okay so i need to tell you about these salisbury steak meatballs. last tuesday my sister showed up with her kids and i had literally nothing planned for dinner except ground beef thawed on the counter. was gonna make regular meatballs but then i remembered my mom used to make salisbury steak when we were kids and i thought why not just. combine them somehow?
first time i made these they were honestly bad lol. the meatballs were huge and took forever and the gravy was so lumpy because i dumped all the flour in at once like an idiot. my husband ate them anyway but i could tell. took me like three more times to figure out the right size and the gravy thing.
but once you get it these are SO good. better than the frozen dinner version by a lot. and not even that hard once you know what you’re doing.
Contents
So heres what you need, i’m just gonna list it out
1.5 pounds ground beef (i use the 80/20 because fat = flavor) an egg breadcrumbs maybe half a cup? i never measure this i just add until it feels right worcestershire sauce couple tablespoons garlic powder onion powder salt pepper sometimes i add mustard powder but i always forget to buy it
for the gravy part: butter like 2 tablespoons one onion sliced however you want mushrooms if you want them, i buy the pre sliced container beef broth, the box kind is fine, maybe 2 cups flour for making it thick more worcestershire ketchup i know it sounds weird just trust me on this
How to actually make them
so mix the beef with egg and breadcrumbs and worcestershire and all the seasonings in a bowl. i use my hands its faster and you can feel when its mixed enough. gets messy though whatever
roll them into balls about golf ball size maybe a little smaller. i usually get like 16 or 18 from this much meat but ive never counted exactly
heat oil in your biggest pan and brown the meatballs. you dont need them cooked all the way just brown on the outside. maybe 6 or 7 minutes while you turn them around. then take them out
same pan, pour out most of the grease but leave a little bit. add the butter and throw your onions in there. cook them til theyre soft and starting to get brown edges. takes like 5 minutes while i usually check my phone or clean up the meat bowl
if youre doing mushrooms add them now and cook a few more minutes
this is the part where i messed up before – sprinkle your flour over everything and stir it for a minute. dont add it all at once or itll clump
pour in the beef broth slowly while you stir. add some worcestershire and like a tablespoon of ketchup. my moms trick. it adds something i dont know what but it works
it’ll start bubbling and getting thicker. put the meatballs back in and cover the pan and just let it simmer for like 15-20 minutes. theyll finish cooking and soak up all the gravy flavor
Random tips
dont skip browning the meatballs i tried once to save time and they were gray and depressing
if the gravy gets too thick add more broth. too thin just simmer it longer or make a tiny bit of flour mixed with cold water and stir that in
these are actually better the next day after everything sits together in the fridge overnight. i make them the day before sometimes on purpose
serve them over mashed potatoes or egg noodles. rice works but its not the same vibe to me
you can swap half the beef for ground pork if you want. different flavor but good
add cream at the end if you want it richer like stroganoff kind of
Storing these
they last 3-4 days in the fridge in a container with the gravy. mine usually dont make it that long though. they freeze okay but the gravy gets a little weird when you thaw it, still edible just different texture
reheat on the stove with a splash of broth or water to loosen the gravy up. microwave works but the meatballs can get rubbery
my neighbor asked me for this recipe after i brought her some when she had surgery last month. her husband ate the whole thing in one sitting apparently so i guess thats good
oh and the nutrition stuff per serving if you care, makes about 4 servings: calories around 420 protein 32g carbs 18g fat 24g fiber 2g sodium 850mg
these are estimates because im not measuring perfectly and it depends what exactly you use. mine are never exactly the same twice
Questions people ask me
can you use ground turkey – yeah but add olive oil to the mixture because turkey is so dry. and itll taste different not bad just different
do you have to use mushrooms – no my husband doesnt like them so sometimes i skip them. gravys still good
can you bake these instead – yeah i’ve done it, bake at 400 for like 20 minutes while you make gravy separately then combine. it works but you lose the good stuff on the bottom of the pan that makes the gravy better
what if you dont have worcestershire – soy sauce works. not exactly the same but close enough
anyway thats it. theyre really good and easy once you make them once or twice. my kids eat them which is saying something because theyre picky about everything lately
