This is my favorite kind of burger. Lamb. What’s yours?
We have a local farm here upstate, called Herondale Farm, where they sell the most fabulous lamb. It is all from free range, grass fed, organic, happy animals. It is so flavorful and delicious, that all you really need is some salt and pepper. It was started by a former Wall Street guy who made a lot of money in the 90’s and then wanted to get back to the earth. All of his meats are fantastic. They are also expensive. The ground lamb comes in at around $10.00 a pound. But because the meat is so flavorful, you do not need a lot to eat to be satisfied. One pound makes three good burgers.
THE BEST LAMB BURGERS – serves 3
1 lb. of ground lamb
Coarse salt or French grey salt
Fresh ground pepper
With any meat, take it out of the refrigerator early, before grilling. As my friend Christine, at Herondale Farms said, you NEVER want to throw a cold slab of meat on the grill as it will not cook properly. Think of it, it would be shocking to the meat!
I believe the secret to a great burger is to salt and pepper it lightly, mix and handle it very little, to form three patties. Then salt and pepper the outside, using coarse salt or preferably French grey salt. Grill to your desired doneness. We like medium rare.
It is also key to have some great rolls or bread to put this on. Toast the rolls on the grill or in your toaster. We dressed this burger with mayo and Dijon mustard, one slice of red onion, one slice of tomato and some leaf lettuce from my garden. It was heavenly!!
Serve this with a side salad of mixed leaf lettuces and tomatoes, sprinkled with some sliced scallions, chopped fresh thyme and basil and dressed with a sherry vinaigrette.
So simple, so quick and so very, very delicious.
Now go and enjoy the fireworks! Happy 4th!!