As gourmet burgers are all the rage right now I figured its time to jump onto the trend train and throw one of my ideas into the fray.
This is a burger and meal you should be able to accomplish with average ingredients that will taste amazing – the most difficult to attain would be the local ground lamb. Depending upon where you live lamb may or may not be readily available – if it is not available from within a 300 mile radious I would suggest you try this recipe with lean ground beef, venison, or even goat.
First and foremost ingredients you will need are herbs, garlic and onion. Any herbs from your personal herb garden will do – or what you can forage from the neighborhood. If you do not have fresh herbs a lot of dried ones will also serve the purpose. My meal featured the following from my little bitty city herb garden residing in my rented front lawn – Majoram, thyme, parsley, oregano and chives. From my spice pantry were pulled dried coriander powder, paprika, fresh ground pepper, cayanne and sea salt.
Take your chopped fresh herbs, garlic, and finely minced onion and place a small hand full on each of your burger patties along with a healthy pinch of salt and at least a 1/2 tsp of black pepper. If you are using dried herbs be generous and use at least a tablespoon of your primary herb along with the chopped garlic and onion.
Massage the herbs, salt and pepper into the meat and set your happy herbal patties aside.
Now it is time to prepare your oven fries. My fries are a mixture of a sweet potato and 2 small red potatos for some flavor variation. The spice mixture is a Tbsp of ground coriander, a Tbsp of paprika, 1/2 tsp of cayenne, a tsp of ground pepper, and an an ample sprinkling of sea salt over the potatoes.
The key to a good oven fry is the pre-cook and the pre-heated and oiled oven pan. First cut your potatoes into quarter inch pieces and place all of them into a pot of boiling water until they are just tender. This should take 2-3 minutes if you place them into boiling water.
While your potatoes are boiling place a hefty amount of a high flash point oil like organic canola or coconut oil on a baking sheet. Make sure the entire baking sheet has a good coating (like 1/8 of an inch or oil all over it) and place it into a 400 degree oven empty for the oil to heat.
Strain the potatoes then coat with a small amount of oil and season with your spice mixture. Then evenly spread them out on the pre-heated and oiled baking sheet. Cook for at least 8 minutes on each side until crisp.
While the potatoes are cooking in the oven start your lamb patties on the skillet and a side of mushrooms with the rest of your herbs.
If you are cooking lamb be careful not to overcook it. It is best to cook it just past rare which depending on your burger is about 5 minutes per side.
In the last two minutes – place a slice of aged cheese on top and cover. Meanwhile slice some tomato and prepare some lettuce or spinach. Then enjoy your deconstructed burger and oven fries – you won't even miss the bun.