With Memorial Day in just a couple of weeks, it’s finally time to think once again about that most beloved of American pastimes—grilling meat. To kick off grill season, I have a really great recipe for you guys: Xi’An-inspired Cumin Lamb Burgers.
The Flavor of Xi’An
You may recall from our post about Xi’An street food that many dishes in that area of Northern China feature a spice mixture of chili and cumin, usually coarsely ground and sprinkled over things like lamb kebabs, potatoes, fried chicken, and biang noodles.
It’s a surprising combination that you don’t normally associate with China. Cumin and chili powder are things that you’d expect to see in say, a big pot of chili or a pan of ground beef for tacos. But that’s what makes exploring new cuisines so awesome.
I was just reminiscing with my parents the other day, thinking about the fact that a lot of the Chinese regional dishes that we know and love today—and post recipes for on this blog—are dishes that we didn’t even know existed until we moved to China. And we’re CHINESE. Likewise, we weren’t even introduced to Sichuan food until a few Sichuan restaurants started opening up in Northern NJ 15 years ago.
Since then, we’ve happily found the amazing Northern Chinese combination that is cumin, chili, and lamb, and it was only a matter of time for me to turn it into a burger. These cumin lamb burger beauties are lightly spiced, piled with sauteed onion and peppers, a garlicky yogurt sauce, chopped cucumbers, and cilantro.
If you’re looking to switch things up this Memorial Day, or perhaps just a slightly more adventurous Saturday evening dinner al fresco, give this recipe a try!
Cumin Lamb Burgers: Recipe Instructions
In a dry pan, toast the cumin seeds, Sichuan peppercorns, and red chili flakes.
Crush into a coarse powder with a mortar & pestle or spice grinder. Set aside.
Combine about half of your spice mixture with the lamb, and form into 4 patties. Season both sides of each patty with salt.
Heat a grill or cast iron skillet over high heat until searing hot. Sear the lamb burgers until crisp on both sides, about 1-2 minutes per side.
Set aside on a plate to rest, and cover with foil.
Add the onion and peppers to the pan along with a little vegetable oil (if you used a cast iron skillet), and fry until caramelized. If you grilled your lamb burgers outdoors, just fry the onions and peppers in a separate pan. Sprinkle with half of the remaining spice mixture.
Combine the yogurt with the garlic and season with salt to taste. Stir in the rest of the spice mixture.
To assemble the lamb burgers, spread some of your yogurt mixture on the bottom of the bun..
And top with some diced cucumbers…
And the lamb burger…
The onion/pepper mixture…
And more yogurt and fresh cilantro.
Serve!
Xi’an Cumin Lamb Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 pound ground lamb (450g)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 medium red onion (thinly sliced)
- 1 jalapeno (de-seeded and thinly sliced)
- 1 small red bell pepper (de-seeded and thinly sliced)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup plain Greek Yogurt (285g)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 4 Brioche or Potato buns (for serving)
- 1 cucumber (de-seeded and diced)
- 1 cup fresh cilantro
Instructions
- In a dry pan, toast the cumin seeds, sichuan peppercorns, and red chili flakes. Crush into a coarse powder with a mortar & pestle or spice grinder. Set aside.
- Combine about half of your spice mixture with the lamb, and form into 4 patties. Season both sides of each patty with salt.
- Heat a grill or cast iron skillet over high heat until searing hot. Sear the burgers until crisp on both sides, about 1-2 minutes per side.
- Set aside on a plate to rest, and cover with foil. Add the onion and peppers to the pan along with a little vegetable oil (if you used a cast iron skillet), and fry until caramelized. If you grilled your burgers outdoors, just fry the onions and peppers in a separate pan. Sprinkle with half of the remaining spice mixture.
- Combine the yogurt with the garlic and season with salt to taste. Stir in the rest of the spice mixture.
- To assemble the burgers, spread some of your yogurt mixture on the bottom of the bun, and top with some diced cucumbers. Top with the burger, the onion/pepper mixture, more yogurt, and fresh cilantro. Serve!
nutrition facts
Thanks for this recipe. Was craving those cumin lamb burgers I used to have @ XFF (when I lived in NYC), but cut out meat two years ago.
Instead of lamb, I used Impossible Burger ground. Also added some Chinese chives into the yogurt spread. It came out SO good and filling..
Can’t eat much of spices, so got rid of the jalapeno. Rest it couldn’t be much better. Gotta try next time with beef instead of lamb. Thanks for sharing Sarah.
Love it, thanks for the comment Vinny!
Love how you spiced up these lamb burgers! Looks delicious.
Thank you Sabrina!
This looks incredible!!! I love the sound of the lamb and cumin together, especially with that cucumber and yoghurt in there for freshness :)
You’re right, Amy! Lamb and yogurt go so well together––they actually eat quite a lot of yogurt in Northern China as well.
This looks fantastic! I have found memories of eating Xi’an lamb when visiting Xianyang. Now I can revisit that flavor on a bun. Thanks for another great idea in cooking..
You’re welcome, Ron!
These look awesome. Will be making ASAP
Let us know how you like them, Phil!
Super lovely and yummy, thank you!
You’re welcome, Viktor!