Because we love lamb, I created a burger with ground lamb and beef. The center was stuffed with feta cheese that had sun-dried tomatoes and basil. The fig jam is the star of this burger. I served it on Honey Whole Wheat Buns, with fresh spinach and a topping of cooked red onions with a sweet & sour flavor. Wow, what a burger!
I am having a love affair with fig jam. When I think of fig jam, I tend to think of pork… or even lamb. So, I started thinking of Greek inspired ingredients, and an idea was born. I adore lamb, but my husband is so-so about it. I bought one pound of ground lamb and 1/2 pound of ground veal. I figured the mix of meats would tone down the sometimes “stronger” flavor of lamb. I didn’t want to add too many seasonings, since I wanted the fig jam to be the star…
I added fresh oregano & parsley, from our garden. The seasoning I chose was Montreal Steak Seasoning. It’s a Rachael Ray staple, but I have to say that it’s perfect for seasoning burgers. Done. I made four patties. I decided to add slices of feta cheese. I stacked one patty on top of the feta topped patty…
Typically, I like to make my own hamburger buns. These are Honey Wheat Hamburger Buns from Trader Joe’s. I like their ingredients, so I take a shortcut today. Fresh spinach ties in the Greek ingredients just fine, don’t you think?
Though we love our Weber, we fire up the gas grill and preheat it nice and hot. The burgers are cooked about 6 minutes, covered (they are pretty thick)… and then flipped over…
Once the burgers are flipped, we let them cook for about 4 minutes. Craig is adding the fig jam, now. He closes the cover and let’s the burgers grill over direct heat.
Doesn’t this glaze look amazing? I was licking my chops. We cooked these until an instant read thermometer registered at 145F. The total cooking time was about 16-18 minutes. My husband is wary of lamb that isn’t cooked past medium rare, so cook according to your liking.
We let these rest for a few minutes. In the meantime, I crack open a cold imported beer.
Let’s build a burger. I’m questioning how important the red onion jam will be, but I add that on top of this.
VERDICT: Fig jam is the perfect glaze for grilling burgers. I am so going to use this more often… I’m thinking grilled chicken burgers, grilled turkey burgers, grilled anything burgers! My husband liked the burger, and didn’t think the lamb was overpowering at all. Whew! The red onion jam is very good. I could go with or without it, because the fig jam is what intrigued me the most. I’m a jam maker, so I expected more of chutney or thick jam consistency with the red onion. I am very tempted to use brown sugar, instead of white sugar next time. As far as the burger seasonings– I might be tempted to add some garlic to this… maybe shallots. Heck, that’s the fun of making burgers! You can go wild with different ingredients.
Whatever you do, don’t leave out the fig jam. That’s the cherry on the sundae. Or, in this case, it’s the star of this burger.
Feta-Stuffed Fig-Glazed Grilled Lamb Burgers with Red Onion Jam
Ingredients
- Vegetable cooking spray
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1/2 pound ground beef see note
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano chopped
- 2 teaspoon Montreal Steak Seasoning or season with kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper and garlic powder, to taste
- 2 teaspoon fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
- 3 to 4 tablespoons fresh parsley optional
- 3 tablespoons fig preserves
- 2 to 3 thin slices feta cheese
- 4 quality hamburger buns toasted
- Fresh spinach leaves for garnish
RED ONION JAM:
- 4 cups thinly sliced red onions about 2 medium
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 to 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Instructions
Onion Jam:
- Sauté onions in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low; stir in sugar, vinegar, and thyme. Cover and cook 10 minutes or until onion is very tender. Keep warm.
For the burgers:
- Season the meat, add fresh parsley, oregano and lightly mix Gently shape into four patties.
- Add the feta cheese and top with a patty. Seal so that the cheese will not run out, while grilling.
- Coat cold cooking grate of grill with vegetable cooking spray, and place on grill. Preheat grill to 350°F to 400°F (medium-high) heat.
- Cook the burgers about 6 minutes, covered.
- Flip the burgers over and cook for 6 more minutes. Top each burger with some fig jam and spread evenly.
- Allow to cook 2 to 4 more minutes or until about 145°F. Rest for a few minutes.
- Place the burger on the bottom bun, layered with spinach leaves. Top with the red onion jam and top bun.
Notes
Ok, don't be upset,I'm like Craig, I'm not a great lover of lamb,but when you said chicken, turkey or whatever I got excited! The gooey feta melted in the middle and that glaze! Oh that glaze…To die for! Oh yay, I'm going to try that out. For sure!
No offense taken, Marie. I know that lamb is a love/hate kind of thing. I love it, my husband doesn't. I plan to make this using different kinds of meats. The glaze was amazing!
Move over Marie and Stacey – Linda's coming in for the kill – and she LOVES lamb too. I've even got the homemade fig jam for the glaze and am all fired up to make this burger. Wow, what a great idea you had.
Deb,
These burgers look FANTASTIC!!!
What a treat! I am not a lamb fan either, but would love to try them with turkey. WOWIE!
Look at all that gooey cheese. As soon as you mentioned feta, figs and lamb I was hooked.
That's the most mouthwatering burger I've seen in a long time. I bought ground lamb at the farmers market Saturday so am all set to fire up my grill. Glazing with fig jam is genius.
OK, these are the ultimate. I love lamb, but the cheese, the fig glaze and the towering buns!!!! Oh, my is right!
Oh my is right! This burger looks FANTASTIC!
I love those blog and I love figs! I also love lamb. What a great combination. I'm really wanting one of these burgers.
I saw these on The Bitten Word and absolutely SWOONED. Lamb is a serious favorite of mine. I will definitely be trying these!
Excuse me while I wipe the drool from my chin. I can't decide if it was your amazing photo or the mention of feta that had me drooling. Those look absolutely DELICIOUS! I love lamb but it's not in the budget so I'm going to give this a try with chicken. Now to think of a way to let hubby let me man the grill so he doesn't know about the fig jam.
Debbie – That is one serious burger!! Whew! I'm loving it and I know I can handle it – LOL
I do enjoy lamb and can see how all these flavors would pair well together. I need to get my hands on some fig jam right away:)
Hold the onion, give me a slice or two of thick cut smokey bacon and I'm in. Extra spicanch for me please! This looks amazing!
Everything you make just sounds and looks soo good, this included! YUM
Jam over burgers? I'll admit I was skeptical and then I saw your pictures. SOLD!!!!
Great idea to mix the lamb with the veal since the lamb can be a little strongly flavored! The fig glaze, onion jam, and melted feta are just icing on the cake! Mmmmmm… yum….
Ohhhhhhh Debby … I'm salivating … I'd pay big bucks for this burger if I saw it on a menu in a restaurant somewhere in NYC!
I don't eat a lot of lamb, but these look fabulous. Just had macadamia crusted lamb chops last night at Alan Wong's in Honolulu and they were over the top delish! Don't hear much from ya lately and hope you're doin' fine! Love, Roz
Amazing combination of flavours and textures!
Cheers,
Lia.
This looks out of this world amazing.
That burger looks (and sounds) amazing – love the cheese oozing out of there!
Woman, that truly IS a feast for the eyes. If I could, I'd reach through the screen and snatch it right off the plate. These sound absolutely fantasmic. The fact that they're STUFFED with sundried tomato feta and glazed with this beautiful fig jam makes it sound like a tasting experience like no other. Beautiful beautiful beautiful
Wow! What a burger! I love lamb, so I think I would make it all lamb. I definitely have to try these.
Am I missing something? I would love to make this tonight, but cannot find the recipe!
Interestingly, the recipe plugin box popped up as soon as I had posted my previous comment, so never mind! Thanks for the recipe.