Salisbury Steak Ala Tuffy Stone

Most of you likely do not follow competitive barbecue but I have over the years and one of the real all-stars is Tuffy Stone who has a highly successful BBQ team (41 Grand Championships), a restaurant in Richmond, VA, a cooking school, and he has professional culinary training – he’s much more than just a BBQ cook.  So when I got an email from Thermoworks that included Tuffy's recipe for Salisbury Steak, I knew it had to be tried and our neighbor’s had to be invited for one of Steve’s favorite meals – they provided the meat from one of their beefs.  Click on this recipe link for some good how-to photos like this one.

Salisbury Steak - Adapted for 3 lb of meat

Ingredients:

For the steaks

3 Tbsp steak rub (Montreal seasoning, for example)

1½ Tbsp canola oil

1½ C finely diced yellow onion

3 eggs

3 lb 80/20 ground beef

3/8 C Worcestershire sauce

¾ C ketchup

3 tsp kosher salt

1½ tsp mustard powder

3/8 C fine bread crumbs (plus maybe more if needed)

For the gravy

3 tsp chili powder

3 Tbsp canola oil

6 C thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms (stems discarded)

3/8 C finely diced shallots

1½ Tbsp minced garlic

1 T kosher salt, add more to taste

1½ tsp ground black pepper

8 Tbsp butter

3/8 C AP flour

4½ C warm beef stock

1½ Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

3 Tbsp ketchup

3 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Instructions:

Make the patties

1. Sauté the onions in the oil in a heavy-bottom pan over medium-low heat. Cook until they are softened, about 5 minutes. Set them aside to cool slightly.

2. In a large bowl, combine the beef, onion, eggs, Worcestershire, ketchup, steak rub, salt, mustard powder and bread crumbs—everything but the gravy ingredients!—and mix very well. If you find your mixture is loose or feels too wet, add more breadcrumbs. You should be able to form a patty that really holds its shape well. We used a total of ½ cup.

3. Mix the ingredients for the patties to make a firm, homogenous mass

4. Cook a tablespoonful size piece of the mixture to taste for seasoning. Adjust accordingly.

5. Divide the mixture into eight ounce balls and form each portion into oblong patties, about 1/2-3/4” thick, set them aside and keep them cool.

Make the gravy

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms become golden brown, about 7-8 minutes.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the shallots and cook until the shallots soften, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute. Stir in the salt, pepper, and chili powder.

4. Add the butter to the pan and cook, stirring, until the foam dies down.

5, Add the flour and stir it in to make a mushroomy, season-y roux. Cook on low heat for 5 minutes. 

6. Add the warm beef stock, whisking as you do so to create a smooth liquid. Well, smooth except for the mushrooms.

7. Once the stock is incorporated, add the Worcestershire sauce and ketchup. Stir to combine.

8. Increase the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes, or until the gravy is thick and bubbly. Check the seasoning and adjust.

9. Add the fresh parsley and set the gravy aside while you cook the steaks.

Cook the steaks.

1. Preheat your grill to a medium-high temperature. You don’t want blazing heat, but you don’t want low and slow.

2. Place the steaks over direct heat and cook them, with the grill lid closed, for 3 minutes.

3. Rotate each steak 90° and continue to cook for another 3 minutes.

4. Flip the patties and cook until the internal temperature of their thickest part reads 140°F about 5 more minutes.

5. Remove the steaks to a pan or dish and allow to rest, covered, for 5 minutes.

6. Serve the steaks with the warm gravy ladled over the top.

This is my plate - doesn't it look good?

The meal was a hit and I thought Tuffy’s recipe was very good - I also thought grilling the meat provided a nice flavor difference to the usual pan frying.  We sided it with buttered peas (of course) and a modified version of the Pioneer Woman’s mashed potatoes – substituted Boursin for half the cream cheese.  Big DaddyDave and bragged on his Boursin mashed potatoes from a recent restaurant visit but the 4oz. we added was not enough to make a difference - we’ll try it again with more of it.  We wrapped up the meal with some delicious chocolate chip cookies made by neighbor Pat.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

12/04/19 event date