Recipe: Salisbury Steak

Salisbury Steak is making a comeback… seems all of us that grew-up eating it in cafeterias, diners and the occasional TV dinner miss it.

Oh… it’s not fancy… but it is hearty and satisfying.. another alternative to meatloaf or a hamburger… and besides… what’s not to like? …it’s usually served with mashed potatoes or noodles or rice…an excuse to slop on more gravy.

Salisbury Steak is easy to make… numerous recipes are out there… bottom line here… it’s seasoned ground beef, cooked in a skillet and topped with mushroom gravy… tweak as you may.. it’s still going to be seasoned ground beef, cooked in a skillet and topped with mushroom gravy.

TIPS

This doesn’t have to be a nutritional nightmare… in fact… use lower fat ground beef and it’s not too bad.

I think it’s really important to sauté the onions in a bit of butter before adding them to the ground beef… raw onion has a harsher taste… sautéing them keeps the onion flavor and loses the harshness.

I always use fresh parsley… it has more flavor than the dried stuff…. and that makes a difference here.

I chopped the onion and garlic together in a mini chopper.

My instructions cook the beef in a skillet… you can also.. brown the beef patties in the skillet and remove them to a baking dish… then preheat your oven to 375 degrees F… pour a couple of ladles of mushroom gravy over the beef and cover with foil… bake for about 25 minutes or until meat is done (you can check that with a instant read meat thermometer). Time will depend on how big you make your patties.

Be aware that if you do bake them… the meat will release a bit of water while cooking… this is normal and okay.. it just will thin the gravy in the baking dish a bit… I usually just mix it into the gravy I still have in the pot… we don’t care for really thick gravies anyway.

So let’s get to it… so you can enjoy this diner favorite.







Recipe: Salisbury Steak

All you need:

1 pound lean ground beef
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 egg
10 crushed buttery crackers (like Ritz)
¼ cup beef broth
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoon butter, divided
1 tablespoon oil
Mushroom Gravy

All you need to do:

In a small skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter.

Add the onions and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent and soft… do not let them brown, stir occasionally.

Remove the skillet from the heat and allow the onion mixture to cool.

In a medium bowl, mix the meat, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, onion mixture, egg, crushed crackers, beef broth, salt and pepper.

Form into patties (3 or 4 depending on how big you want them).

In a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and olive oil.

Please Note: Lean ground beef shouldn’t render much fat, so to keep from charring the pan I add a little butter and oil. If you use a non-stick pan…. spraying with cooking oil spray should be enough… I would use the spray and omit the butter and oil)

Add the patties and brown them over medium high heat.

Meanwhile … make the mushroom gravy. (click here for the recipe)

Add 2-3 ladles of gravy to the pan. Lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for 25 minutes, turning the patties once.

Serve with noodles, mashed potatoes or rice and additional gravy.