Is there a revival of Salisbury steak going on in American kitchens? The dish might not be high on the list of recipe revivalists who savor the nostalgia of old-school American cooking, but it’s been a quiet staple in home kitchens for years.
And there it was in a recent article in the Wall Street Journal’s “Off-Duty” section published on Saturdays. The food pages–along with the stories on $20,000 watches, $10,000 men’s blazers and other rigors of the serious sybarite—hold a lot of interest for food ideas. One weekly column that I look at always is “Slow Food Fast,” a feature that focuses on recipes from restaurant chefs around the country.
Last week a recipe for Salisbury steak (see original recipe WSJ link) was from chefs Matt Danzer and Anne Redding whose two New York restaurants are Uncle Boons and Mr. Donahue’s; the latter often serves Salisbury steak on its menu of retro classics.
What is Salisbury steak anyway? It was invented by a Dr. Salisbury in 1905 who was an early proponent of low-carb dieting for weight loss.
I made the recipe and it was a huge success. It’s a lighter, more refined version of the classic prep, which is often heavy with bread-crumb filler. Though I’m not sure it’s about to be a constant firm family favorite in my household, it was nevertheless something different and delicious. I’ll prepare it again at a dinner for friends as a satisfying main course.
Basically it’s a large hamburger or small meatloaf molded into patties shaped like a steak. Serve it with mashed potatoes (or pureed celeriac or cauliflower if you’re low-carbing it) and plenty of mushroom gravy over it all.
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Adapted from the Wall Street Journal recipe feature by Kitty Greenwald in “Slow Food Fast” from chefs Matt Danzer and Anne Redding. I’ve made some changes to the recipe to simplify it somewhat.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- Generous amounts of salt and pepper
- 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 slice white bread, torn into small pieces
- 1 egg, beaten
- A few gratings of freshly ground nutmeg
- 3/4 pound ground beef (85% lean)
- 3/4-pound ground veal
- 2 tablespoons (about 5 sprigs) finely chopped parsley
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- About 1 pound (or 2 1/2 cups) button mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves removed and chopped
- 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet and sauté half the chopped onions and a third of the chopped garlic, reserving the rest. Sauté for about 3 minutes over low heat until soft and translucent. Season generously with salt and pepper. Remove onions and reserve.
- Meanwhile put the bread in a large bowl. Mix with the milk until thoroughly blended with enough milk to soften the bread. Add the beaten egg and stir to combine ingredients. Let sit for a few minutes to get the bread to break down. Add the nutmeg and salt and pepper.
- Add the meats, cooked onions, leftover raw onions and parsley and thoroughly mix the ingredients squeezing the meats through your fingers to combine the mixture well, making sure that the bread mixture, meats, onions and parsley are well combined.
- Form meat mixture into four patties about 3/4 inch thick. Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil in the same sauté over medium high heat and brown the meat about 4 minutes on each side; careful not to over brown the patties or they will get burned. The meat will show a little red inside.
- Remove the browned patties to a casserole dish and put in a 275-degree oven to keep warm and finish the cooking. Wipe the sauté pan clean.
- Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat in the same pan and sear the mushrooms until browned all over.
- Remove mushrooms to a plate and wipe pan clean.
- Make the mushroom sauce by melting the remaining 2 tablespoons butter; whisk in the flour, stirring constantly until roux is a light golden brown. Add stock, remaining garlic, thyme, vinegar and heavy cream. Bring to a slow boil, whisking constantly, until the sauce is smooth, thickened and free of lumps. Stir in the cooked mushrooms.
- Remove patties from oven and if they still appear slightly under done inside, put them in the sauce for a few minutes to cook through.
- Put the steaks on plates, ladle some sauce over each and serve with mashed potatoes or pureed celeriac along with sautéed carrots.