While I’m a resident of Salisbury, Maryland, that has no relationship to this post for Salisbury Steak Meatballs. Salisbury Steak was created by Dr. James Salisbury during the Civil War to help combat illness among Civil War troops. A student of germ theory, he was convinced that our health is linked to the food which we eat. He experimented with different types of food to combat digestive diseases which were prevalent due to the lack of nutritional food to the troops. Dr. Salisbury’s solution, who was then serving as a doctor for the Union army, was to serve a lean minced beef formed into patties and given to the soldiers to help improve their digestion and nutritional issues. I had no idea of the history behind it, but there you go!
The Meatballs
Why meatballs instead of patties? Well, I believe it helps me with portion control, let alone that they sit perfectly on top of mashed potatoes or egg noodles. Lean beef(93%) was preferred for this recipe as I don’t eat a lot of beef and try to avoid fatty meat. However, there are those special occasions where you splurge a bit. Beat the egg before pouring it on the bottom of the mixing bowl/dish, then add in the ground beef. Evenly distribute the rest of the ingredients over the meat. Combine by hand to equally distribute within the meat. If you prefer other ways go ahead! I mean, you are going to roll them into balls anyway. So…
Using a cookie scoop to make them consistent in size, gave me about 26 meatballs. The wire rack was prepped with cooking spray(or brush with olive oil) and the rimmed baking sheet was lined with foil to catch any drips for an easier clean up.
Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 12-14 minutes. Internal temperature should register around 165 degrees. I chose to make these a day ahead and refrigerate them so all I would need to do the next day is warm them up in the microwave for a couple of minutes before adding them to the gravy before serving. You, however, can have them ready to go in the gravy on the same day! This is just what worked for my schedule since no one was home but me while hubs was at the Redskins/Green Bay game with his sister.
The Gravy
Here, most of the gravy ingredients are prepped and ready to go next to the stove. An 8 ounce container of mushrooms should yield about 2 cups of sliced/halved mushroom caps after cleaning and removing stems. (These were actually purchased at the local farmers market!) Better than Bouillon is my favorite go-to broth.
The cubed butter above sitting on top of some flour has a important purpose. Beurre Manie(kneaded butter-French) is a paste made with equal parts flour and butter used to thicken sauces and soups. In this case, I chose to add it to the broth as a thickener and it worked out beautifully! I’ve used this in Beef Bourguignon as well as Chicken and Dumplings. Unlike a roux, this is added after the liquid(broth), in its ‘pasty’ state which allows the butter to melt and the flour to distribute evenly. This results in a smooth and silky sauce/gravy. Yum! (*Note: The butter needs to be really soft in order to blend with flour.)
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Melt 1 tablespoon of butter with the olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the diced onions and saute for about 5 minutes until transluscent.
Add in the mushrooms and continue to cook for about 5 more minutes.
Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute until garlic is fragrant.
At this point, add in the remainder of the gravy ingredients EXCEPT the beurre manie. Stir until all is combined within the broth.
NOW add the buerre manie . Slowly stir as the butter melts and distributes the flour throughout the broth. It will begin the thickening process.
Lastly, add in the meatballs. If you make these a day ahead, just microwave for a couple of minutes and you should be good. Allow these to simmer for about 5-7 minutes.
Ready to Serve!
Hopefully, your mashed potatoes or noodles are ready to serve along with your side of vegetables by the time simmering is done! Forks up!
Salisbury Steak Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 pound lean ground beef(93%)
- 1/4 c grated Vidalia onion
- 1 t finely minced garlic
- 6 T Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 t Worcestershire sauce
- 2 t mayonnaise
- 1 t sea salt
- 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 t Italian seasaoning
- 1 T ketchup
- 2 t Dijon mustard
Beurre Manie
- 2 T butter, very soft
- 2 T all-purpose flour
Gravy
- 1 T butter
- 1 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 c diced Vidalia onion
- 2 c Cremini mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed, sliced, halved about an 8 oz pkg
- 1 t finely minced garlic, or a bit more if desired
- 2 c beef broth I use Better than Bouillon brand
- 1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 t Dijon mustard
- 1 T ketchup
- 1/2 t black pepper
Instructions
Meatballs
- Beat the egg and place in the bottom of mixing bowl.
- Add the remainder of the ingredients and combine until uniformly mixed, I did this by hand.
- Use a large cookie scoop to form consistent-sized meatballs. Roll between the palms of your hands.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and insert a wire rack inside it. Spray rack with cooking spray or brush with olive oil.
- Place meatballs evenly on rack and bake at 425°F for 12-14 minutes. Internal temperature should be at least 165°F.
Beurre Manie
- Press very soft butter into flour until blended into a smooth paste.
Gravy
- Heat olive oil with butter in a medium skillet over MED-LOW to MED heat until butter is melted. Add diced onions and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the mushrooms and cook for approximately 5 more minutes.
- Stir in the garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add in the remainder of the gravy ingredients and stir to blend.
- THEN blend in the beurre manie as it melts the butter and distributes the flour within the paste.
- Once there's evidence of thickening, add in the meatballs and simmer for about 5- 7 minutes.
- Serve over mashed potatoes, eggs noodles or on the side with gravy spooned over them.
