14 July 2022

Salisbury Steak - Classic Comfort Food

Salisbury Steak - Classic Comfort Food / www.delightfulrepast.com

Salisbury Steak popped into my head this morning when I was thinking about dinner. Then I thought how nice it would be to make a big enough batch to make four dinners for the two of us, one for this evening and three for the freezer.

So I scaled up my usual Salisbury Steak recipe. This is what I call streamlined cooking and why I have so many of these Pyrex 3-cup rectangular storage dishes, perfect for my make-ahead freezer meals for two. 

Wish I'd had them in the freezer last week when I needed to take food to a sick friend. But, no, I had to make a batch of chicken soup when I wasn't feeling all that great myself. Can't let my freezer stash get down to zero again!

Let me assure you, my Salisbury Steak is good old-fashioned comfort food, not like the TV dinner version with painted-on "grill marks" or like the school lunch version I avoided throughout elementary school.

What is one of your favorite comfort food meals when life has gotten hectic or stressful?


Salisbury Steak - Classic Comfort Food / www.delightfulrepast.com

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Salisbury Steak


(Makes 8 servings)

The Steaks

2 pounds (32 ounces/ grams) lean ground beef (organic and grass-fed, if possible)
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (about 3 slices/3.5 ounces/99 grams good sourdough or white bread)
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 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
1 quart (32 fluid ounces/946 ml) lower sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces/59 ml) water

1 In medium bowl, mix together ground beef, breadcrumbs, eggs, ketchup, dry mustard, salt, pepper, marjoram and Worcestershire sauce. Using 2/3-cup measuring cup, divide mixture into 8 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 or scrape 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 (and a little more butter or oil, if needed) to the pan, and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Cook, over medium heat, stirring frequently, until tender, about 5 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.

4 If you're making meals for two for the freezer, put 2 steaks in each of 4 Pyrex 3-cup rectangular storage dishes, use a slotted spoon to divide the mushrooms between the 4 dishes, then divide the sauce between the four dishes. Put the lids on and allow them to cool for 1 hour, then transfer them to the refrigerator until they are thoroughly chilled before placing them in the freezer.

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Jean

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47 comments:

Sandi@ Rose Chintz Cottage said...

Hi Jean! I had a Salisbury Steak recipe years ago that I used to do in the slow cooker but I lost it over the years. I have been looking for another one, and I am just so happy that you have shared your recipe at this time. I am going to try making this one and I know it will be fabulous! Thank you for all your wonderful recipes.
I will no longer be blogging, but I have shared a post this week sharing the reasons why. I still hope to pop in now and then to see what you have served up. I am so happy to have gotten to know you. I feel we could have been great friends had we met in person. Have a wonderful summer and God bless you!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Sandi, thank you so much. Each time I've checked your blog for a new post these past several months, I feared your condition had become more difficult. I'm so very sorry. Your positivity, perseverance, and perspective on life, appreciating all "the little things" that bring us joy each day, are an inspiration.

The Joy of Home with Martha Ellen said...

I love this post, Jean. Your plate is calling my name. The addition of ketcup to the gravy has my interest. Comfort food is always a big pot of soup for me, even in summer. I also love chicken pot pie if I don't mind heating up the kitchen. Now I need to add your Salisbury Steak to the list!

TONY said...

Sometimes, Jean you throw out into the world a recipe that gets me thinking. Has Salisbury Steak any connection with the medieval city of Salisbury in Witshire, southern England, I thought. I Googled it and found out it is an American invention by a nutritionist called James A Salisbury. All good so far. OK nothing to do with a city that has one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Britain but I can accept that it is named after James. And.. then you inform me,

" Let me assure you, my Salisbury Steak is good old-fashioned comfort food, not like the TV dinner version with painted-on "grill marks" or like the school lunch version I avoided throughout elementary school."

Painted on grill marks!! You are joking, surely. I am flabbergasted, Jean. "Blimey o'reilly." Ha! Ha!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Martha, thanks so much. You won't even taste the little bit of ketchup in the gravy, but it adds an indefinable "something" to it! Hope you'll try it soon.

Thomas "Sully" Sullivan said...

Salisbury steak and trimmin’s are definitely a handle-with-care offering. Maybe not for any complexity, but rather, as you cite, the ghastly ersatz variety that shows up in places like school cafeterias. I simply do not like Salisbury steak if it isn’t prepared with the rapport of a serious chef. Best one I ever had was actually in Eagle Glenn Frey’s dressing room prepared by his tour chef. To put a metaphor on it from Mark Twain, it’s the difference between lightning and the lightning bug!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Tony, I've often wondered whether James A Salisbury's surname has its origins in Wiltshire. Probably. And, blimey yes, you can find here frozen dinners here with painted on (not actual paint, of course) grill marks on Salisbury steaks, pieces of chicken, etc. Google "Swanson Salisbury steak TV dinner, for example, and you can see it for yourself!

ellen b. said...

Glad I have a stainless non coated pan!! Looks delish.

Sandi@ Rose Chintz Cottage said...

Jean, I tried to email you half a dozen times but the email won't go through. I remember trying once before, a while ago, and the same thing happened. So, if you go to my web page and click on ABOUT ME, on the sidebar, you will find my email address under email me. Sorry about this! Would love to hear from you!

Linda said...

First let me thank you for the kind words you left on my blog today and I shall add you to my prayer list in the loss of your brother.
Second, this may be my first visit here but it will not be my last!
Thank you for the Salisbury Steak recipe....my Louis Dean will LOVE this!!!
Now I shall go look for your Follow button!

Karren Haller said...

Oh my your Salisbury steak looks deliciously. Im chuckling because I just bought a couple of frozen entrees, but your recipe puts them to share. Good idea to make ahead.
Thank you for sharing your recipe on #omhgww this week. I do hope you will have a great week!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Sully, I love that—the difference between lightning and the lightning bug!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Ellen, thank you!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Linda, thank you so much! How kind of you to take the time in the midst of all you're going through. 🤗

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Karren, thanks so much! I love having a little stash in the freezer so I can have some homemade comfort food on a day when I simply cannot cook!

Kitchen Riffs said...

This looks great! I can't remember the last time I had this dish. SO hungry for it now. :-)

Gerlinde de Broekert said...

I am trying to post. Most of the times I fail to do so. Salisbury Steak has always been on my favorite foods.

Sherry's Pickings said...

this sounds tasty; sort of like meatloaf in patty form :) I like to have food in the freezer too. And when not well, i like to have a big pot of chicken and veg stew/soup. very comforting.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, John~ I hope you and Mrs Riffs are having a super summer!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Gerlinde, thank you so much for persisting! I always appreciate your comments.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Sherry! Doesn't it give you a good feeling when you have homemade food in the freezer?!

Lea Ann (Cooking on The Ranch) said...

This is something I've wanted to make for a long time. Your recipe sounds delicious.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Lea Ann, thanks so much!

Unknown said...

Perfect comfort food. I made this just last night but I also add some red wine to the mushroom gravy. Hubby loves it. My comfort food is pierogies.

David Scott Allen said...

Oh, my word! This does take me back and it is, indeed, comfort food of my youth. I know I haven’t had it since my mother died — I look forward to trying it using your recipe! Just “decanted” a new batch of homemade Worcestershire sauce, so I’m ready to go.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Unknown! I also add red wine to this once in a while. And to other sauces and gravies as well. Extra good! I haven't had pierogies in a very long time. Must remedy that.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

David, yes, try it with your wonderful homemade Worcestershire sauce! Hope my recipe lives up to your mother's.

Nancy said...

Dear Jean, I just made your Salisbury steak dinner with great success. My plate looked much like yours. My daughter always liked this dish but I never really made it before. She loved it. Quote “what a wonderful Sunday night supper”. We remember the beginning of TV dinners and I think the appeal then was that it is something new and innovative, a meal you didn’t have to make yourself. Thank goodness our palates evolved. I must try the apricot cake. Love apricots. Oh, I make a good quick hamburger stroganoff that has a dollop of ketchup in it. I agree it adds a flavor that enhances without being noticeable. Hope you are well and I look forward to all of your posts. Thank you.




Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Nancy, thank you so much! I love that you made my recipe and let me know how it worked out for you, right down to the look of the plate! I'll be making the apricot cake again next week, unless I can't get more apricots. Happy July!

Pauline Wiles said...

I've never actually made this dish, however, you're right, it's ideal comfort food and I know my husband would be really appreciative. Plus I'm awfully fond of anything that requires both gravy and mashed potatoes to complete the dish!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Pauline. And, yes, I'm for anything that calls for mashed potatoes and gravy, my favorite food!

Bernideen said...

It doesn't get any more delicious than this!

Phil in the Kitchen said...

This is certainly fine comfort food. It's the sort of steak dish that I haven't made in far too long and I really have to get back to soon. I might wait for the autumn, though. I know it's a bit odd, but my comfort food in the summer is a simple, fresh tomato salad with a good baguette.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Bernideen! I know *you* know comfort food!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Phil, thank you. And, yes, this is perfect for autumn. By all means, enjoy the fresh tomatoes now, especially during the heatwave you're having!

DeniseinVA said...

This looks delicious! I know what is going on my shopping list today :) lovely catching up today!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, Denise. It might be hot, but it's never too hot for comfort food!

G'day Souffle said...

Wow, this dish has really brought back memories- definitely a dish from the 1960s! Although you don't hear about Salisbury Steak too much these days, it definitely is a delicious dish and well-worth resurrecting! I'm glad you don't have to use expensive steak for this recipe!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, Fran! With the price of groceries going up so much, I haven't purchased expensve steak in a while. Might be ready to splurge on a grassfed ribeye soon!

Dee | GrammysGrid.com said...

Looks good. I had to smile when I read where you mentioned TV dinners as that's what I thought of immediately when I read the title. Thanks so much for linking up at the Unlimited Link Party 78. Pinned.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks so much, Dee. I'm glad you appreciated the humor!

Carol said...

Your salisbury steak recipe looks delicious. Pinned!
Thank you for participating in Talent-Sharing Tuesdays Link-Up 26.
Carol
www.scribblingboomer.com

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks so much, Carol!

kitty@ Kitty's Kozy Kitchen said...

Salisbury steak is pure comfort food, Jean, and your photo is making me want to make your recipe! Thank you for sharing.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Kitty, thank you. I just used up my last one of these I had in the freezer. Must make another batch soon.

DeniseinVA said...

Hi Jean, I have not been here in a while. So glad to catch up with you today. This looks delicious! Happy October!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Denise, thank you! Glad you stopped by! So glad October is here, well and truly autumn now!