Spicy Lamb Burgers With Tahini
Updated June 4, 2024
- Total Time
- 30 minutes, plus 1 hour chilling
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 25 minutes, plus 1 hour chilling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 1pound ground lamb
- ½cup roughly chopped cilantro, plus sprigs for assembly
- 2tablespoons sweet paprika
- 2tablespoons ground cumin
- 2teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 1teaspoon ground coriander
- 1teaspoon ground fennel
- 1teaspoon dried oregano
- ½teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½teaspoon ground cayenne
- 2large garlic cloves, finely grated
- 1serrano chile, finely chopped
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 2teaspoons lemon zest plus 3 tablespoons juice (from 1 lemon)
- ½teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 1 or 2garlic cloves, finely grated
- 3tablespoons tahini
- 1cup plain yogurt (full-fat or low-fat)
- ¼cup thinly sliced green scallion tops
- 2tablespoons roughly chopped dill
- Small pitas, toasted
- Tomato slices
- Avocado slices
- Roasted red peppers, jarred or fresh
For the Burgers
For the Tahini Sauce
For Assembly
Preparation
- Step 1
Make the burgers: Place the ground lamb on a rimmed baking sheet or in a large bowl. Add cilantro, paprika, cumin, salt, coriander, fennel, oregano, cinnamon, cayenne, garlic and serrano.
- Step 2
Knead mixture until the spices are well incorporated. Wrap the meat and refrigerate for an hour or up to 48 hours.
- Step 3
With wet hands, form into 8 (2-ounce) balls, then flatten balls into thin patties. Refrigerate until ready to cook. (Patties can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to a month.)
- Step 4
Meanwhile, make the tahini sauce: Put lemon zest and juice in a medium bowl. Add salt, garlic and tahini, and stir to dissolve. Whisk in yogurt, and stir in scallions and dill.
- Step 5
Cook the burgers: Heat a wide cast-iron pan over medium-high. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pan. When oil is wavy, cook 4 patties at a time, in batches, to keep from crowding the pan, for about 1½ to 2 minutes per side, until lightly browned. The thin patties will be cooked medium but will remain juicy. (Alternatively, cook over a hot grill for 3 minutes on each side.)
- Step 6
To serve, tuck each patty into a pita with a spoonful of tahini sauce, tomato, avocado, cilantro and roasted red pepper.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
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noelle
Overspiced. The lamb should be allowed to come through but instead, this derails the purpose of using lamb.
Molly
Best lamb burgers I've ever made -- could add a little more garlic/lemon to the tahini sauce. Otherwise, 10/10
Hannah
This was such a simple and deliciously flavorful meal that the whole family devoured. We have young children so we left out the cayenne and serrano pepper. Otherwise I made them as written and cooked over the grill. The tahini sauce is DIVINE and should not be skipped. I only left them in the fridge for 30 minutes because I was short on time. This will go into regular rotation! Great twist on burger night.
Shannon
Made these for guests last night and they were a real hit. Had leftovers for breakfast, as doubled the recipe to ensure enough. So delicious. Married the spices with lamb for about 8 hours, which was perfectly adequate. The roasted peppers and avocados definitely added to the flavor of the burgers. Don’t skip those.
Ryan
These burgers were delish. I didn’t have a couple of the spices - fennel and the serrano - so made without and they were still the bomb. Passed on the tahini yogurt and made a simple yogurt/garlic/lemon sauce my family likes. Prep was fast. Great protein for a summer Mediterranean feast!
Jon
To continue. David Tanis’s recipe for lamb meatballs is one of my favourites. There, a much milder seasoning brings out the flavour of the lamb. If you can use goat or sheep feta and I like goat yogurt.
Jon
This is definitely over-spiced. Why bother to use lamb (which I love)? Any ground meat will do because you can’t taste it. I am a big fan of East Indian and North African cuisines but this mishmash just leaves me perplexed. It’s the first NYT recipe that I vow to never look at again.
David
I love cumin, but I agree with Michael that this has far, far too much. It overwhelmed the other flavors. Maybe 2 tsp, definitely NOT 2 tbs.
Epope
Delicious, but a quibble. At 2 oz each, these are kofte, not burgers.
Terry
Followed recipe without serrano pepper. Used less yogurt for tahini sauce which worked out. No pita, but hamburger buns did the trick. Grilled to 160 degrees. Best lamb burger that we ever had here or in Greece!
JohnnytheCook
Followed the recipe except for the Serrano Pepper (didn't have one), used the left over sauce as a salad dressing for some lettuce greens and left over lamb patties, delicious.
Michael
I made this with a fraction of the recommended paprika and cumin and it was very good--about 2 teaspoons of each instead of 2 tablespoons. Burgers were tasty. I made the tahini sauce as recommended. I thought it was bland and yogurt-y. Added juice of one lemon, another tablespoon of tahini and good bit of cayenne.
Kailynn
SO TASTY!! And so easy! Made the meat as directed, aside from marinating time it all comes together in about 15 min (including cooking) which is a big win. I didn’t have tahini, so I made my own yogurt sauce. Served with homemade flat bread, roasted bell peppers, cucumber and tomatoes. Everything was so flavorful, will definitely be adding this to the regular meal rotation!
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