Gyro Burgers

HeatherFeather's Note:

This is not your ordinary hamburger! If you like hamburgers and you love Gyro sandwiches, then you may enjoy this combination of those two ideas. Adapted from "365 Ways to Cook Hamburger." I borrowed this cookbook from a local library and copied out this tasty recipe. Purists beware - this is not pretending to be an authentic recipe from any particular culture, but is merely influenced by the flavors & style of Greek cuisine. Prep is about 15 minutes plus 2 hours chilling time. Cook time is a guess and varies based on how thik you make each patty - also, even though the original suggested 4 huge patties, you can certainly make smaller ones and just cook them for a little less time. You can broil these if you prefer.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 2 hrs
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

For the Meat Mixture

• 3/4 lb lean ground lamb
• 1/2 lb lean ground beef
• 1 cup fresh breadcrumb
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

For the Topping Mixture

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1 small onion, slivered
• 1 small cucumber, seeded & chopped

For serving

• 1/2 head romaine lettuce, shredded
• 1 cup tzatziki (homemade or purchased)
• 4 pita pockets

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine lamb, beef, bread crumbs, minced onion, garlic, allspice, coriander, cumin.
2. Add just 1 tsp of the salt and 1/8 tsp of the pepper and mix well.
3. Form into 4 patties, cover and chill 2 hours.
4. In another bowl, whisk together vinegar, oregano, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper.
5. Gradually whisk in the oil until blended well.
6. Add tomatoes, sliced onions, and cucumbers and stir to coat.
7. Cover and let marinate at least 2 hours (no more than 8 hours).
8. When you are ready to cook your burgers, oil& preheat your grill and grill as you would any hamburger (10-15 minutes or so- or until no pink remains but burger is still moist).
9. When burgers are fully cooked, slit pita pockets open on the sides to form open pockets (you can warm the pita up by setting on the side of grill briefly) and place a burger inside.
10. Have bowls of the tomato topping, the shredded lettuce, and some tzatziki(a Middle Eastern style yogurt sauce) on the table for guests to add as desired.
11. The yogurt sauce is available in the dairy case near dips or at the deli counter or some markets or you can prepare a homemade version.

Reviews

[chia]

this is delicious and a welcome change from plain old burgers. i used 2 1/2 lbs of beef, and added extra spices. i made the salad dressing but served the salad with the burgers, without the 2 hour marinating time. i also served lettuce, sliced red onion, and tzaziki sauce on the side along with baked potato fries. delicious and a kid pleaser too!

[Litttlesocks]

I made these last night for dinner and they were fabulous! Thanks for posting!

[momof8inbc]

These are SO good. I made them for guests last night and EVERYONE raved had to give the recipe out!!! My DH gives it a 6M rating "MMMMMM"