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American

Salisbury Steak With Herby Mushroom Sauce

by:
May 15, 2021
4.6
9 Ratings
Photo by Photographer: Ty Mecham Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth Food Stylist: Anna Billingskog
  • Prep time 15 minutes
  • Cook time 20 minutes
  • Serves 4-6
Author Notes

I firmly believe that brown food is the most delicious food, which is exactly why you’re going to want to add Salisbury steak to your weeknight dinner rotation. These seasoned ground beef patties (more similar to meatloaf or a meatball than a steak) are typically served with a rich mushroom gravy. Here, the creamy mushroom sauce is brightened up with salty, briny capers and served with a heavy handful of fresh herbs. Plus, a mix of mushrooms, like oyster, maitake, and cremini make the sauce a bit more texturally exciting than neatly sliced button ‘shrooms. That said, if you’re going to go with one type of mushroom, your best bet is to go all in on baby bella mushrooms. This might seem like a dated dish, but frankly, seasoned ground beef in a rich, earthy sauce—with a few modern tweaks, of course—never goes out of style.

For the steaks, I used Panko breadcrumbs because I like their coarse texture, but if you’d prefer to substitute the same amount of fine breadcrumbs, you definitely can. Sear the patties on high heat to get a deeply brown, caramelized crust, then you’ll finish cooking them in the simmering sauce.

Salisbury steaks are slightly sweet and the mushroom gravy is acidic, creamy, salty, and herby, hitting every note on your palate. Serve the patties and sauce over rice or mashed potatoes with a side of crunchy roasted green vegetables like asparagus or green beans for a well rounded dinner. Are they lacking in color? Yep. But they sure aren’t holding back on flavor. —saratane

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Ingredients
  • Steaks:
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated or minced
  • 1 medium shallot, grated or minced
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Gravy:
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 8 ounces mixed mushrooms (such as cremini, oyster, or shiitake), stemmed and sliced
  • 1 medium shallot, finely chopped or grated
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine
  • 2 cups unsalted beef broth
  • 2 tablespoons capers in brine, rinsed and dried
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • Fresh parsley, for serving
  • Fresh chives, for serving
Directions
  1. In a large bowl, mix all of the steak ingredients until fully combined. Shape into five 4-inch oval patties.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once the oil is barely smoking, sear the patties until golden brown (they will not be fully cooked at this point), 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
  3. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil in the same skillet. Add the mushrooms, tossing in the oil and rendered beef fat, and cook, undisturbed, until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
  4. Reduce heat to medium and add the shallots and garlic, cooking until softened and fragrant, 1 minute.
  5. Add the butter and cook until melted, 1 minute. Sprinkle the flour over mixture and stir to combine, cooking until smooth and incorporated, 2 minutes. Stir in the wine and reduce by half, 1 minute. Stir in the beef stock, capers, mustard, Worcestershire, apple cider vinegar and dark brown sugar. Add the steaks back into the skillet and simmer until the sauce has reduced slightly and the steaks are cooked though (reaching at least 145ºF on a thermometer), 5 to 7 minutes. Top with fresh parsley and chives and serve immediately.
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Recipe by: saratane

Food writer, recipe developer, and private chef

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17 Reviews

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Smaug April 27, 2022
Hm- I'd almost forgotten Salisbury steak; after a few tries I'd come up with a more or less recipe (I almost never do anything exactly the same twice) that I was satisfied with and it had become a regular in my meal rotation. However, like meat loaf and meat ball makers throughout history, I found a mixture of pork and beef worked much better for me; when pork prices suddenly went through the roof I dropped the dish. Maybe time to try it again.
Kari K. April 27, 2022
This recipe is flat-out fabulous. Who knew plain ground beef could have so much flavor? Preparation does not go quickly, but it's worth the time throwing in all these many ingredients. I am doubling the ground beef recipe today and freezing, to make for a faster weeknight meal down the road.
Catcook February 8, 2022
Ooooh this is PERFECT. However did I miss it last May? My mouth is watering to make it for dinner tonight; a welcome change from the dinner ennui I have been suffering from.
Violet9905 October 5, 2021
Forgot to add to my original review. Have used both white wine and red wine in the gravy. Red is actually a better.
Violet9905 October 5, 2021
Love this recipe. I am not a capers fan but decided to use them. The mushroom gravy, for me, is so good the capers are unnecessary. In the meat, I mixed in less brown sugar than listed. I did not have dried oregano so used Italian seasoning.
I just started making Salisbury steak recently and this is a great recipe.
keithcancook September 18, 2021
I really enjoyed this version,especially the gravy.the capers are a nice addition.
Kelly April 19, 2021
I used ground turkey and it was delicious! After forming the patties I let them sit in the fridge for a few hours to firm up and let the flavors blend. I don’t like sweetish gravy so I cut the brown sugar by 1/2 in the gravy, didn’t have capers - turned out beautifully.
Smaug April 6, 2021
I haven't had a TV dinner for probably 50 years, but I'm pretty sure the Salisbury steak didn't taste like this; for starters, you'd probably have to take out the mushrooms and add a cup or two of MSG. This is quite good however, though like others I found the gravy a bit sweeter than I'd prefer. Then again I didn't have any capers- that might have tempered it some, though usually salt tends rather to push sweetness forward. At any rate, easily adjusted. Note that the sauce and patties can be made in advance, which makes it pretty quick to get on the table.
Also inspired me to see what Wikipedia had to say on the subject; turns out that Salisbury Steak was invented in 1897 by a Dr. James Salisbury as a health food. His recipe was a bit different.
Smaug April 28, 2021
I've messed around with this aa bit since the first try and find that I prefer a somewhat simpler gravy; the current version is beef stock, mushrooms, onion, sherry, thyme, salt, pepper, paprika and roux. Simplified the patty, too- I find the mustard, worcestershire, ketchup and bouillon are distracting; the current tendency to overload dishes with umami is presumably a passing fad.
Auntie A. April 4, 2021
I made this for the second time last night with a couple of small changes. First, I dialed back the brown sugar by about half, and I used red wine in the gravy instead of white wine (the recipe called for red wine, in my humble opinion). My husband and I loved the dish the first time I made it, but we both agreed that we liked the second version a little more. Future batches will use red wine . . . makes the gravy a tad more savory and rich.
sue April 3, 2021
I was very disappointed in this. The oregano and worcestershire sauce overwhelmed everything else. Didn't care for the sweetness of the brown sugar either.
Meredith March 21, 2021
This is very delicious. It definitely evokes the Salisbury steak, but unlike a TV dinner or cafeteria version, it has depth and complexity.
Jamie W. March 16, 2021
We loved this recipe! Although the list of ingredients appeared daunting at first, I had all the ingredients on hand. Love the capers! I’m planning on making a big batch of meatballs and will refer back to this recipe.
magnolia40 March 13, 2021
Oh my gosh - this is SO good. I "found" this recipe via your newsletter in my email in-box :-) I had many of the items this recipe calls for and decided to get the rest on my next grocery delivery (which was today) so I could follow the recipe as published. I stuck with one type of mushroom, the baby bella that you suggested as an alternative; their firmness held up really well in this recipe. I made this tonight for the first time and it's incredibly good - like high-end good. My son loved it! I made sure to share this link w/my friends on FB who I know will love it, too. Thanks so much!!
Auntie A. March 10, 2021
Wow! This recipe is fantastic! I have a lot of very lean ground beef and have been seeking recipes that would give it more flavor. The Salisbury steak patties were absolutely delicious . . . full of flavor. And the gravy? Even more delicious!! I used supermarket button mushrooms and minced onion instead of a shallot. We ate this with mashed potatoes, and my husband raved about the great flavor with every bite. I will save this recipe and will make it again and again. Highly recommended.
magnolia40 March 13, 2021
It IS fantastic, isn't it? Wow.
Suzanne March 10, 2021
I was hopeful that this would be good since as a kid I loved Salisbury Steak (though it was the frozen TV dinner kind). Sadly, this is not making my tastebuds happy. The sauce is not quite right, mine was a bit sweet and I didnt use a terribly sweet white wine. I ended up adding Greek yogurt to store into the sauce to try to fix this...it didn’t work. Also, with one pound of meat but into five patties, the patties were still too big, could be cut down to seven patties.