NOTE: An updated version of this recipe appears in my cookbook, The Ancestral Table.

Growing up with the Standard American Diet (otherwise known as SAD), I became accustomed to certain tastes. One of my favorite random meals was Salisbury steak TV dinners – something about that squishy meat and savory broth really hit the spot for me. So I decided to re-create this dish, but instead of squishy, breadcrumb-filled beef, I used some of the best ground beef I’ve ever tasted – US Wellness Meats’ 75% lean ground beef (by the way, their 25lb. bulk pack is on sale until 10PM CST on Saturday, March 3rd!). It tasted just as good as it looks.

Interestingly enough, Salisbury steak was first developed in the late 19th century by Dr. J H Salisbury as a low-carb, weight-loss dish. Similar dishes are popular worldwide, especially in Japan (hanbāgu steak) and Russian (котлета).

You’ll Need :

1 lb US Wellness Meats 75% lean ground beef

1 egg

1/2 cup almond meal

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp each salt, ground mustard, and onion powder

5oz (1/2 package) sliced white mushrooms

2 cups beef broth/stock

1 tbsp heavy cream (coconut milk okay)

2 tsp potato or arrowroot starch

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Combine the ground beef, egg, almond meal, salt, half of the pepper, mustard, and onion powder in a mixing bowl. Mix everything together with your hands until everything is nice and blended, being careful not to over-mix.

Form the meat into three large steak-shaped patties, like you see above, and place on a baking sheet. These steaks are so naturally (and awesomely) fatty that you don’t need to worry about greasing the baking sheet. Place in the oven for 25 minutes.

While the steaks are cooking, add the broth, mushrooms, and the other half of the pepper to a small pot. Bring to a simmer on medium heat.

Once simmering, reduce the heat and med/low and let it simmer for about 20 minutes, until the mushrooms shrink a bit.

Add 1 tbsp heavy cream, allowing the broth to return to a simmer. Add a little water to the potato starch, and mix it together. Stir this mixture into the broth, and continue stirring until it thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste.

After the steaks have baked for 25 minutes, broil them for an additional 2 minutes to give them a nice crusty look. Take them out of the oven, and scrape off the gunk on top. It’s okay, they’re supposed to look a little gross at this point.

Plate the steaks and pour the gravy on top of them, and serve immediately. This dish goes especially well with mashed potatoes.