This savory Salisbury Steak with Caramelized Onion Gravy is a made-from-scratch recipe that is pure comfort food heaven. Pour that delicious gravy over mashed potatoes and your taste-buds will thank you.
The very first time I had Salisbury Steak was in the elementary school cafeteria for lunch. Probably showing my age, but this was a time when the “lunch ladies” actually cooked all of the food right in the school’s kitchen. It was served hot and fresh. Best meals ever. I am not a “gravy” person. It has its place with me and very little at a time. However, this – this Salisbury Steak with Caramelized Onion Gravy I can eat the gravy all by itself.
Through the years, I’m sure I’ve had Salisbury Steak by way of frozen meals or if my parents prepared the dish but I had never made it until I was married for a few years. My husband isn’t a “brown gravy” person – he prefers chicken or turkey gravy so when I make this recipe, it’s a real treat for me. He does enjoy it and even has seconds.
Normally, I like recipes that aren’t so heavy on the prep or cooking time but caramelizing onions is not a quick process. You can’t rush it or you’ll end up with mushy burned onions. Gross. So, let them do their thing in their own time-frame. It’s so worth it.
I also like to cut down on the dishes and extra oil so I tend to brown my beef patties on the grill over pan browning them. You can also use a grill pan or just a skillet if you don’t have a grill.
It’s pure comfort food – in the bestest way possible.
Ingredients
To Make the Onion Gravy:
- 2 large red onions thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3 cups unsalted beef stock
- 1/2 cup dry red wine or 1/2 cup beef stock optional
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp cider vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
To Make the Beef Patties:
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup oatmeal you can use breadcrumbs, Panko, or even cooked rice
- 1 egg
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh basil chopped
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
To make gravy:
- Heat butter in a large skillet. Add onions and cook over medium-high heat, until the onions start to brown. Give them a stir occasionally.
- Add 1/4 cup of the beef stock when the onions are a deep, rich brown. Reduce heat, continue cooking, adding more stock as needed to prevent caramelized bits at the bottom of the pan from burning. It takes a bit of time for the onions to caramelize - about 15 - 20 minutes. Rushing it will only produce burnt onions.
- When the onions are caramelized, stir in the flour and cook for about 2 minutes, to cook out the "flour" taste.
- Add wine (or beef broth) and simmer till it's reduced by half (about 10 min).
- Stir in remaining beef broth, tomato paste, and cider vinegar; adding salt and pepper to suit your tastes. Then simmer for 10 - 15 minutes. The gravy will thicken as it cooks more.
- Reduce heat to low and keep warm.
To make the beef patties:
- Mix all ingredients for beef patties except the olive oil.
- Shape into 4 - 6 oval patties. I like to make them on the smaller side but feel free to make them a bit larger.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Alternatively, you can also sear and brown the patties on the grill or a grill pan, which I do often.
- Sear patties about 3 minutes per side, or until a brown crust forms. If grilling, remove from grill and place in pan with gravy and simmer for about 10-15 minutes more until patties are cooked through. Otherwise, pour gravy over patties and simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes more until patties are cooked through. Serve.
- I like to serve Salisbury Steak with mashed potoates and roasted corn.
Enjoy!
I love salisbury steak! This looks so delicious!
We were able to try this the other night and it was so good. The caramelized onion was a bit of a challenge but we’re definitely making this again soon. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it, Shelia! The onions were a challenge for me at first as well!
The tomato paste and cider vinegar ruined what would have been a decent dish. There was no saving it….yuck!
Kathy, I’m sorry the recipe didn’t turn out as it should have. I’ve made it many times over the years with wonderful results. You can omit the vinegar as it’s a small amount and as for the tomato paste, maybe decrease it a little. It gives the gravy a bit more body and flavor.
This is by far the most delicious Salisbury steak I’ve ever had! I was looking for a recipe that didn’t call for canned soup and I finally found this. 👍🏼👍🏼
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. It’s one of our favorites.
I followed all of the instructions. Something told me when I read #5 on the sauce to not listen to it and I wish I did. I believe it needed to be poured into the sauce in small dosages to make the sauce thick . But it never said that . So I listened to the instructions completely and now I have soup ! Frustrated since the sauce took so long to make
I’m sorry this didn’t turn out for you Kelly. I’ve never had an issue and we have it pretty regularly. Try adding in a bit more flour in the step 3 to help it thicken more. Or you can take 1/4 cup beef broth (cold) and a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch – whisk that together and incorporate in the sauce and it should thicken up just fine.