Quick and Easy Salisbury Steak

[ea56]

I use a slightly altered version of the Ann Landers Meatloaf recipe that I read here a few years ago.

Here it is if anyone likes Salisbury Steak and would like to give it a try.

Quick and Easy Salisbury Steak

1 lb. lean ground beef, I use 7/93 %
1 egg
1 envelope Onion Soup Mix
1/2 tsp. Accent
1/4 tsp, Black Pepper
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup warm water
1 tbs. oil
1 tbs. butter
In a large bowl beat egg with a large fork, add the accent and pepper and mix lightly. Add the ground beef, bread crumbs, ketchup and warm water, mix well with the large fork, or with your hands, (hint the large fork will keep the mixture lighter). Form into 4 equal oblong patties and brown in the oil and butter over medium heat, 5 minutes per side. Reduce the heat to med low, remove the patties and place in the pan lid (why dirty up another plate) to hold while making the gravy.

Gravy
To the fat left in the pan (should at least 2 tbs, or so, add a little more butter if you want, now add an equal amount of flour, approx 2-3 tbs. while whisking to avoid lumps, making a Roux. Cook and stir the Roux over med low heat unitl it bubbles and continue cooking for about a minute. Now add 1 1/2 cups beef broth and about 1/4 Dry Vermouth, or other wine. We don’t drink, so Dry Vermouth is great for cooking because it won’t sour in a partially used bottle, same thing with Dry Sherry, I use both for cooking. Bring gravy to a simmer while whisking, add the browned patties back to the gravy, cover and reduce heat to simmer and simmer for about 30-40 mins. Serve with steamed rice, mashed potatoes or noodles.

Eddie[this post was last edited: 3/26/2018-23:07]

 

[ken]

Eddie

Everything on the table looks so delicious! That salad...yum!

 

[ea56]

Thanks Ken. I make a salad like that for each of use everyday for dinner. It’s great way to get lots of fresh vegetables. The table was only set for one because David is working tonight. I save his dinner for when he gets home and nuke it.
Eddie

 

[ken]

Is that a slice of beet in the center of the salad?

 

[ea56]

Uh huh, kinda like Mildred Pierce’s, old school. I buy canned beets and drain them, put them in a jar with white vinegar, a little sugar and a couple of whole cloves to pickle them. They keep in the fridge for about a week this way and have a nice flavor.
The rest of the salad is torn Romaine lettuce, sliced green and yellow peppers, thinly sliced carrots, and diced fresh tomatoes. If I have an avocado I’ll put a few slices of that on them too.

We like to eat our salad after we eat the hot portion of our dinner. When we first married David read somewhere that this was better for the digestion and I’ve also heard that this is the European way, but I wouldn’t know, I’ve never been to Europe,and probably never will get there.

I also make my own salad dressing, seldom ever buy it ready made.
Eddie

 

[wayupnorth]

My mother made a similar Salisbury dish, but with cube steak and it was sooo good. I could eat a salad for every meal. Just waiting for the farmers markets to reopen so I can get fresh produce. Pickled beets, I could eat a whole jar.

 

[lordkenmore]

I’ve also heard that this is the European way, but I wouldn’t know,

 

I'm pretty sure I've heard it's the European way, too. Or was. But I can't say for sure--I've never been there, and my memories of European culture that I heard in language classes date to the first half of my life. (And no, I didn't take those classes at age 8, either!)


 

Miss Manners said that the correct choice is to have the salad after the main course, at least with formal dining. (At one point, I studied Miss Manners, and I was so influenced by her that I'd even do a basic 4 course dinner--soup/main/salad/desert--when I made a special dinner just for my mother and me...)  She seems to have mellowed out a bit, as this one column indicates. ("Others start with salad for health reasons. Miss Manners does not object, provided she doesn't have to listen to the lecture about why.") But she still says this about salads first:

 

Often, nowadays, people will start with the salad because they have picked up the habit from restaurants, where formal service has been altered for the practical consideration of staving off hunger while the main course is cooked.

 

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-09-08/features/9609080368_1_delicious-salad-soup-or-salad-meals

 

[lordkenmore]

I also make my own salad dressing, seldom ever buy it ready made.

 

I used to always make my own vinaigrette when I was younger. Partly because it was argued by various people to be "correct". Again, there was a language class impact--and one teacher made some snarky comment about American salad dressings that disguised salads.

 

I've gotten lazy in recent years, though...even though I know cheap dressings are loaded with stuff that's probably not good for one, and better dressings are more expensive than I could make something. Then, again, last summer I managed to snag good deals on better dressings (usually refrigerated dressings that were getting close to the sell by date).

 

[ea56]

John,

thanks so much for sharing the info about eating salad after the main course. I didn’t realize at all that this was considered to be proper by Miss Manner’s and I always read her column too, must have missed that one.

As for making my own salad dressings, I started doing it because David really prefers a Red Wine Vinegar and Oil dressing, and all the store bought ones just don’t taste right, he likes mine. I then branched out to French and Honey Mustard to have some variety on hand. I use the bottles from Lighthouse brand salad dressings that are sold in the refrigerator section of the produce section. I do like their Raspberry Vinegarette, so I occaionally will buy it. I just line up the bottles and the ingredients with a funnel handy and make then right in the bottles, kinda like Good Seasons, but without the packet.

Anyway, when the store bought was used up I peeled the labels off and of course washed the bottles well. Now I make all three at once when they get low. The bottles are simple and don’t look bad on the table. And I can have three nice salad dressings on hand at all time. And it costs a lot less than buying it, plus I’m not putting any more bottles into the landfill.
Eddie

 

[foraloysius]

European way

There are lots of European ways, customs vary from country to country.

In the Netherlands salads are eaten as vegetables as a side dish to the main course or sometimes as a separate course before the main one. As a separate course before the main course was also done in France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany when it was served not together with the main course. There may be other countries where customs are different like Eastern Europe or Scandinavia.

 

[washman]

Looks very good. If I felt more spunky, I would try it and put up pics.

 

[ozzie908]

Accent

As I had never heard of it had to look it up it seems its Monosodium Glutamate used as thickener can you use corn flour/starch instead?

 

[ea56]

Austin,

Accent is a brand name for MSG, a flavor inhancer, it isn’t a thickener. You can certainly leave it out, or substitute salt, but I think it does make a difference, so I use it. Many people have an aversion to MSG, if you’re one of them, don’t use it. It is frequently used in Chinese cooking.
HTH
Eddie

 

[ozzie908]

Eddie

Thank you yes its helped dunno what I was reading about...

Austin

 

[earthling177]

Accent

Austin,

Like Eddie said, Accent is just a food enhancer -- whatever MSG you have lying around will probably work the same should you choose to use it.

In many countries, the most common/popular brand is Aji-No-Moto, but there's a chance that a few decades ago, when people started turning against using MSG in foods, they just changed the brands, or they were competitors to begin with. The funny thing to me is, they go to great lengths to disguise themselves, they are not using "monosodium glutamate" or MSG in the ingredients list, they are using "glutamate", and well, glutamate is essential to life, right?

 

[frigilux]

I like Ann Landers' meatloaf (although my go-to meatloaf these days is Kevin's Buttermilk Meatloaf) so will definitely make your salisbury steak this weekend. The whole meal looks delicious, Eddie!

Salad: My mom grew up in 1920's-30's Italy (she moved to America with my dad in mid-1946) and we always had salad after the entree. She continued the multi-course tradition until the mid-1970s. Once she caved in to double-knit pants suits and hot dishes (casseroles), that was it; it was all over, LOL.

 

[kevin313]

Oh that looks good!! I like that you add the dry onion soup mix into the ground beef. That is something my mom would have done ! Great way to add flavor! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[maytagbear]

Glutamates abound in:

mushrooms, soy sauce, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce, if you don't want to buy Accent.

A teaspoon of Kikkoman and/or a teaspoon of Lea and Perrins should answer.

HTH!

Lawrence/Maytagbear

PS.....Looks good!

 

[foraloysius]

Another source for umami flavour is anchovies. And if you want an alternative from a bottle that you can poor in, there is Bragg's liquid aminos, our member retro-man mentioned this a while ago and I bought a bottle of it. Works quite well.