Remember what Miracle Max said: “True love is the greatest thing in the world—except for a nice MLT—mutton, lettuce, and tomato sandwich.” You might agree after having a lamb burger at Dressel’s in the CWE, where they gussy up their burger with goat cheese and apricot chutney.
But this homemade, Chinese-style lamb burger (shown above) intrigued me because of its simplicity compared to the more spiced up versions. First, you combine the meat and seasonings and shape it into balls. Each ball is smashed onto a bed of onions and jalapenos, that have been lightly sautéed, but still crunchy. NYT food writer, Sam Sifton, suggests placing the crunchy side down on the grill or pan. This puts a crispy topping on the burger before it’s tucked into a potato bun.
I’ve not yet tried this technique with beef, but I don’t see why the smash-ball burgers with crunchy-fixin’s wouldn’t work with hamburger as well.
