When you feel like a retro, super comforting throwback meal, salisbury steak is here for you. Super juicy, tender beef patties swimming in a umami rich mushroom gravy is my idea of heaven on a plate!
I have a thing for retro food. Mike always says I have the taste of an old person because I like things like chicken a la king, steak Diane, chicken tetrazzini, tuna casserole, and of course, salisbury steak! But really, how could you not love what is essentially a hamburger with mushroom sauce?!
What is salisbury steak?
Salisbury steak is an American take on Hamburg steak. Essentially, it’s a seasoned ground beef patty served with gravy or a brown sauce. Salisbury steaks used to be popular way back in the 1900s. Mr. Salisbury promoted a meat-centric diet (he was keto before keto was a thing!) for health reasons and one of his most popular dishes was the salisbury steak.
Modern salisbury steak is kind of like a giant meatball or mini meatloaf: a mix of ground beef, seasonings, breadcrumbs and egg. The result is super moist, tender, juicy, and full of flavor.
Why you should make salisbury steak
This is a grown up better-than-you-remember salisbury steak. If you grew up eating TV dinners and have a nostalgic warm feeling towards those little divided trays but can’t bring yourself to buy a frozen dinner but still want to capture that feeling, this salisbury steak recipe is for you!! It’s full of big beefy flavors thanks to the Worcestershire – which absolutely amps up the beefiness – and mushrooms.
Seriously, mushrooms and steak are a match made in heaven. Plus, this recipe is awesome for when you want that steak feeling of eating with a knife and fork, but you don’t want to pay the big bucks for a rib eye. Sometimes you just want a big plate of comfort and trust me, salisbury steak delivers.
How to make salisbury steak
Mix, shape, fry, simmer, serve!
- Mix: Mix together ground beef with onions, garlic, bread crumbs, an egg, and seasoning until everything is incorporated.
Shape: Shape the meat into patties. - Fry: Heat up a touch of oil in a pan and sear the patties on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside while you make the gravy.
- Simmer: Make a quick gravy to finish the steaks in. Melt some butter and brown the mushrooms. Sprinkle on a bit of flour and cook, stirring. Slowly stream in some beef stock, then add the steaks back in and bring everything to a simmer to thicken the gravy and finish cooking the steaks.
- Serve: Taste and season the gravy then enjoy!
Ingredient notes
The beauty of salisbury steak is that all the ingredients are pretty much in your pantry aside from the ground beef. Here’s what you need:
ground beef – this is pretty straight forward, I used lean, so these patties were extra juicy thanks to the fat content, but if you’re looking to be a bit healthier, you can go extra lean too.
onion – most Salisbury steak recipes call for finely chopped onions but I like to pop the onion into the food processor and blend them into an onion-y pulp so it mixes into the ground beef better. If you don’t have a food processor, you can just mince everything together as finely as you can, but those little mini prep food processors are small and really easy to use. We have this one but there are some that are as cheap as $20 or less.
garlic – you can mince this, or even easier, put it into the food processor!
bread crumbs – I like panko breadcrumbs, because they’re big and fluffy and give a really nice texture to things like meatballs and this salisbury steak. If you only have regular breadcrumbs, you can use those too.
egg – the egg helps bind everything together.
ketchup – yep, there’s a tiny bit of ketchup in this! It’s what gives it that hint of retro-taste.
dijon – the dijon adds a nice tiny bit of background heat and mustard flavor.
Worcestershire – this adds a huge boost of umami!
mushrooms – you can go for whatever mushrooms you like, just give them a slice. If you want to make this a bit fancier, you can try a wild mushroom medley. I went with regular brown mushrooms.
butter – this is going to give the gravy a rich flavor.
flour – just a touch of flour to thicken the gravy.
beef stock – go for unsalted beef stock so you can control the salt content.
What to serve with salisbury steak
Classically salisbury steak is served with mashed potatoes and a green. We went with kale because I loved the contrast of rich gravy and meat with the healthy vibe of kale. Try this recipe if you’re looking for a super smooth, lux mashed potato. Serve up some broccoli or Brussels sprouts too!
Salisbury Steak
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium onion roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lb ground beef lean preferred
- 1/4 cup panko
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 lb mushrooms sliced
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 cups beef stock no/low sodium preferred
Special Equipment
Instructions
- Place the onion and garlic in a food processor with 1 teaspoon water and purée, until the onion and garlic is very well blended. If you don't have a food processor, you can just mince everything together as finely as you can.
- Gently mix the blended onion and garlic with the ground beef, panko, egg, ketchup, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire, and 1 teaspoon dijon until completely incorporated. Divide the mix into 4 and shape into oval patties.
- Sear the patties: Heat a bit of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the patties and sear until the patty crusts and browns, about 3-4 minutes per side. Flip and cook the other side until it browns. Remove from the pan and set on a plate.
- Make the gravy: In the same skillet, add the butter and melt over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are golden, 2-3 minutes.
- Sprinkle on the flour and cook for 30 seconds, stirring to coat the mushrooms in flour. Slowly stream in the beef stock, stirring. Stir in the remaining 2 teaspoons Worcestershire and 1 teaspoon of dijon.
- Add the steaks, along with any juices on the plate, back into the pan with the gravy and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 5-7 minutes, or until the gravy thickens. Remove from the heat, taste, and season the gravy with salt and pepper.
This will be a regular at our house!!!