This Salisbury Steak Recipe Has A History

A Salisbury steak recipe does not include a steak at all. The recipe calls for ground beef. The definition of a steak is an individual serving portion sliced from a larger section of beef.

Ok. Ok. I won't quibble over a definition. Steak it is.

Salisbury steak has a history and I love those types of recipes. More about that below but first is a modern version of the recipe.

Salisbury Steak Recipe

6 ounces minced onion
1 ounce minced garlic
3 tablespoons butter
2 pounds ground beef chuck
4 eggs
8 ounces bread crumbs
4 ounces chopped flat leaf parsley
12 ounces cooked and diced button mushrooms
2 ounces butter
2 ounces flour
24 ounces veal stock
1 pound sliced button mushrooms
2 red onions, sliced 1/2-inch thick, grilled

Sauté the onions, and the garlic in 1 tablespoon of butter until translucent and set aside to cool.

Mix the beef with the cooled onion mixture, eggs, breadcrumbs, parsley, and mushrooms. Form the mixture into 4-ounce patties and sauté in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter until golden brown on both sides and set aside.

In a saucepan melt 2 ounces of butter and add flour and cook over low heat for 1 minute until wet sand consistency. Begin to add the stock 1/3 at a time while whisking and bringing to a simmer each time to make sure there are no lumps.

Add the mushrooms and simmer for 1/2 hour.

Place the beef patties in a roasting pan and pour the gravy over the patties and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Garnish with grilled onions and serve.

Salisbury Steak Recipe History

Dr J.H. Salisbury was born in New York in 1823. He was a physician at Union Army camps in Ohio during the American Civil War

During that time he came up with chopped beef patties to cure Civil War soldiers' suffering from "camp diarrhea."

The beef patties were made of meat from disease-free animal muscle fibers with no fat, cartilage or connective tissues, seasoned, and broiled.

In 1888, he wrote "The Relation of Alimentation and Disease". In the book he recommended that for general health people should eat chopped beef 3 times a day.

He included a recipe in the book for a beef patty. His recommendations became a diet fad for a couple of decades. The diet faded, but the "steak" has remained to this day.