind (alternatively, you can use a mortar and pestle).

2. In a large bowl, mix together the ground spices, lamb, onion, butter, garlic, salt, paprika, and cayenne until just combined. Form into 4 equal-size patties, about ¾ inch thick.

3. Preheat a grill to medium-high. Brush the grate lightly with oil. Place the burgers on the grill. Close the cover and cook to the desired doneness, about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let the burgers rest 5 minutes before serving.

4. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and harissa; spoon into the pitas. Fill the pitas with the burgers, cucumber, tomatoes, and greens.

What Else?

• If you don’t like lamb, this recipe works well with beef and ground turkey.

• Harissa is a seriously fiery, highly aromatic North African spice paste with an assertive, earthy flavor. It can be hard to find (I buy it at a local Middle Eastern store, and it’s available online), so if you can’t get it, just use a squirt of your favorite hot sauce instead.

• Regular hamburger buns are okay to use here, though they tend to fall apart more quickly than the sturdy pita breads, especially given all the mayo you’re probably going to smear on top of your burger (you’ll see, it’s so good you’ll want more). A better, nonpita bet would be a crusty roll.

• If you’re a pickle lover (and I most definitely am), they wouldn’t seem amiss here. Try stuffing a few sliced cornichons into the pita.