Squid Cooks: Pan-Cooked Lamb Burgers

Necessity is the mother of invention.  We had ground lamb rather than ground beef and the oven is currently out of commission (though the stove burners are fine).  So with a few on-the-fly adaptations from my usual recipe, we had acceptable lamb burgers for dinner, medium rare.

I did check my improvised choices against Mark Bittman's advice in How to Cook Everything: The Basics afterwards.  I didn't add oil to the pre-heated pan - my wife gave me a little grief for that, too.  I did four minutes on each side, same as I do with the broiler.  Bittman recommends 5-10 on the first side, 3-5 on the second.  I was satisfied with the doneness of the final product anyway.  The burgers were fine, I think - not so different from beef with just a touch of the distinctive grassy flavor of lamb.