Salisbury Steak & Mushroom Gravy
The original Salisbury Steak is meant to be broiled and served with salt, pepper, butter and Worcestershire sauce with celery garnish. That’s from somewhere around 1897. Cousin to the cheeseburger, ground beef patties are an American staple for German immigrants (and also pleased other European immigrants).
These are the ingredients in your frozen-food section “Salisbury Steak”:
Mechanically Separated Chicken, Pork, Water, Beef, Soy Protein Concentrate, Wheat Flour, Dehydrated Onion, Less Than 2% of the Following: Salt, Sodium Phosphate, Lactose Reduced Whey, Hydrolyzed Soy and Cor Protein, Caramel Color, Dextrose, Sugar, Dehydrated Peppers, Pepper, Flavoring
We don’t need any Soy Protein or mystery “Flavoring”. We will eat local grass-fed ground beef, onion, breadcrumb, egg, ketchup, Worcestershire, Dijon mustard and a beef bouillon cube.
I couldn’t find my Panko bread crumbs, so I just crushed up some croutons. Sometimes creativity matters. Especially if you have cluttered cupboards.
Dice, crush, measure and combine your Salisbury steak ingredients. You should always mix your ground beef mixtures by hand to ensure it is gently well-combined. Overmixing will make the meat tough, not tender.
If touching raw things grosses you out, or you’re like me, and have painted fingernail polish slowly chipping away, wear gloves. Pretend you’re a kid again when you squish it.
Using your gloved hand, mash and mix it, squishing it through your fingers, folding it over gently in a circular motion until you can no longer see raw bits of egg, mustard or breadcrumbs.
Then, refrigerate it so the flavors can marry, for about an hour, while you prepare the mushroom gravy. Don’t forget about your side dishes, use this time to gather those preparations as well.
Or just take a break and lift your feet in the recliner.
We want to keep the gravy a bit simple, but flavorful. Assemble your onion, mushrooms, butter, flour, beef broth, Worcestershire, salt & pepper.
Slice & measure to prepare because the cooking process will be rather quick & you don’t want to burn any of it.
Now, you can grab your beef and gently form 4 or 5 football-shaped patties – ensure that they are thick, about an inch in the middle. Heat the oil in the pan and fry up your patties just until brown on each side, about a minute. They will still be raw, but we’ll finish cooking them in the gravy. The patties will be soft, so be careful when flipping them, and remove them gently to rest on a plate while we start the gravy.
Add a dash more oil, and sautee the onion for about 2 minutes, or until translucent. Add the mushroom and cook for 3 minutes until they become moist and change color. Reduce heat, and add the butter. Once melted, add all of the flour slowly stirring it in bit by bit. It will be quite dry, that’s okay! We want to get the flour mixed with the butter and cook the flour for about a minute. Add the beef broth, Worcestershire, salt & pepper and give it a good mix.
Add the steak back into the gravy and cook about six minutes. Dump the juice from the plate in there, too, you don’t want to miss out on any of that rich flavor. Continue stirring the gravy around the Salisbury steak. You could flip them if you want to, but they’re super moist and tender and can break if you’re not gentle enough. If you’re unsure about doneness, let them cook in the gravy for another minute, then turn off the heat and let them sit while you prep your sides. It will continue to cook, so be sure to give it a little stir. If your sides aren’t done yet, cover your pan and remove it from the heat.
Best served with mashed potato (or rice). Don’t forget the Brussels sprouts!
Salisbury Steak & Mushroom Gravy
Equipment
- Vinyl Gloves (optional)
Ingredients
- ½ onion
- ½ c breadcrumbs
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 egg
- 2 T ketchup
- ½ t Worcestershire sauce
- 1 t dijon mustard
- 1 beef bouillon cube, crushed
Mushroom Gravy
- ½ onion
- 5 oz white Mushrooms, sliced
- 2 T unsalted butter
- 3 T Flour
- 2 c beef broth
- 2 t Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Add all Salisbury steak ingredients to a bowl and mix by hand, folding gently in a circular motion.
- Place beef mixture in refrigerator for one hour.
- While beef mixture rests, prep & measure your gravy ingredients: dice the onion, slice the mushroom, cook your beef broth (if using boullion cubes), and prepare any side dishes (like mashed potatoes).
- Divide beef into 4 (or 5) football-shaped patties, one inch thick in the middle.
- Heat oil in skillet over high heat. Add the steaks and cook one minute per side, just until browned. Remove onto plate.
- Reduce heat to medium, adding more oil. Cook chopped onion for 2 minutes or until translucent.
- Add sliced mushroom and cook for 3 minutes, until moist and golden. Add butter.
- Once butter is melted, slowly stir in all the Flour and cook about a minute.
- Slowly stir in beef broth, then Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper. Add the steaks & cook about 6 minutes, stirring gravy occasionally.
Notes
