Count us among the thousands (maybe even millions? or billions?) around the world who had lamb on the brain this last week.
We know at least one other person was thinking the same way – Chi Wulff compadre Brian K. in Tampa sent this Grilled Lamb Stuffed Pita Burger recipe in just a couple of days ago.
…I don’t know where she found it, but my wife Suzie brought this recipe home a few weeks ago and said it was going to be the main at our Easter dinner with friends. It was so damn good with a nice tzatziki sauce to dip in and we served it with a really simple, really fresh, cilantro-heavy salsa.
We liked the grill-in-the-pita technique so much we’ve done it with spiced up ground beef and turkey too, I can’t believe we hadn’t seen this before.
Learn from my mistakes – one, the patty needs to be patted out fairly thin to cook quickly before the pita gets too ‘crispy’ or burns. You can protect the pita a bit by grilling each side for 3 to 4 minutes on a foil sheet laid on the grill, then slide the foil out like a magician pulling a tablecloth and crisp up the pitas for a minute or two on each side.
You guys will like this one…
Hot damn Brian, we tracked down a lamb shoulder to grind tonight and will put some of these on the grill tomorrow…
2 and 1/2 lb ground lamb
1 largish onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, fresh, chopped
1/4 crumbled feta cheese
1 and 1/2 tbsp coriander (ground)
1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tbsp EVOO
2 tsp cumin (ground)
1 tsp cinnamon (ground)8-10 pita breads with pockets
Season your lamb. Combine the lamb, onion, parsley, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, crumbled feta, pepper and olive oil in a large bowl; mix well with a fork or your hands. Chill, covered, for at least an hour.
Fire the grill.
Stuff the pita bread. Cut each pita open along a seam edge approx. half the circumference of the pita; now spoon the lamb filling into each pita, press to flatten and close, sealing the edge back down.
Grill time. Lay a large sheet of foil down on the grill surface and grill the pitas for 3-4 minutes per side. Now slide the foil out (throw it away) and grill for another 1-2 minutes per side to mark the pita bread and crisp them up.
Serve hot with tzatziki or the yogurt sauce of your choice. You’ll wish you’d doubled the recipe.
Enjoy.
