Salisbury Steak

Article by Layla Khoury-Hanold

You may know of Salisbury steak as a retro dish; it’s also a simple, quick dinner to make at home. Ree Drummond loves to make this crowd-pleasing meal for her family, and all you need to recreate this wholesome comfort food meal is ground beef, onions and a few pantry ingredients. With her easy recipe, Ree shares her top tips for making homemade Salisbury steak, including how to make juicy, seasoned beef patties, build flavor in the pan and the fool-proof techniques for making a perfectly thick, glossy onion gravy.

How to Make Salisbury Steak Like a Pro

Season the ground beef to create a flavorful patty. Ree uses a combination of savory and tangy ingredients to give the patties depth of flavor, including dry mustard, crumbled beef bouillon, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup.

Use breadcrumbs to help bind the mixture together. Ree combines the seasoned ground beef with seasoned breadcrumbs to bind the mixture together and help the patties hold their shape.

Sear the beef patties to get a golden crust and seal in juices. Ree sears the beef patties in a pan heated with oil and butter to create a golden crust on both sides and ensure juiciness.

Slice onions into thick slices. Ree opts to use sliced onions for the gravy rather than grated onion in case onion-averse family members want to pick them out.

Make a flavorful onion gravy using pan drippings. Drain the grease, but don’t clean the pan. Cooking the sliced onions in the fond, or browned bits on the bottom of the pan, is what gives the sauce its deep savory flavor.

Deglaze the pan to build another layer of flavor. Ree deglazes the pan with beef broth, scraping up the flavor bits from the bottom of the pan. She also adds Worcestershire sauce and ketchup for tang and sweetness, and an optional teaspoon of seasoning sauce which deepens the color and adds a touch more flavor.

Use a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce and add glossiness. Ree mixes cornstarch with just enough beef broth to make a paste, then adds a couple tablespoons at a time. If it needs more thickening, add more slurry. If the sauce gets too thick, add a few splashes of beef broth.

Finish cooking the beef patties in the onion gravy. Nestle the patties back in the pan and spoon sauce over the top to allow the patties to finish cooking and absorb the flavors of the onion gravy.

What Is Salisbury Steak?

Salisbury steak is a dish of seasoned ground beef patties in a savory onion gravy or mushroom sauce. Some Salisbury steak recipes call for the addition of condensed or instant French onion soup to add moisture, flavor and richness to the patties and create a base for the gravy. The origin of Salisbury steak can be traced back to Dr. James Salisbury, who is credited with inventing the dish as a high-protein meal that was served to soldiers during the Civil War.

What’s the Difference Between Salisbury Steak, Meatloaf and Hamburgers?

Think of Salisbury steak as a cross between hamburgers and meatloaf. Salisbury steaks are formed into patties and pan-fried like hamburgers, but they are shaped into ovals instead of rounds. Like meatloaf, Salisbury steak utilizes breadcrumbs to bind seasoned ground beef, but it is formed into individual patties instead of a loaf and cooked stove-top rather than oven-baked. In addition, Salisbury steak is served with an onion or mushroom gravy, whereas meatloaf is topped with a tomato-based sauce.

What to Serve with Salisbury Steak

Serve Salisbury steak with a variety of Ree’s fan-favorite, classic dinner sides such as Creamy Mashed Potatoes, Whiskey-Glazed Carrots, Garlic Butter Dinner Rolls, Mushroom Pilaf or Roasted Asparagus and Peas.