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Hoser's Salisbury Steaks

Printed From: Foods of the World Forum
Category: The US and Canada
Forum Name: New England and the Northeast
Forum Discription: Where the Melting Pot began.
URL: http://foodsoftheworld.ActiveBoards.net/forum_posts.asp?TID=979
Printed Date: 28 March 2024 at 06:25


Topic: Hoser's Salisbury Steaks
Posted By: Guests
Subject: Hoser's Salisbury Steaks
Date Posted: 07 December 2010 at 10:48
This recipe is from Hoser's new book Recipes from the Firehouse, Family and Friends which you can learn about and purchase from http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/forum_posts.asp?TID=952&FID=2&PR=3&title=hosers-cookbook-is-available" rel="nofollow - .
 
1 LB lean ground beef
½ cup milk
7 TBSP instant potato flakes
4 TBSP butter
1 onion, halved and sliced real thin
1 LB thinly sliced button mushrooms
1 TBSP tomato paste
2 TBSP flour
1 ½ cups beef broth
¼ cup ruby port wine
1 TBSP Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste
 
This is a delicious comfort supper for another cold winter's day. Of course, probably nowhere near as cold here as it is for Tas or Hoser are, but it's all relative! You guys must be part polar bear.... 
 
I had everything in the hacienda except for the port, so the only modification was to use zinfandel instead of port for the gravy. No worries, it's still in keeping with the spirit of the recipe.
 
The first step was to get the beef thawed and then to make up the steak patties, which then have to chill in the fridge for a few hours. To do this, put the instant potato flakes over the milk and add the salt and pepper; after whisking that up, add the worcestershire sauce, and mix that in. Then, add the ground beef and mix by hand. The potato mixture incorporates well with the meat and helps bind the steaks perfectly; way better than crackers or breadcrumbs, and will result in a juicier steak than if using egg as a binder, which tends to stiffen up the meat. Next, the met mixture is formed into steak patties, covered, and set to chill in the fridgefor about 4 hours so that the flavours can meld and the patties can firm up.
 
NOTE: Hoser's recipe call for "lean" ground beef, and that means exactly that; for this recipe, lean works best, and lean is defined as 90/10 ground beef (90 % meat 10% fat) no matter what the meat man tries to tell or sell you. 90/10 or 85/15 at most is what you need. We ended up using not-so-lean burger, and had problems with binding and excess moisture due to the higher fat content.
 
After the 4 hours, I browned the patties on each side, then put them in the oven to stay warm while I made the rest. To do so, I drained the fat from the skillet and cooked the onions; The bits of browned meat from the skillet added a bunch of wonderfulness to the smell! I then added the 1 pound of sliced mushrooms and cooked them up with the onions. Next, I added a small splash of wine to deglaze the skillet. Once the mushrooms were done, I added the tomato paste and the flour and thoroughly incorporated it over low/medium heat. It gets thick, but no worries; just keep stirring it and cooking it.
 
I then added the wine and the beef stock and stirred them in well over medium, and let everything simmer for a few minutes. Finally, I added the steak patties to the sauce, tented them with foil and turned down the heat to low and simmered them. Salisbury Steak almost begs for mashed potatoes, and that's what I made for a side dish while the steak patties simmered.
 
Results were outstanding! I have to say that without a doubt these salisbury steaks are the best I have ever eaten, hands-down. Superb! We've all eaten salisbury steaks at one point or another; we've just not eaten these. The wine, the potato flakes, the lightness of the pepper....everything together made a wonder of a meat patty that was amazingly "new". Never had a Salisbury Steak this good, and will intend to make it in this exact way from here on out!



Replies:
Posted By: TasunkaWitko
Date Posted: 07 December 2010 at 10:56
john, this is the recipe that i kept coming back to as i perused dave's book, and it is one that i really want to try along with his awesome-looking http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/forum_posts.asp?TID=936&title=macaroni-with-four-cheese-sauce - macaroni-and-cheese  as a side dish!
 
i don't recall ever seeing any ruby port around here, and am glad to see your suggestion of zinfandel. red wine is of course a natural choice and i was thinking of merlot; any other possible substitutes?


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Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 07 December 2010 at 11:39
Hi Ron, good to know you are still around and kickin'! Yep, you are right, this recipe is an eye catcher for some comfort food American style.
 
Ruby port is just a trade-type name for port, which is distilled red wine and aged, and makes it a very sweet dessert type wine, but also indispensable for outstanding sauces and gravies like the one Hoser makes. (some ports are dry, but the one referred to here is the sweet kind)  Something about port and mushrooms make a flavor profile made in heaven. A perfect substitute would be tawny port, or just plain old port. A great grocery-store,  everyday sipping and cooking port is Sheffield's Tawny Port, which we can get around here for about $4.29 a bottle. Gallo's Tawny Port runs $4.99 and is almost indistinguishable from Sheffield's other than being a touch sweeter.
 
Any recipe calling for port can be substitued with red wine, but you are going to lose the sweetness and raisiney-depth that port imparts, but you will be trading that off for the dry richness that red wine brings with it. It's just what you want at the time, that's all. We all know how much a splash of wine adds to a gravy. This substitution will lose the uniqueness that the port will lend, but it will add a different, just as tasty to us, character that is fine. Don't worry on the type of red, either. Merlot is fine, or a cab or a zin...whatever. Heck if you happen to have a bottle of pinot noir that can be used too. I prefer to use hearty wines in cooking 'cause they stand up better to the heat and flavours, so merlot or a zin is a natural choice.
 
Hope this helps you and yes, his mac and cheese is another winner I've got to try.


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Posted By: Hoser
Date Posted: 07 December 2010 at 12:46
I sure am glad you guys enjoyed that dish...makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to see that you did. I actually have not made those in quite some time myself...looks like I'll have to put them on the menu soon.

I'm sure any nice red would do, but if you can't get ruby port, tawny port will suffice quite well. The ruby is just a bit bolder and sweeter. Heck...in a pinch, I would just use cooking marsala if I had to.

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Go ahead...play with your food!


Posted By: Boilermaker
Date Posted: 07 December 2010 at 19:22
I love salisbury steak and will definitely have to make this. That Fireman Dave is quite the wizard, isn't he?  Sort of the Gandalf or Merlin of the kitchen in my opinion.  Dave would have his own show on Food TV or the cooking channel if it were up to me. 

Looks like we're having salisbury steaks and mashed taters later this week here in the Drook house!  Yeah!!


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Posted By: got14u
Date Posted: 14 April 2011 at 17:42

These sounded so good that I just HAD to make them tonight…Man this stuff is great!

The only difference I did in the recipe was I added a little corn starch slurry to tighten up the gravy. This stuff is packed with flavor for sure…. Give it a shot and enjoy - the family and I sure did.
 
Here are some pictures:
 
Meat mix ready to be made into patties:

The patties:

The fixins:

Browning the patties:

 
Cooking the onions:
 
 
Patties swimming in the gravy:
 
 
Making bacon bits for the mashed potatoes:

Here we are, all plated up:
 


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Jerod

Life's hard, it's even harder when your stupid.


Posted By: Hoser
Date Posted: 15 April 2011 at 02:12
Now you are making me hungry for them. I haven't made the Salisbury steaks in a while.

Glad you and the family enjoyed them Jerod...sometimes a simple meal can be one of the best.


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Go ahead...play with your food!


Posted By: got14u
Date Posted: 15 April 2011 at 07:49
Dave I have some leftovers if you want to head over. Thanks for a great recipe


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Jerod

Life's hard, it's even harder when your stupid.


Posted By: TasunkaWitko
Date Posted: 15 April 2011 at 14:29
jerod, those look wonderful, and i love the addition of potato flakes in the recipe. i have used them for a couple of scandinavian dishes where boiled and mashed potato was mixed with ground meat ( http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/forum_posts.asp?TID=80&title=kttbullar-swedish-meatballs" rel="nofollow - köttbullar (swedish meatballs)  and http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/forum_posts.asp?TID=887&title=frsruladers" rel="nofollow - Färsrullader ), and i could definitely notice a "smoother" texture in the finished product -
 
excellent recipe, dave, and great job, jerod!


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Posted By: Boilermaker
Date Posted: 17 April 2011 at 11:32
We made these a while back and this post just reminded me that we need to make them again.  Best salisbury steak I have ever had.


Posted By: Boilermaker
Date Posted: 12 October 2014 at 18:06
Just made these again tonight for dinner.  Outstanding.


Posted By: Boilermaker
Date Posted: 10 November 2014 at 19:03
And again tonight because the family has been begging for them since we had them last month.


Posted By: AK1
Date Posted: 10 November 2014 at 19:28
OK, I have to ask.  What is the big deal about salisbury steak?

I'm not trying to insult anyone, but AFAIK it a burger patty.

I'm not getting it?


Posted By: Boilermaker
Date Posted: 10 November 2014 at 20:31
If you use really lean ground chuck or ground sirloin and follow Dave's recipe you will find these are much more than just a burger patty.  This is a really good recipe but you must follow the recipe to get the positive outcome.


Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 11 November 2014 at 05:29
It is and it isn't, Darko.

Superficially it is a hamburger; and in fact, "Salisbury steak" came into use during the big war as a way of not saying "hamburger," and, thus, relating it to Germany.

There are some not so superficial differences, however. First off is the use of lean beef---something you wouldn't do with a burger. And second is cooking them in that wonderful Swiss-steak-like brown gravy, which not only covers, but is absorbed by, the patties.

Just another example of how you can start with the same ingredients and procedures, but wind up with a two totally different dishes.

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But we hae meat and we can eat
And sae the Lord be thanket


Posted By: AK1
Date Posted: 11 November 2014 at 08:08
Interesting stuff. Thanks. My only exposure to Salisbury steak has been through seeing the frozen dinners and cheap diner menus. I'll have to give a proper Salisbury steak a try.


Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 11 November 2014 at 08:19
I know what you mean. My early exposure to Salisbury steak was as part of a school lunch menu. Incredibly bad stuff! It was many years before I would try it again. The difference, of course, was day and night.

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But we hae meat and we can eat
And sae the Lord be thanket


Posted By: AK1
Date Posted: 11 November 2014 at 14:40
I think I'll try it for dinner tomorrow. 


Posted By: Boilermaker
Date Posted: 11 November 2014 at 15:05
I do mine a little bit differently than the original poster.  I brown them in a skillet then put them into a roaster like Jerod did above and then pour the gravy over them.  Instead of simmering on the stove I bake them covered at 350 for about an hour to finish the cooking and thicken the gravy.  You'll like these, they're nothing like the nasty TV dinner variety.


Posted By: AK1
Date Posted: 12 November 2014 at 07:13
Here's a thought. What do you think about searing them over charcoal instead of in a skillet?


Posted By: AK1
Date Posted: 12 November 2014 at 09:50
OK! Extra lean Angus beef has been made into patties and is sitting in the fridge. Got some nice fresh Oyster mushrooms waiting to make the gravy.


Posted By: Boilermaker
Date Posted: 12 November 2014 at 10:59
Originally posted by AK1 AK1 wrote:

Here's a thought. What do you think about searing them over charcoal instead of in a skillet?


They are very tender and I think they may fall apart if you try to grill them.  I have to treat them carefully when I brown them in a skillet.  It might be worth a try, though.


Posted By: AK1
Date Posted: 12 November 2014 at 13:39
Yeah, I noticed that. Even on the griddle they were quite tender & delicate. I could see them falling apart on the BBQ.


Posted By: Boilermaker
Date Posted: 02 August 2018 at 21:04
Family favorite that we made again tonight with green beans as a vegetable side.

Great dinner.  This is a great recipe.

Thanks again, Dave.



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