Greek-Style Lamb Sliders. Opa! (can i say that?)

There’s not much wrong with these sliders.  I mean really.   Toasted brioche roll, oregano-seasoned lamb, black olive tapenade, feta cheese, tzatziki, tomato slice, pickled red onions and mint leaves.  All in a 4-bite package.  We did these on a Saturday night up on the roof deck with some friends.   It started raining on us right at service. Nobody left the table.

The Prep:

The Lamb:

• Ground lamb shoulder.   Good drizzle of olive oil, sea salt, cracked pepper, garlic powder.  And lots of oregano.
• Mix gently with hands.
• Form small patties, chill.

The Tzatziki:

• Peel, seed and dice fine a hothouse cuke.
• Put in middle of a clean dish towel, gather into a ball.  Hold the top of the towel together and twist the ball so it tightens up, continue to twist hard and squeeze out all the water you can from the cuke.
• Chop and then smash clove or two of garlic into a paste with the side of a knife, kosher salt as an abrasive.
• Plain greek yogurt, garlic, squeezed cuke into a bowl.  Salt, pepper, dill (preferably fresh chopped, but I didn’t have any fresh on hand and dried worked fine here).   Drizzle of olive oil, squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

The Rest:

• Sliced feta cheese.
• Sliced plum tomato.
• Brioche roll.
• Mint leaves.
• Black olive tapenade.  I should have made this myself, but didn’t.
• Pickled red onion.  I did make this.  I have a tub of these in my fridge at all times.  Michael Symon recipe.

Grill the lamb burgers just a few minutes each side, evacuate and quickly toast the brioche rolls.  Then let your guests assemble their own.

The Pros:

Not your usual slider, a high-class gyro.  When you bite in, it’s all like ‘hey now’.

The Cons:

I should have made my own tapenade.

The Takeaway:

If you want to get high-end mixologist, save your cucumber water from squeezing the cukes.  Shake it up with ice, Grey Goose, squeeze of lime juice.  Rim a martini glass with kosher salt mixed with ground chipotle.  Strain booze into glass, float a thinly sliced cucumber on top.  Now that’s eating your veggies.