The Secret to Good Cooking
I grew up in a home where, most nights of the week, we sat together at the dinner table with placemats and a home-cooked meal. The TV was never on during dinner time and there was no laughing at the table. Well, my Dad thought there should be no laughing at the table. This “rule” was often broken as my mom, sister and I were prone to laughing fits that would drive him nuts. He was particular about dinner. My Dad was a typical meat and potatoes guy who would not eat off of plastic or paper plates, disliked casseroles and loved leftovers.
We did not eat TV dinners, at least not very often. On the rare occasion when we did, my Dad would want it to be Salisbury steak. You know those odd meat patties that had the fake grill marks on the top? Came with a side of instant mashed potatoes and peas/carrots and some type of unidentifiable dessert? Having one of those put in front of us was a real treat. It seemed like something fancy people would eat, after all, the commercials on TV made it look like a luxury meal!
It was on those rare nights that we would sometimes be allowed to eat using a TV tray in the living room. My Dad would put on All In The Family, while my sister or I would be in charge of fussing with the “rabbit ears” to get a decent picture. We lived in Germantown, and at that time it was very rural. There was no cable TV and if the sky was cloudy, rain or snow was falling the picture quality would be sketchy.
To be honest, I hated those TV dinners. They chewed strangely and everything in that cardboard tray tasted like the tray itself. I would not have admitted it at the time, because what kid did not want to eat something that was flashed all over the primetime airwaves.
Flash forward to when I got married. I am going to be real honest here, I could not even hard boil an egg let alone make a real home-cooked meal. It was trial by fire and often Chad did the cooking. Unless it was Hamburger Helper, I struggled. As a young woman with a grandmother who was a home chef, this was not acceptable. Grandma made it her mission to make sure that I could cook and bake, which by the way are two TOTALLY different skills. One of the first meals she taught me was how to make homemade Salisbury steak. This was a bit daunting, as this also meant learning how to make good mashed potatoes and gravy. Luckily, my grandma was an incredible teacher and was so patient with me.
Her secret ingredient was crushed saltine crackers, and she taught me to caramelize the onions before adding them to the ground beef. Her process included dredging each beef pattie in flour, browning it until it had a nice color and then putting it in a baking dish to finish in the oven. She carefully showed me how to deglaze the frying pan with beef stock to get all the “good bits” up off the pan. Then she’d add some flour to help set up the roux. She would gradually add in more beef stock and then some milk, never taking her eyes off the pan and never letting her wooden spoon (which I have and use all the time) stop stirring. Once it was slightly thickened, she would place the Salisbury steaks into a baking dish, cover with the gravy and finish in the oven until done.
She always made sure to plate each steak rested against mashed potatoes, with just a small sprig of fresh parsley on top. That little touch of green on the plate was her detail, her way of putting her signature on a meal that would have been considered humble by many. Her words to me were this, “Good cooking is not about the recipe or the ingredients, it is about the intention behind the meal. The love that you create translates to the plate. When you see your family sitting down together, laughing (yes Dad, laughing), smiling and loving each other, that is how you know you were successful. Love and intention are the secret to good cooking.” To this day, this is how I approach every meal. I put a piece of my heart into the activity that is involved in creating those plates. I try to make sure that whoever walks through that door and sits down at our table knows that they are loved.
Over the years I have tweaked the recipe I learned from my Grandma. I have access to more seasonings and use our own beef. While I’m cooking, if I listen very closely, I can hear her whispering in my ear about the importance of patience when stirring the gravy. The recipe below has her base and my changes applied to it. It can easily be doubled in size to feed a bigger family. We have even frozen the browned “steaks” before they are fully cooked, so that we can cook them through at another time. I serve the steaks with mashed potatoes and honey dill glazed carrots, but this recipe would also be great with brussel sprouts, roasted beets, winter squash or even a really nice salad.
Salisbury Steak
3 pounds of ground beef (we have this in our store here)
2 eggs
1 sleeve of saltines - crushed
One large onion - finely diced and then sautéed until slightly caramelized
3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons of Dijon Mustard
½ cup ketchup
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup of fresh flat leaf parsley that is finely chopped
2 tablespoons Penzeys Roast Beef Seasoning (a personal favorite), but you can also substitute seasonings that you enjoy
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
For the Gravy
1 quart good beef stock
¼ cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup whole milk or heavy cream
Directions:
Gently combine all the Salisbury steak ingredients above. You do not want to overwork the mixture. Cover and put in the refrigerator for about an hour to let all the flavors blend. Remove from the refrigerator, shape into patties and place on parchment paper. Then return to the refrigerator again to firm up, for about 30 minutes.
Dredge each pattie in a bit of flour, making sure to shake off the excess. Add vegetable oil to a pan and set on medium high heat. Sear each pattie until it has a nice brown color. Remove from the pan and set on some paper towels to drain excess oil. Then place into a baking dish.
After all the patties have been browned, deglaze the pan with some beef stock (about a cup). Sometimes I even use a bit of red wine to give a greater depth of flavor. Add in the tomato paste and stir until it thins out. Next add in the flour. Cook gently for about a minute, while stirring constantly to avoid burning. You are just cooking off the raw flour flavor. Then slowly add in the remainder of the beef stock, stirring constantly until it just starts to thicken. Finally, add in the milk or cream and any extra seasonings. Bring to a low boil until the gravy coats the back of a spoon. Pour over the top of the steaks and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. Serve with love.