Prepare spice blend: Place the various spices into a medium-sized bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.
Toast nuts: Place walnuts and pine nuts into a small skillet on the stovetop over medium to medium-high heat. Toast until golden. Cool and transfer to a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Pulse to roughly chop.
Prepare vegetables: Place onion, garlic, red pepper, jalapeño pepper and cilantro into a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Pulse to roughly chop. Transfer chopped veggies into a bowl lined with cheesecloth or a clean dishcloth. Gather the cloth, twist and squeeze the liquid away from the veggies. Discard the liquid.
Assemble the burgers: Place meats, nuts, veggies and spices into a large bowl. Combine thoroughly by hand or using a large spoon. Divide burger meat into 6 equal 8-ounce portions, either by eye or using a scale. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Grill burgers: Light only the left side of the grill. Close the lid and preheat to 500°F. Place burgers onto the grill over direct heat, and leave undisturbed for 4 minutes. Flip burgers and cook for an additional 4 minutes. Move burgers over to the indirectly heated side of the grill. Leave them to cook for a final 4 minutes, 12 minutes total time.
Serve: Transfer cooked burgers to toasted buns. Garnish with lettuce, tomato, shaved red onion and a dollop of FETA CHEESE DIP. Serve immediately.
Kofta Burgers
Ingredients
For the burgers:
1 pound ground lamb
1 pound lean ground beef
½ cup pine nuts, toasted
½ cup walnuts, toasted
1 white onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
For the spice blend:
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons paprika
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
To serve:
toasted hamburger buns or pita bread
curly lettuce
sliced tomatoes
red onion, shaved
feta cheese dip
Directions
Prepare spice blend: Place the various spices into a medium-sized bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.
Toast nuts: Place walnuts and pine nuts into a small skillet on the stovetop over medium to medium-high heat. Toast until golden. Cool and transfer to a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Pulse to roughly chop.
Prepare vegetables: Place onion, garlic, red pepper, jalapeño pepper and cilantro into a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Pulse to roughly chop. Transfer chopped veggies into a bowl lined with cheesecloth or a clean dishcloth. Gather the cloth, twist and squeeze the liquid away from the veggies. Discard the liquid.
Assemble the burgers: Place meats, nuts, veggies and spices into a large bowl. Combine thoroughly by hand or using a large spoon. Divide burger meat into 6 equal 8-ounce portions, either by eye or using a scale. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Grill burgers: Light only the left side of the grill. Close the lid and preheat to 500°F. Place burgers onto the grill over direct heat, and leave undisturbed for 4 minutes. Flip burgers and cook for an additional 4 minutes. Move burgers over to the indirectly heated side of the grill. Leave them to cook for a final 4 minutes, 12 minutes total time.
Serve: Transfer cooked burgers to toasted buns. Garnish with lettuce, tomato, shaved red onion and a dollop of FETA CHEESE DIP. Serve immediately.
Kofta Burgers
5 / 5. 1
Ground beef and lamb infused with the flavours of toasted nuts, finely chopped veggies and a fragrant Middle Eastern spice blend…
A delicious twist on a favourite Middle Eastern dish, let’s make GRILLED KOFTA BURGERS!
KOFTA is a traditional Middle Eastern meat dish, often prepared shish kebab style on a skewer or long brochette. That got us thinking; “What if we prepared them hamburger style?” Well, after putting that brilliant idea to the test, we’re happy to report the results are nothing short of amazing. Wait until you try them!
Before we share the really easy steps to make these homemade burgers, how about a request? Please remember to PIN this recipe on a favourite Pinterest lunch or dinner board. We’d also love it if you’d SHARE this post with friends. We appreciate seeing pics whenever you make our recipes, so use #weekendatthecottage when you post your photos on Facebook and Instagram. Thanks for sharing with the world!
One more “nice to know” – check out our line of food products, available for purchase. Our SPICE BLENDS, RUBS AND DIPS are just the things to add a pop of flavour to any recipe, and our famous BBQ SAUCE works with everything. Click HERE to order online, or HERE to find a nearby retailer. Thanks!
Here are some helpful details about making GRILLED KOFTA BURGERS:
INGREDIENTS
The big surprise with this recipe is how little it takes to give something a whole lot of taste. We’ll go through additional tips for the various components, but all you need for this homemade hamburger recipe are some ground meats, a few veggies, some nuts and spices. Then get ready to prepare something decidedly different and delicious!
GROUND MEATS
Although kofta is often made exclusively using ground lamb, we decided to make our version with some ground beef added. This stellar combination creates tender, juicy burgers loaded with flavour. You can use just lamb if you want to craft a more traditional lamb kofta burger. Make sure to watch the VIDEO for this recipe where we show you our method for grilling the burgers perfectly. Suggestion: if you use a probe thermometer to check doneness, your goal is well done or 150°F – 155°F / 65°C – 68°C. I’ve listed links to purchase a probe thermometer down below.
NUTS
There are many different fillers that can act as binding agents for burger meat. In our JUICY HAMBURGERS recipe, we used breadcrumbs, and in our SALMON BURGERS, panko. For these KOFTA BURGERS, we stuck to the traditional add-in of chopped nuts. Feel free to experiment with different varieties and combinations to create the flavour profile you most enjoy. The nuts most often used are pine nuts, walnuts and almonds, but pecans and pistachios will work too. When it comes to this recipe, go nuts! (badaboom!)
SPICES
One of the hallmarks of any kofta dish is the fragrant blend of Middle Eastern spices. We used traditional spices such as cumin and cinnamon, but then also added coriander, cloves, cayenne pepper, paprika, salt and pepper. Feel free to experiment with this recipe and add others like turmeric, ginger, allspice and cardamon. One suggestion on the use of spices; combine them first in a small bowl before adding them to the meat, nut and veggie mixture. Doing so ensures the spices are more evenly distributed within all the burger patties.
HAMBURGER PATTIES
Making these burgers by hand is simple, and there are two key points we found very helpful. The first is to zip the onion, jalapeño, red pepper, garlic and fresh coriander (cilantro) together in a small food processor or handy chopper. Then, squeeze the chopped veggies into a square of cheesecloth to extract most of the liquid. This avoids making the burger too moist, which will cause them to fall apart on the grill. The second point about shaping the burgers is to use a kitchen scale to weigh the portions of meat. The recipe yields six burgers, eight ounces each (weight before grilling). Make sure the patties are equally sized to ensure they all cook evenly.
GRILLED BURGERS
For best grilling results, preheat your grill to 500°F using the gas or flame on one side of your barbecue only – keep the heat off on the other side. Once the grill reaches a stable 500°F, place the burgers onto the grill over direct heat and leave undisturbed for 4 minutes. Then, flip the burgers and cook for an additional 4 minutes. The third and final step is to move them onto the indirectly heated side of the grill, leaving them to cook for the last 4 minutes. This 12-minute cook time creates tender, juicy, perfectly prepared burgers every time.
SANDWICH FIXINGS
Of course, every good burger deserves equally good fixings to go with it. In this case, the burgers get presented on toasted hamburger buns with curly leaf lettuce, shaved red onion and juicy tomato slices. The final condiment on these burgers is a dollop or two of this FETA CHEESE DIP. This dip is way better than a tahini sauce-style dip, and is excellent served with assorted veggies, warmed bread or just potato chips. But, serving it on burgers? That’s how we take a favourite dish from simple to amazing!
SERVE
Serving these juicy, tender burgers doesn’t need to be complicated. Add a simple side like this wonderful homemade CAESAR SALAD, a heaping helping of CREAMY COLESLAW, or just a handful of potato chips.
Cook Mode Use cook mode to keep your screen on while cooking.
Ingredients
For the burgers:
1 pound ground lamb
1 pound lean ground beef
½ cup pine nuts, toasted
½ cup walnuts, toasted
1 white onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
For the spice blend:
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons paprika
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
To serve:
toasted hamburger buns or pita bread
curly lettuce
sliced tomatoes
red onion, shaved
feta cheese dip
Directions
Prepare spice blend: Place the various spices into a medium-sized bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.
Toast nuts: Place walnuts and pine nuts into a small skillet on the stovetop over medium to medium-high heat. Toast until golden. Cool and transfer to a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Pulse to roughly chop.
Prepare vegetables: Place onion, garlic, red pepper, jalapeño pepper and cilantro into a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Pulse to roughly chop. Transfer chopped veggies into a bowl lined with cheesecloth or a clean dishcloth. Gather the cloth, twist and squeeze the liquid away from the veggies. Discard the liquid.
Assemble the burgers: Place meats, nuts, veggies and spices into a large bowl. Combine thoroughly by hand or using a large spoon. Divide burger meat into 6 equal 8-ounce portions, either by eye or using a scale. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Grill burgers: Light only the left side of the grill. Close the lid and preheat to 500°F. Place burgers onto the grill over direct heat, and leave undisturbed for 4 minutes. Flip burgers and cook for an additional 4 minutes. Move burgers over to the indirectly heated side of the grill. Leave them to cook for a final 4 minutes, 12 minutes total time.
Serve: Transfer cooked burgers to toasted buns. Garnish with lettuce, tomato, shaved red onion and a dollop of FETA CHEESE DIP. Serve immediately.
