The best homemade Salisbury steak recipe served with a brown onion gravy! Your own personal-sized meatloaf made to look like a steak, this Salisbury steak features easy fresh breadcrumbs, onion, and garlic. It’s the perfect family-style comfort food dinner!
I am a full-on Pinterest lover, and just like the rest of the world, I use it for dinnertime inspiration. Scrolling through my feed one fine afternoon, I came across a Salisbury steak recipe, and truly, the timing could not have been more perfect. My husband had just given up bread for Lent….which essentially meant I was giving up bread for Lent. And, people, you don’t know just how restrictive that can be on a dinnertime menu unless you’ve lived through it…and also, if you didn’t want to give it up in the first place. Just say’n. No sandwiches, no pizza, no tortillas…aye yai yai. Total torture for this carb-lovin’ mama.
I’m sure by now you can see, clearly, we are a comfort food driven family, and hailing from deep in the heart of Texas, could you really expect anything less? That Salisbury steak was the answer to our bread-forsaken prayers, and I, for one, was grateful.
SALISBURY STEAK IS…
Salisbury steak is basically your very own, personal-size meatloaf. You could also compare it to a giant meatball. I say go with whichever makes your heart happiest. Salisbury steak recipes also come well-equipped with a brown gravy laden with either mushrooms, caramelized onions or both.
WHAT SALISBURY STEAK IS MADE OF
For most Salisbury steak recipes you’ll need to have the following ingredients on hand: Breadcrumbs, milk, soy sauce and/or Worcestershire sauce, eggs, and ground beef.
The breadcrumbs and milk keep the Salisbury steaks tender and moist, the soy/Worcestershire enhance its beefy flavor, the eggs bind it all together, and the ground beef? Well, what’s a steak without beef? Uhhhh, not a steak. That’s what.
Speaking of which, can you see why they call the Salisbury steak a steak…even though it’s actually made out of hamburger meat? Yes! You guessed it: It’s shaped like a steak. You are one smart cookie, and I see bright things in your future.
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE SALISBURY STEAK
To make homemade Salisbury steak, you first moisten the breadcrumbs with milk. Once the breadcrumbs have absorbed all that moisture, add the seasoning and slightly beaten eggs to the mixture. Then, in goes the ground beef, and you’ll gently mix it all together.
Once the mixture is ready, you divide it up and form it into oval-shaped patties. The patties are then pan-seared on a skillet and cooked through.
SALISBURY STEAK GRAVY
If you’re going to call it a Salisbury steak recipe, there must be gravy. So, at this point, you would throw some onions or mushrooms in the pan, let ’em cook down and then sprinkle over a bit of flour. Flour is the thickener used for the gravy, and the base is beef stock. You’ll add in the beef stock, stirring to ensure a smooth sauce and allow it to simmer briefly until it has slightly thickened.
Take that perfect brown gravy, ladle it over your Salisbury steaks and dinner is served. Just don’t forget the mashed potatoes and peas. They’re a classic pairing for Salisbury steak, and one I wholeheartedly approve of.
WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT THIS SALISBURY STEAK RECIPE
This Salisbury steak recipe is no joke, and it is positively bursting with over-the-top, savory goodness. This recipe pulls out all the stops, and begins on the stovetop with minced onions and garlic. Once the garlic and onions have cooked through, they’re added to the breadcrumb mixture. And, we’re not talking just any breadcrumb mixture here — we’re talking fresh breadcrumbs, people.
Homemade breadcrumbs are easy to make, and an excellent use of leftover white bakery bread. To make breadcrumbs at home, you simply pull off hunks of day-old/stale bread and process them in a food processor until they look like breadcrumbs. Boom. You’re done. And, I know what you’re thinking, but trust me — it’s worth it.
Worth it in every which way. This Salisbury steak recipe is the poster child of comfort food and the perfect addition to any dinnertime line up. Simple enough to make, filling, and welcomed by the whole family. Please, enjoy.
The best homemade Salisbury steak recipe served with a brown onion gravy!
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or canola oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, minced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 cup fresh bread crumbs see notes, if needed
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
- 2 pounds 80/20 ground beef
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, separated
- 1 yellow onion, sliced about a 1/4" thick
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups unsalted beef broth
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
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Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the minced onion, and saute about 4-5 minutes, stirring often, or until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute more. Remove the heat, set aside and allow to cool.
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Add the breadcrumbs and milk to a large mixing bowl, and stir to combine. Add the soy sauce, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, and eggs and stir. Add the cooled vegetables to the mixture and stir once more. Lastly, add the ground beef, and using your hands, gently mix until well-combined.
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On a work surface, divide the mixture into 6 equal sections, and form each section into an oval 5-6" long, 3" wide and about a 1/2" thick.
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Place a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Once the pan has come to temperature, place 2-3 patties in the skillet at a time, taking care not overcrowd the pan. Cook for 3-3 1/2 minutes on each side. Do not jostle or move them around. Reduce the heat slightly if the patties are browning too quickly. Remove the patties from the skillet and set off to the side.
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Once all of the patties have finished cooking, reduce the heat to medium. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet, followed by the sliced onion. Sauté 5-8 minutes, or until softened, stirring often.
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Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir until evenly coated. Add the beef broth a splash at a time, stirring well after each addition until the mixture begins to resemble that of pudding. Then, you may slowly stream in the remaining broth. Increase the heat to medium-high, and allow to come to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
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Add the cream, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and Worcestershire. Stir to combine, and remove from the heat. Ladle the gravy over the patties, serve and enjoy.
Slightly stale, bakery bread is great for whipping up a fast batch of breadcrumbs. You can use French bread, sourdough or homestyle white bread. To make fresh breadcrumbs, simply pull off hunks of bread from the loaf, throw it in the food processor and give it a whir until it looks like…well, bread crumbs. That’s all there is to it.
Thank you for the great article