Comfort food comes with a relaxed weekend vibe as standard equipment—that’s part of its appeal—but homemade Salisbury steak is quick and easy enough for weeknight meals as well. It comes together in less than 30 minutes and uses a bare minimum of utensils along the way (minimal cleanup!).
Sure, you could just use your next pound of ground beef to make hamburgers, but why stick with the same old, same old? This old-fashioned Salisbury steak recipe doesn’t take any longer to make (in fact, if you count firing up and then cleaning the grill after burgers, it’s faster), and it feels more like a sit-down meal.
What is Salisbury steak?
Fun fact: Salisbury steak isn’t named after a place, but instead, a Civil War-era physician named James Salisbury. He argued that patties of ground beef—he called it “muscle pulp of beef,” which would make a modern-day food marketer cringe—were the ideal food, making his 19th-century diet book the ancestor of the modern-day low-carb movement. Modern versions add crumbs and egg to Salisbury’s dish, which originally contained just beef and onion.
Salisbury Steak Ingredients
- Lean ground beef: The ground beef provides much of the recipe’s flavor and volume, and most of the healthy 25 grams of protein per serving. Going with lean ground beef isn’t mandatory, and some cooks find they prefer something slightly richer, like ground chuck.
- Egg white: The egg’s protein helps bind the patties together, and as a wet ingredient it pairs with the cracker crumbs to help keep the beef moist and tender.
- Chopped onion: Savory onion will add flavor, moisture and enticing aromas.
- Crushed saltines: The starchy cracker crumbs combine with the liquids in the recipe to help bind the meat together and give it a tender and juicy texture.
- Milk: Like the egg white, milk brings moisture and protein. It’s fine to use full-fat milk, if that’s what you have, since low-fat or non-fat milk won’t make much difference to the nutritional values of the finished recipe.
- Horseradish: Horseradish adds a hint of pungent heat to the patty, countering the beef’s richness.
- Beef gravy: Gravy will up the flavor and play matchmaker between the Salisbury steak and its starchy side dish, but without adding steps to the recipe or saturated fat to the finished meal.
- Mushrooms: Add flavor and textural interest to your finished dish of Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy.
- Noodles: The patty and mushroom sauce are tasty on their own, but a starchy side dish rounds out the meal. Our Test Kitchen suggests noodles, but feel free to opt for potatoes or a grain instead
Directions
Step 1: Make the meat mixture
Choose a bowl large enough to hold all your ingredients, with plenty of room left over for the mixing process. Break up the ground beef in the bottom of the bowl, then add the egg white, onion, crumbs, milk and horseradish, along with salt and pepper to taste. Mix until the ingredients are thoroughly combined, then shape the beef mixture into four oblong patties of approximately equal size and thickness.
Step 2: Cook the patties
Heat a large skillet at medium temperature. Cook the patties for five to six minutes on each side, until they’re nicely browned and the meat is no longer pink, or until they reach an internal temperature of 160°F when tested with an instant-read thermometer. Remove the patties and keep them warm.
Editor’s Tip: Unless you’re using a non-stick pan, you may want to add a spoonful of oil or a spritz of pan spray to the skillet before adding the patties. A bit of oil can help with browning too.
Step 3: Make the mushroom gravy
Add the gravy, mushrooms and water to the skillet, and simmer for three to five minutes, or until the mushrooms lose their raw appearance.
Step 4: Finish the Salisbury steak
Spoon the gravy over the patties, and the noodles if you’re using them, and serve immediately.
Salisbury Steak Variations
- Make your own scratch gravy: If you’re a confident gravy-maker or just don’t like the store-bought kind, go ahead and make your own gravy instead of using the convenience product. Simmering your patties in gravy for a few minutes after they’re cooked can also help them absorb more flavor and moisture.
- Skip the mushrooms: Don’t like mushrooms? No problem, just leave them out. Onion gravy is a nice old-school option that suits Salisbury steak’s retro vibe, or you could even go with tomato sauce. It’s all good.
- Mix up the meat: Ground beef is the automatic first choice for Salisbury steak, but—at the risk of causing the good doctor to turn in his grave—it doesn’t have to be the only choice. A “meat loaf mix” of beef and pork also works well, and ground lamb takes the basic recipe in an intriguingly different direction.
How to Store Salisbury Steak
If you have leftovers, pack them in an airtight container and refrigerate them as soon as possible after the meal (leftovers should never sit out for longer than two hours, for food safety reasons). Cooked patties will keep for three to four days in the fridge.
Can you freeze Salisbury steak?
You can freeze Salisbury steak either cooked or uncooked. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or parchment paper, and then seal it in an airtight container or a freezer bag.
Editor’s Tip: Uncooked patties should first be frozen uncovered on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then wrapped for storage. If you try to bag them without freezing them first, the patties may stick to the bag or become misshapen.
Salisbury Steak Tips
How do I make a mushroom gravy from scratch?
For a scratch mushroom gravy, saute a handful of minced onion with canned mushrooms or thin-sliced fresh mushrooms in a few tablespoons of butter. Add the same quantity of flour and stir until it absorbs the butter and the mushroom juices, then finish with enough beef broth to make up the right consistency (usually between 1 and 1-1/2 cups, depending how much flour you’ve used and how much liquid the mushrooms release).
Do I have to fry the patties on the stovetop?
No, you can prepare your Salisbury steaks in the oven or even a large toaster oven, if that’s more convenient. Prepare the patties as directed in the recipe, but then arrange them in a shallow baking dish and pour the gravy over them (add about 1/4 cup of water to compensate for evaporation in the oven). Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes, or until the gravy is bubbly and the patties reach an internal temperature of 160°.
Is it okay to add more mushrooms?
Adding mushrooms directly to your ground beef mixture is a great way to double down on the mushroom flavor, and it also helps your beef stretch further. Mince 1/2 a medium onion and 1/2 pound of mushrooms (it’s fastest if you pulse them together in a food processor), and saute them together in a pan with a small amount of oil until the mushrooms lose their moisture and take on a texture similar to ground beef. Let them cool for a few minutes, then add the mushrooms to your beef mixture. You’ll have enough to make six patties of the original size, or four larger ones. The mushrooms enhance the patties’ flavor, without noticeably changing their appearance or texture.
