When I think of salisbury steak, two images immediately pop into my head:

1) hungry man dinners
2) elementary school lunches

Not exactly selling points, right?

Well, seeing the recipe in the December issue of Cooking Light was enough for me to try to make it myself (you can find the recipe in the “Dinner Tonight” section).

Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine

(yields ~ 4 servings)
Ingredients:
1/3 cup grated onions, divided
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground sirloin
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
8 oz baby portabellas (I cheat and buy pre-washed/pre-sliced)
1 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth
1 1/2 tbsp Wondra flour
1 tsp red wine vinegar

Directions:
1. Combine 1/4 cup onion, pepper, salt, garlic, soy sauce and beef. Shape into 4 (1/2 inch thick) patties.
2. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add patties and cook each side until browned (~3 min).
4. Remove patties and add butter to the pan. Saute mushrooms and remaining onions in melted butter (~6 min).
5. Sprinkle flour into the mushroom mixture and cook for about 1 minute. Pour in broth and bring to a boil. Gravy should thicken up in about 10 minutes – stir to ensure no clumps.
6. Add patties, vinegar to pan and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

I really loved the mushroom gravy – it was the best part of the recipe! The vinegar enhances the gravy’s earthy/beefy flavor. Even though I adjusted the original recipe, I still think the patties needed more seasoning. Oh, and make sure you don’t form the patties thicker than 1/2 inch. Otherwise, the steak/gravy ratio will be off and that’s a bad, bad thing. Or you can just make extra gravy 🙂

Bon appetit!