Salisbury “steak” has never been better
I remember the first time I tasted Salisbury steak.
It was sometime back in elementary school in the town in which I group up in. I sat on the rickety “cafeteria” tables lined up in the school gymnasium and dug into this peculiar, misshapen patty covered in a rich, dense sauce.
Much to my delight, it was . . . delicious? It was so much homier, so much more filling, so much more home-style than the other, oftentimes heinous lunch offerings.
What was this odd dish? Why did I like it so much?
I never really re-considered it again until years later, when a pal and I were hanging out and got hungry. She rummaged through her freezer and found some Salisbury steaks and I had an immediate flashback to the lunch I had approximately a decade earlier. The frozen iteration, though, was not nearly as enjoyable.
I then didn’t think about Salisbury steak again for a good 15 years.
For some reason, though, as the temperatures plummet and my forearms ache from incessant snow shoveling and salting, I harkened back to these days of yonder for the coziest, comfiest, warmest comfort meal imaginable (besides, I can’t always opt for chicken parm.!) I had some ground chicken and a ton of mushrooms in the fridge . . . and that’s when it hit me: Why not make Salisbury “steak” out of ground poultry? And the rest is history!
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Part meatloaf, part meatball, part burger, this peculiar amalgamation (sometimes called “hamburger steak) is any sort of patty comprised of whatever you’d like (plant-based proteins, pork, lamb, beef, turkey), then browned and enveloped in a lush mushroom gravy.
Here’s my version. It brought me right back to the first Salisbury Steak I tasted, way back in elementary school. And that made me happy.
Lean into your retro era this weekend with this classic dish; it’s sure to be a surefire hit.
Chicken Salisbury “Steak”
Yields
4 to 5 servings
Prep Time
15 minutes
Ingredients
1 pound ground chicken (or whatever protein or plant-based protein you’d like)
1 teaspoon adobo
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 teaspoon A1 sauce (I know, I know, just trust me)
1 to 2 teaspoons garlic paste or spread (you can also use a few garlic cloves or a considerable few shakes of garlic powder)
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, divided
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup heavy cream or sour cream, divided
Canola oil
3 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 pound mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed and sliced
1/2 cup red wine
2 cups chicken broth or stock
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 stick butter
Freeze-dried chives
Directions
- In a large bowl, mix ground protein with adobo, bread crumbs, egg, A1, garlic paste or spread, onion powder, Dijon, Worcestershire, salt, pepper and cream until well blended.
- Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add oil. Form a tiny tester patty from the ground chicken mixture and cook to taste for seasoning.
- If need be, add more salt or any other ingredient. Then shape ground chicken mixture into 4 or 5 large portions. Roll into large balls before flattening into patty or burger-like shapes.
- Add patties to pan and cook until well browned on each side, about 5 minutes per side. Remove to a plate.
- Drain the oil from the pan.
- Add new oil, shallots and salt. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add mushrooms (do not season). Cook for 5 minutes or until they begin to brown and release their moisture.
- Add red wine and reduce until the pan is nearly dry.
- Add stock and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 20 minutes or until the liquid has slightly reduced.
- Make a slurry with the cornstarch and a bit of water. Stir into cooking liquid until it thickens slightly.
- Add butter and let melt. Season.
- Add patties back and repeatedly toss, turn and drape with sauce and mushrooms.
- Cook everything altogether for another 3 to 5 minutes
- Top with chives and serve.
Cook’s Notes
-This dish is very often served with mashed potatoes, but I don’t really ever make those aside from on holidays. I served mine with roasted cauliflower, but I think the ideal pairing here is actually egg noodles. You want something that can sop up all that terrific sauce!
-If you’re not a mushroom person . . . I’m not sure if this is the recipe for you, truthfully? The sauce is legitimately *all* mushroom. You can totally just go with a sauce comprised of stock, onion, butter and herbs, but it might fall a little flat.
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