We recently decided we were in the mood for Salisbury steak, but having never made it before, we didn’t have a go-to recipe. My friend Amy graciously shared her family recipe, and we loved it! We didn’t have all the ingredients and we had more meat than it called for so we ended up having to make adjustments. Below is what we came up with. I will end up having lots of footnotes so make sure you check it all out.
This version is reduced sodium compared to most recipes you will find out there. We used some lower sodium ingredients, did not add any salt, and used no canned ingredients. That said, this recipe is still rich with flavor and, we think, better than what you get in a restaurant because it’s not too salty.
One quick note: this recipe is based on us wanting leftovers. It’s perfect for leftovers for a couple or for a family. This version uses the 2.25 pound package of beef you get at Walmart but I will share the one-pound version that will, ironically, be slightly meatier, I think.
Ingredients for Salisbury steak
- 2.25-pound package of 80/20 hamburger (found at Walmart)
- 3 Large eggs
- 4-5 Tablespoons crushed crackers (we used store-brand Ritz crackers)
- 3/4 tsp black pepper
- 3 TBSP dried minced onion (or equivalent of fresh … we just didn’t want to mess with real onion with that small of an amount)
- 3/4 tsp rubbed sage (or equivalent such as rosemary, thyme, or crushed bay leaf)
- 1 stick of butter (divided)
- 8 ounces of chopped fresh mushrooms
- 5 TBSP of flower
- 3.5 cups of hot water
- 4 tsp of low sodium beef boullion
How to make Salisbury Steak
- Mix the hamburger, eggs, crackers, pepper, onion, and sage (or whichever substitute you use) together and form small patties. They do not have to be uniform, but close.
- Place as many patties that will fit comfortably with room to turn in a 16-inch skillet (Fewer will fit at a time but you can use a smaller skillet). You will likely have to do several rounds unless you reduce this recipe to the one-pound version.
- Brown the steaks 5 minutes or so on each side. They will not be cooked through and that’s OK.
- Remove the steaks and set aside for later. Drain most of the grease off but keep just a little bit in the pan for the gravy.
- Add 2-3 TBPS of the butter in the pan and melt it.
- Saute the mushrooms for a few minutes in the butter.
- Add the remaining 5 TBSP of butter into the pan and let it melt.
- Slowly add 5 TBSP of flour to the mix. It will get kind of gunky.
- Add the hot water and stir. Add the bouillon and stir. Let it cook together for a couple of minutes.
- Add the steaks to the mix and spoon the gravy over them so that they are all covered.
- Cook on medium for up to 10 minutes, then simmer for a few more minutes until the gravy and everything is how you like it.
- Double-check the meat temp with a thermometer to ensure doneness.
A few footnotes
- As I mentioned, you can use a one-pound package of hamburger. Just reduce the other ingredients by about 1/3. For the mushrooms do 4 ounces. Just make sure things like the butter and flour for the gravy are consistent otherwise it won’t turn out right.
- We didn’t have sage the first time so we crushed bay leaf. It had an amazing flavor but we kept getting chunks of leaf in our bites. I suggest sage as it calls for, or rosemary.
- For thick gravy, bring to a boil and immediately then let it simmer for a bit. For thinner gravy, simmer for a less amount of time.
- Some people might prefer to saute their mushrooms in olive oil. Just reduce the total butter to what you need for the gravy.
- We used Herbox sodium-free granulated bouillon.
- This pairs amazingly with any kind of potato, carrots, or broccoli, etc.
