Salisbury Steak

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

Let me narrate the reason why I made this dish a few weeks ago. I teach a masteral course every Saturday in the city campus of the University that I work for. It is an hour away from the main campus and another hour away by ferry to my home in Bacolod. So I have to follow this schedule every Saturday where I wake up at 5am in the morning to haul my bags to teach at the city campus and then after my class, I go home for the weekend. Well, in one of those weekends, I sat in front of someone in the ferry boat who bought takeout food from a food chain and it was Salisbury Steak. It was torture for someone who had no lunch and was sleepy and tired from the travel and had to teach for four hours straight that very morning. 

It was then decided in my mind that I was going to make my version of the food that was now ingrained in my mind. I remember making this dish a long time ago using Rachel Ray's recipe but I wanted to try something different. Okay, I have to admit, she has been annoying me lately so whose recipe do I follow? It was none other than Martha Stewart, another person who annoys the hell out of me. Anyway, the need to make the steak was much stronger than my personal issues so I went ahead and used her recipe. Let me just say it now, it was delicious. 

Salisbury Steak - Adapted*

2 lbs ground beef
1/2 cup panko or white bread crumbs
1/2 cup while milk
1 large onion, grated
1 cup Shitake mushrooms, diced
2 cups beef broth
1 large egg
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp corn starch + extra for dusting
vegetable oil
salt and pepper

1. In a large bowl, combine the meat, half of the onions, bread crumbs, egg, 
    milk, parsley and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper. 
    Combine well and divide into 10 patties. Set aside.

2. In a large pan over medium heat, add enough vegetable oil to fry the 
    patties. Dip each patty into the extra corn starch and tap off the excess. 
    Fry in the vegetable oil for about 5 minutes or until browned. Turn with a 
    spatula and cook for another 3 minutes or until browned. Fry all the 
    patties and set them aside.

3. In the same pan used to fry the patties, saute the onions and mushrooms 
    and cook for about 5 minutes or until slightly caramelized. Add the beef 
    broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to low and bring to 
    a simmer.

4. Dissolve the teaspoon of cornstarch in 1/4 cup water and add to the sauce.
    Season with a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce.

5. Return the cooked patties into the gravy and cook until just heated 
    through. Serve immediately with mashed potatoes or steamed rice. 

*Martha Stewart: Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy