Lamburgers

On Mother's Day, I planned to have an Independence Day-style barbecue to help Roommate Smurf deal with the loss of her mother.  Then I got next to no sleep the night before and she came down with the flu.  Neither of us felt like a barbecue, but I had already bought the ingredients and didn't want to pick up something on the busiest eating-out day of the year.  An hour after I ate, the power transformer on my block exploded, breaking all the power lines the whole length of the block and starting two fires, one at either end.  Huge ordeal with water-dropping helicopters, so it was a good thing I hadn't lit the grill.  Gotta give props to Edison; they had all three lines restrung the whole length of the block and the power on in 22 hours.

A convection broiler in the oven is the next best thing to a barbecue.  You don't get the lovely smoky taste, but the meat cooks the same.  If I'd thought about it, I would have put some liquid smoke in the meat, but it was fine without.

You'll notice in the photo that this is garnished only with a slice of tomato.  I tried putting a little bleu cheese dressing on the burger after I took the photo, but the first bite - just the naked, seasoned patty - was excellent without any additions.  If you absolutely have to put something on your burger, use a bit of mustard or yogurt (not mayo).  Don't use ketchup because the flavor doesn't work with lamb.

1 lb ground lamb
2 stalks green onion, minced
*2 cloves garlic, minced
*1/2 tsp paprika
*1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt

1.  In a bowl, knead together all ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate for one hour to let flavors meld.

2.  Preheat broiler.  Shape meat into four very flat patties.  They will shrink up as they cook.

3.  Broil on a wire rack until one side is done and crispy.  Flip and cook other side until done.  Center of patties should be medium-rare to medium doneness.  Serve hot.

Difficulty rating π