Salisbury Steak

5 Shares

As a kid, anytime I would pick a tv-dinner I would always pick Salisbury steak. I love the wonderful mushroom gravy. I found a recipe I liked a few years ago and, as it turns out, the homemade is so much better than the tv-dinner version.

1 pound ground beef

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/4 onion, finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)

7 saltine crackers, finely crushed (about 1/4 cup)

1 teaspoon minced fresh sage

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 ounces sliced mixed mushrooms

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups hot beef stock

1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

After I measured and cut my ingredients, I gently mixed the beef, egg, onion, cracker crumbs, sage, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a large bowl with my hands (I prefer to wear gloves for a messy job like this). I divided the meat into four relatively equal parts and patted them into oval-shaped patties about 1/2-inch thick.

I heated one tablespoon of butter in a large skillet on medium-high heat. I browned the patties on each side. The recipe says to brown them four minutes on each side, but I think my pan was a bit too hot. I ended up pulling the pan off the burner to finish them without burning them. I set the meat to the side.

Next, I added another tablespoon of butter to the skillet and cooked the mushrooms (I used shiitake, oyster and maitake) for about two minutes until they were slightly browned. I stirred in the Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, making sure to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. I sprinkled in the flour and stirred, cooking it for a few minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste. I added the beef stock and simmered the sauce for another two minutes until it started to thicken. I stirred the last tablespoon of butter into the sauce (the recipe says to swirl).

I put the beef patties back into the sauce, with the juices from the plate, and simmered it until the sauce thickened and the patties cooked through. The recipe says about two minutes but, with the fast browning, I thought they needed more time. Unfortunately, I left them in a little too long and they ended up well-done. I checked the seasoning level of the sauce one last time to be sure it was right. I served the Salisbury steak, topped with the mushroom sauce and parsley, with wild rice and sauteed zucchini.