Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Ground anything is cheap, and if it's out there, The 99 Cent Chef will make a delicious meal of it!  Last week I reviewed a frozen Salisbury Steak Meal by Swanson. This week, I show you how to make this dish at home - in a lighter, healthier version.

 One of favorite beef substitutes s is ground turkey. It is so much lighter and lower in fat --after eating an entree made with it, I don't feel like an anvil is resting in my gut. Ground turkey tastes mild, so you can get creative by adding flavors. I mix in beef bouillon and Worchestershire sauce for a scrumptious Salisbury Steak. I also show you a flavorful Mushroom Gravy recipe to top it off with.

I cook with frozen "mechanically separated" ground turkey because it sells for about a dollar per pound. The flavor is fine, but the texture is the weak link. It comes ground too fine, so forming a burger is not easy like it is with fresh ground  turkey, chicken or beef. My work-around is to use a big spoon and ladle it onto the frying pan. It still fries up firm like a regular hamburger.

Ingredients for Salisbury Steak (serves 2-4)

• 1 lb ground turkey or chicken - thawed. Okay to use more expensive ground beef.
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic - fresh or from jar.
• 2 tablespoons Worchestershire Sauce
• 1 beef bouillon cube - or a 1/4 cup of beef stock.
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• Pepper to taste - a bouillon cube has plenty of salt.

Directions for Salisbury Steak
Over a medium heat, saute onions for about 5 minutes until soft. Add garlic during the last 2 minutes. While onions are cooking add Worchestershire Sauce to a small bowl. Mash in a beef bouillon cube with a fork until dissolved (if using ground beef then skip bouillon cube addition.)

In a large bowl, add ground turkey, draining off any liquid. Pour in Worchestershire sauce/beef bouillon mix. Add cooked onion and garlic, mixing well.

Add oil to a large saute pan over a medium heat. Chub turkey is quite mushy, so with a large spoon I just scoop out enough to form a hamburger sized patty. I got four burgers out of a one pound package.

Over medium heat, saute burgers on one side about 7 - 10 minutes, or until the sweating juices are dark brown around each patty. That is the time to turn it. You can peek underneath to make sure. Since you will be finishing the cooking in a Mushroom Gravy, you only need to cook the other side for a minute to finish firming up the patties.

Remove the turkey patties and set aside. Next you will make the Mushroom Gravy using the caramelized flavors on the bottom of the saute pan, so don't clean it out!

Mushroom Gravy Ingredients

• 1 package of mushrooms - any type. I used button mushrooms and chopped them in half.
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic - fresh or from jar
• 1 beef bouillon cube - okay to substitute with beef stock, about 2 cups.
• 2 tablespoons of Worchestershire Sauce
• 2 cups of water (leave out if you are using beef stock)
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• Pepper to taste - bouillon cubes have enough salt for my taste.

Directions for Mushroom Gravy
Add oil to the saute pan you fried turkey patties in. Over a medium heat add chopped onions, garlic and chopped mushrooms. Saute for about 5 - 10 minutes until onion and mushrooms are soft. As you saute scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen the tasty caramelized brown bits.

*Add 2 tablespoons of flour to the saute pan and mix it into the cooked veggies. Allow a couple of minutes to heat up. I like to cook the flour to take out its raw taste.

Mix in 2 tablespoons of Worchestershire and 1 beef bouillon cube into 2 cups of water. Crush bouillon cube with a fork (if you are using beef stock, then skip water and bouillon cube part, just add Worchestershire sauce to 2 cups of beef stock.)

Finally add water to sauteed veggies and flour. Stir water in pan as you add it, so flour mixes well to prevent lumps.

*If you are worried about lumpy gravy, skip the "sauteing flour" part. Just add flour to the water and mix with a spoon. Then add the white flour liquid to the sauteing veggies.

Final Directions
Once flour and water is incorporated, turn up heat and continue stirring and until gravy starts to simmer, then reduce heat. Gravy should thicken in about 5 minutes.

Now add the turkey patties. Cook patties about 5 minutes each side. Turn once so gravy coats both sides.

Serve with the charred side up and with your favorite sides, like instant mashed potatoes and frozen or canned corn -- to make your own frozen TV style dinner!