There are certain meals that don't need to be reinvented.
They need mashed potatoes.
Salisbury steak is one of them: seasoned beef patties browned in a skillet, then finished in a rich mushroom-and-onion gravy. It's inexpensive, practical comfort food and—most importantly—doesn't require Captain Moonboot to understand why a restaurant would put three decorative dots of sauce beside something and charge another $14 for it.
⏱️ Recipe Information
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 25–30 minutes
Total Time: 40–45 minutes
The cooking time includes browning the Salisbury steak patties, sautéing the mushrooms and onions, preparing the gravy, and simmering everything together until the patties are cooked through.
The recipe makes 4 hearty servings, assuming four generously sized beef patties. Ground beef should reach an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C).
Ingredients
For the Salisbury steaks
- 1 lb (450 g) lean ground beef
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp finely chopped onion
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tsp Dijon or yellow mustard
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
For the mushroom-onion gravy
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 8 oz (225 g) mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- Black pepper to taste
Make the Steaks
In a bowl, gently combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, egg, chopped onion, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, mustard, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Don't work the mixture excessively. We're making supper, not kneading bread.
Shape it into 4 oval patties, roughly ¾-inch thick.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the patties for about 3 minutes per side.
They don't need to be completely cooked yet.
Remove them to a plate and resist eating one while standing at the stove.
Make the Gravy
Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter to the same skillet.
Add the sliced onion and mushrooms and cook for 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and the mushrooms begin to brown.
Sprinkle the flour over everything and stir for about 1 minute.
Gradually pour in the beef broth while stirring. Add the Worcestershire sauce, thyme and a few grinds of black pepper.
Bring the gravy to a gentle simmer.
Bring Everybody Back Together
Return the beef patties—and any juices on the plate—to the skillet.
Spoon some gravy over them, reduce the heat to medium-low and partially cover.
Simmer for about 10–15 minutes, until the patties are cooked through to 160°F (71°C) and the gravy has thickened.
If the gravy becomes too thick, add a splash of broth or water.
Taste and adjust the seasoning before serving.
🥔 The Correct Accompaniment
Mashed potatoes.
Technically, rice, egg noodles or even toast will work.
But Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy poured over mashed potatoes is one of those situations where civilization has already solved the problem and further research seems unnecessary.
Add peas, carrots or green beans and you have the kind of supper that makes a grey October day considerably less offensive.
🌙 Moonboot Modification: The Gravy Emergency
If you've underestimated how much gravy everyone will want—and you probably have—add another ½ cup beef broth to the skillet and thicken it with 1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water.
Because discovering there isn't enough gravy after the mashed potatoes are already on the plate constitutes a Level Two World HQ Emergency.
🧅 Mushroom Objection Department
If somebody in the household regards mushrooms as suspicious fungal invaders, leave them out and use two onions instead.
You'll end up with an excellent onion gravy and domestic negotiations can resume over some less consequential issue.
From the Captain's Log
Somewhere along the way, Salisbury steak acquired a reputation as cafeteria food.
This seems unfair.
Put a hamburger patty on a bun and everybody is happy.
Take away the bun, cover the same general concept in homemade mushroom gravy and suddenly we're questioning its social standing.
Captain Moonboot refuses to participate in this discrimination.
Bring the mashed potatoes. 😁🥔
🚨 WORLD HQ FILING NOTICE: Recipe #11 adds some unapologetic old-fashioned comfort food to Making Salsa: Recipes & Other Bad Decisions from Captain Moonboot—and gives the Recipe Images Department an excellent opportunity for a dangerously large pool of gravy.