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This classic Salisbury steak recipe uses tender ground beef patties simmered in a flavorful mushroom and onion gravy to make something truly special. Salisbury steak is basically the ultimate comfort food when served over mashed potatoes, so here’s how to make it.
For some more tasty Steak recipes, why not try this recipe for Steak & Eggs, or some Mushroom Crock Pot Cube Steak & Gravy.
Salisbury Steak
Salisbury steak is another one of those dishes that definitely stretches the definition of the word “Steak” yet is still incredibly delicious.
Made using ground beef and a tasty onion mushroom gravy, this recipe was originally designed to help improve failing health during the Civil war thanks to its nutritious, protein-rich ingredients. We can always use a bit of a constitutional boost, so here’s how to make a healthy and delicious Salisbury steak.
Salisbury Steak Ingredients
Check the recipe card at the bottom for the precise amounts needed for this recipe.
- Ground beef
- Breadcrumbs
- Onion (white or yellow is fine here)
- Garlic
- Ketchup
- Worcestershire sauce
- Mustard powder
- Parsley
- Egg
- Salt & pepper
- Butter
Mushroom Gravy
- Salted butter
- White mushrooms
- Onion (yellow or white is good here)
- Flour
- Beef broth
- Ketchup
- Worcestershire sauce
- Cooking sherry
How to Make Salisbury Steak
- Mix together the ground beef, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, ketchup, Worcestershire, mustard powder, parsley, egg, and salt & pepper in a large bowl
- Form the meat into 6 patties, making sure to keep them even
- Melt the butter in a large skillet, frying the patties once the butter starts sizzling
- Cook until browned on both sides, which gives them a really good crust
- Drain some of the fat out, then remove the meat and add in your mushrooms and onion, cooking until the onions are translucent
- Deglaze the bottom with some of the beef broth, scraping with a wooden spoon, before adding the rest of the broth while stirring constantly
- Add ketchup and Worcestershire sauce to taste, followed by sherry, and then bring to a boil
- Add your patties and reduce to a gentle simmer, cooking until the patties are at least 165 Fahrenheit
- Serve immediately over mashed potatoes or rice
How to Keep Your Salisbury Steak Patties Even
The trickiest part about this recipe, and indeed with any recipe involving meat patties, is trying to keep them evenly sized.
This matters a lot more than you would think because if your beef patties are at all misshapen, then you risk overcooking some of the beef patties before the larger ones are done.
To make sure they are the same size, the easiest thing to do is to divide the initial mixture in half first. Then, working with each half at a time, divide that half of the mixture into thirds. This won’t get it into 6 exactly equal sizes but will be a lot closer than trying to eyeball 6 patties the mixture without dividing it first.
Of course, the best thing to do is to just have a kitchen scale to hand – with a piece of parchment paper or a bowl set over the scale, measure out your patties and get them exactly even with no fuss whatsoever!
How to Avoid Over Mixing the Ground Beef
Another thing to keep in mind is to make sure not to over mix your Salisbury steak mixture. It can be tempting to keep mixing it intensely to try and get everything 100% incorporated, but you need to show a bit of restraint to get the tastiest meat.
Try and stop mixing before you feel like you are done so that it still looks a little bit under mixed. This will likely mean that it will actually be mixed enough by the time you come to shape the patties.
To make mixing even easier, only mix using your hands dipped in cold water. The water will stop the meat from sticking to your hands, giving you a really great texture of the meat and letting you feel when the meat is done mixing.
Looking for more delicious Beef recipes? Try these:
Happy cooking!
Love,
Karlynn
Salisbury Steak
- Prep Time
- 20 minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 minutes
- Course
- Main Course
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 6 patties
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds ground beef
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 medium white or yellow onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 tablespoon parsley
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons butter
Gravy
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 1 pound white mushrooms washed and sliced
- 1 medium white or yellow onion sliced into half rings
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2-3 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1-2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1-2 teaspoons cooking sherry optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, ketchup, Worcestershire, mustard powder, parsley, egg and salt and pepper until just combined. Try not to overmix!
- Form the meat into 6 patties. To make them as even as possible for cooking purposes, divide the meat into two. Then divide each of those pieces into three equal sized patties.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter and heat over medium-high heat until sizzling. Place the meat patties into the pan and cook the patties until browned on both sides. This is where they get that good "crust", so don't skip the butter, and make sure you really brown and crisp them up!
- Pull the patties out and set aside on a plate. Tent with foil to keep warm. These are not fully cooked and will be cooked until finished at the end.
- Drain all but one tablespoon of the ground beef fat out, leaving the brown bits for flavor.
- For the gravy, melt the next amount of butter in the skillet add the mushrooms and onion and cook until onion is translucent. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir into the mixture.
- Add a bit of the beef broth slowly, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze all the brown bits. Once done, add the rest to the skillet stirring continuously.
- Add ketchup and the Worcestershire sauce TO TASTE (start with one tablespoon), then add sherry if desired then stir, bring to a boil then reduce heat and place the beef patties back into the pan.
- Cook until the sauce has thickened and the patties are cooked all the way through, to at least 165 °F.
- Serve immediately over mashed potatoes or rice, with fresh parsley as garnish.
Recipe Notes
- Worcestershire sauce can be overpowering for some people, start low and add to taste.
- Cooking sherry adds a classic and traditional sweetness to this dish if you want!
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Lisa says
Would red pepper flakes be ok instead of black pepper in this recipe?
Donna says
This was a wonderful meat dish. I followed the recipe and was really surprised at how tasty and flavorful the gravy turned out. I served it over egg noodles instead of rice or potatoes. My husband and father-in-law says, “It’s a keeper!”
jackie says
I’m not familiar with cooking sherry. Can you tell me the brand name to purchase, please?
Nancy says
I made this tonight with the only recipe modification being to add some ground pepper to the sauce. It was a wonderfully flavourful dish! BTW – I used extra lean ground beef. Apart from not having any fat to drain off it did not seem to negatively impact the flavour or tenderness of the patties.
Cathy Webster says
Do you add the flour after cooking the onions to translucent??? I’m just curious because I am really looking forward to making this for my family and I don’t want to mess it up. Thank you.
Karlynn Johnston says
Yes, fixed!