Juicy Lamb Burgers With Red Wine Onions And Goat Cheese Recipe

Beef may reign supreme when it comes to burgers, but that doesn't mean that other meats can't get in on the fun between the buns. There's a whole world of burger possibilities, with protein swaps like bison, black beans, turkey, salmon, and of course, ground lamb. Of all the non-beef options, lamb stands out thanks to its distinctly rich and slightly earthy flavor profile, making it a truly decadent and delicious choice for a burger. 

In this juicy lamb burger recipe, I took advantage of lamb's naturally rich quality and played it up with equally rich red wine-cooked onions and a tangy goat cheese spread. The result is one mighty fine burger, with sort of a Mediterranean-meets-Cali combination of flavors. The lamb's meaty, buttery, and slightly gamey flavor profile makes for the ultimate pairing alongside the sweet, earthy wine-soaked onions and tart, creamy goat cheese spread. Jarred tomatoes add a twinge of sweet acidity and fresh leafy greens impart a nice vibrancy, truly rounding out the lamb burger and making it one super-stacked, flavor-packed handheld that's as pretty as it is delicious. 

The first few steps of this recipe involve making the red wine onions, and to make those, you'll need olive oil, sliced red onion, minced garlic, honey, salt, black pepper, and red wine. Next up is the goat cheese spread, for which you'll need goat cheese, half-and-half, olive oil, and fresh chopped chives. For the lamb burgers themselves, you'll need ground lamb portioned into four equal-sized patties, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, and smoked paprika. Finally, to assemble the burgers, you'll need brioche buns, jarred roasted tomatoes, and baby salad greens.

To make the onions, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Once hot, add the onions and saute them for 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, honey, salt, pepper, and wine to the skillet. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes or until tender and jammy.

Remove the skillet from the heat and set the onions aside to cool at room temperature.

To make the spread, place the goat cheese, half & half, olive oil, and chives in the bowl of a food processor.

Blend until smooth and transfer to a small bowl. Set aside.

Season the lamb patties with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and paprika.

Preheat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat.

Once hot, place the patties on the grill.

Cook the patties for 3 minutes per side or until lightly charred and cooked through.

To assemble the burgers, spread the toasted buns with the goat cheese mixture.

Divide the grilled burger patties between the bottom buns.

Top the burger patties with the red wine onions.

Top the onions with some of the jarred roasted tomatoes.

Top the tomatoes with salad greens.

Cap the burgers with the top buns and serve.

• Copycat McDonald's Fries Recipe
• Crispy Sweet Potato Fries Recipe
• Homemade Potato Chip Recipe
• Easy Spicy Coleslaw Recipe
• Japanese-Style Potato Salad Recipe

Lamb makes for a positively scrumptious meaty base in this recipe, but with the ever-versatile burger, there are quite a few proteins that would work. The distinctive flavor of lamb is not for everyone, and lamb is also not always easy to find, especially in the summer. If you're struggling to source it but still want to make these burgers, you've got options.

A couple meaty swaps that immediately come to mind are ground pork or ground sausage. When I say ground sausage, I'm thinking the Italian variety (mild or spicy), fresh brats (casings removed), or something akin to a chorizo or andouille. If you opt for a ground pork or sausage that already comes seasoned, skip the seasonings that I call for on the lamb patties in the recipe.

Of course, something more traditional like ground turkey or chicken would also work well. You'd end up with a milder burger that's a bit leaner and not quite as juicy with these options, but a burger that's still delicious nonetheless. If you're looking for plant-based options, I'm sure a veggie burger patty would fare well here, or even a grilled and seasoned portobello mushroom.

Lamb and goat cheese are sort of like peanut butter and jelly in that they go together incredibly well, so goat cheese was a natural choice for the cheese spread in this recipe: It offered just the right twangy earthiness to break up some otherwise very rich elements in the burger (including those red wine onions). All that said, if you don't like that super-tangy goat cheese flavor profile or you'd prefer to switch things up, there are other types of cheeses that would work here.

Feta cheese is somewhat similar to goat cheese in its salty, tangy flavor profile. You could easily use feta crumbles in the same way the recipe calls for using goat cheese, by blending it in a food processor with half-and-half and chives. If you use feta, be mindful of the salt increase because feta is brined in salt, and reduce the salt amount in the onions and on the burgers accordingly. If you want something a little less tangy-twangy, cream cheese will work well too and blend up nicely with the cream, as would cottage cheese or ricotta. 

• Spicy Blue Cheese Burger Recipe
• Simple Smash Burger Recipe
• Copycat Shake Shack Shackburger Recipe
• Spicy Turkey Burger Recipe
• 15-Minute Mushroom and Halloumi Burger Recipe