First, to help ensure tender meat, I added ½ teaspoon of baking soda mixed with two teaspoons of water. According to America’s Test Kitchen, adding baking soda to ground meat alters its protein structure, making it more tender, helps the meat retain moisture, and promotes browning.
Second, I added Better Than Beef Bouillon Roast Beef Base to enhance the overall flavor.
Forming the Salisbury Steak Patties – Step by Step
First, I added all of the Salisbury steak ingredients to my food processor, which was fitted with a steel blade.
Then, I pulsed the ingredients ten times to combine everything.
Next, being the foodie nerd I am, I weighed the mixture-it weighed approximately 24 ounces. I asked the Master Taste Tester whether he wanted six patties, each weighing four ounces, or four patties, each weighing six ounces. He opted for the four-ounce patties. Therefore, using wet hands, I formed the mixture into six four-ounce oval-shaped patties.
One of the beauties of this recipe is its make-ahead convenience. Specifically, once the patties were formed, I covered them and put them in the refrigerator. An added benefit of this was that it allowed the flavors to blend together before the patties were cooked.
Making the Mushroom and Onion Gravy
Before cooking the Salisbury steak patties, I made the rich, savory gravy using the following ingredients.
First, I cooked the onions and mushroom in melted butter over medium-high heat for about five minutes. This allowed the moisture to evaporate and the mushrooms and onions to start to brown. This took six to seven minutes.
Then, I reduced the heat to medium and stirred in the flour, salt, and pepper. I let the flour cook for about three minutes to eliminate the raw flour taste.
After that, I added the beef broth, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce. I stirred the mixture until the gravy thickened.
Then, I let the gravy cook for about ten more minutes to allow it to thicken more. I transferred the gravy to a 4-cup measuring cup. I wanted to brown the beef patties before adding the gravy!
Cooking the Salisbury Steak with Mushroom and Onion Gravy
At this point, I had formed the beef patties and made the gravy. Now, it was time to cook the Salisbury steak.
I started by melting butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once the butter had melted, I added the oval patties and cooked them for around three minutes until they were golden brown on one side.
Then, I flipped the patties and cooked them on the other side until they were golden brown. This took another three minutes.
At this point, the beef patties were browned but were not yet done in the middle. No problem! I poured the gravy over the beef patties.
