Salisbury Steak - Classic American Comfort Food

Salisbury Steak recently popped into my head on a day that was just calling out for good old-fashioned comfort food. Nothing fancy, expensive or complicated; just good and satisfying.

Salisbury Steak was the invention of a 19th-century American physician. A great proponent of the health benefits of beef, Dr James Henry Salisbury recommended that his “steak” be eaten three times a day. Though three times a day is a bit much for me, I do enjoy Salisbury Steak occasionally.

Of course, if the only version you’ve ever had is the TV dinner (with painted-on "grill marks") or school lunch sort, you’re probably gagging right now. The elementary school I went to up to age 9 did quite a good job of most things on their menu, but the one after that had such bad food I nearly cried on my first day there.

Anything with ground beef in it was especially bad. It must have been the absolute lowest grade of beef allowed to be served to humans. I quickly learned to chew carefully so as not to break a tooth biting down on a piece of bone. Needless to say, more often than not I brought my lunch on Salisbury Steak days.

I always use organic grass-fed ground beef. Besides all its other benefits, it just tastes better. Read about the blind tasting I conducted in my Big Bad Burger Throwdown post.

Mr Delightful likes my Salisbury Steak so much he insisted on opening a rather decent bottle of pinot noir to go with it! It was a good pairing.

And can anything be called comfort food without my favorite accompaniment, Perfect Mashed Potatoes? What do you like to make on those days when only classic comfort food will do?

Salisbury Steak

(Makes 5 servings)

The Steaks

1 1/2 pounds (24 ounces/680 grams) lean ground beef (organic and grass-fed, if possible)
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

The Gravy

1 small (4 ounces/113 grams) yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/2 pound (8 ounces/227 grams) mushrooms, sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 cups lower sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water

1 In medium bowl, mix together ground beef, breadcrumbs, egg, ketchup, dry mustard, salt, pepper, marjoram and Worcestershire sauce. Using 2/3-cup measuring cup, divide mixture into 5 equal portions and shape into oval patties about 5 inches long and 3/4 inch thick.

2 Heat (I mean really heat!) a large skillet*, add butter and oil, and brown the steaks well (I mean really well!) over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes on each side. Transfer steaks to a plate and pour all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan. Do not clean it! Add the onion and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently and scraping up the tasty brown bits in the pan, until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms to the pan, and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Cook, over medium heat, stirring frequently, until tender, about 10 minutes.

* I use this All-Clad 6-Quart Saute Pan (12-inch, 2.75 inches deep, straight sides). Being stainless steel with no nonstick coating, you can get it really hot to put a brown crust on things. I can't imagine that my gravy would have turned out so beautifully brown if the steaks hadn't been browned really well, leaving fabulous fond in the pan. And its straight sides mean a large surface area for cooking.

3 Add beef broth, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce to skillet. Mix well, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and stir in cornstarch mixture. When sauce begins to bubble and thicken, add steaks back to pan. Cover loosely and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, to heat through. When 2 or 3 minutes remain, taste and adjust seasoning.

Disclosure: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon .com and affiliated sites.

Jean