Salisbury Steak with Onion Gravy -- A Ratatouille Moment

Now that the Christmas turkey dinners and prime ribs have been devoured, and the last of the Christmas cookies have been eaten-- it's time to get back to good ole regular food.  At least, that's how I'm feeling.  Yes, I gorged nibbled on some chocolates. I indulged in a cookie here and there.    At times like this, there  comes a point where I want some simple home cooking, with vegetables.  When that craving hits, I want it quickly, and I don't want to fuss over making dinner.

Cube steaks are an easy solution, because they are inexpensive and cook in a matter of minutes.  What? You've never had a cube steak?

A cube steak is either a piece of top round or top sirloin that has been tenderized with a masher.  I let my butcher do the work since he has a mechanical tenderizer.  One night, in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I spend a few dollars on cube steak with no particular recipe in mind. I'd had a long day at the office, I was tired and hungry.

I wiped each steak dry, so that they'd brown nicely in a hot skillet. Seasoning was simple-- kosher salt & pepper.  I wanted a sauce, because I wanted to make mashed potatoes. NOTE: Both steaks cost less than $7.00. 

 

So, I grabbed some beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, sliced onion and flour.  Yes, the onions could have been chopped, but I like the texture of cooked slice onion.  On another burner, I had some Yukon Gold potatoes boiling to make garlic mashed potatoes. Meat and potatoes = a sure husband pleaser.
NOTE: Mushrooms would be a perfect addition, to the gravy. Unfortunately, my husband doesn't get excited over mushrooms as much as I do. 

With a little olive oil, I seared one side of the steak until nice and brown-- about 3-4 minutes.

I cooked the other side for about 3 more minutes. (Cube steaks aren't very thick, so they cook very quickly.)  I wanted a lot of brown crusty stuff to be left in the pan, so I could get a flavorful gravy.

 ..like that.  The steaks were removed onto a plate, covered in foil and kept warm in a preheated oven, set on the WARM setting (less than 200F). I added a teensie bit more olive oil, and added one large sliced onion. These were sauteed until light golden brown-- just a few minutes.

 The flour was sprinkled over the cooked onion, and cooked for a minute or two.  Then, I added about 1 cup of the beef stock, and the Worcestershire sauce. On medium-high heat, the sauce began to thicken very nicely.

I returned the steaks, with their natural juices, right back into the pan for about a minute.  Total cooking time, was less than 20 minutes.  Because I started my potatoes, first, and they were cut nice and small, they were cooked about the same time as the steaks. Using my food mill, I had creamy spuds with a bit of butter, a touch of cream cheese, and a splash of milk...okay, a tiny splash of heavy cream, too.

This is very simple comfort food, on the table in less than 30 minutes.  Pinkie promise.  By the way, egg noodles or rice would work very well with this steak and gravy.


VERDICT:  Something quite surprising happened, when my husband sat down and took his first bite. This is a true story-- Craig had a faraway look in his eyes.  Very much like the scene from the movie "Ratatouille", where the feared food critic is served a French comfort food dish.  My husband smiled, and said that the dinner I made reminded him of his childhood in Kansas City, MO.   He remembered that his mom used to make a dinner that tasted just like this one.  Suffice it to say, that my husband loved every bite, and I was so pleased that he enjoyed it as much as he did.  As for me, this dinner reminded me of the Banquet TV dinners that my mother used to heat in the oven, when I was a kid-- yes, that was before microwaves were invented, but I was born after the horse and carriage. 

It's funny how some of the most impromptu, inexpensive and fast dinners can be the one's that demand an encore.  My husband asked me to make it, again, the very next night.  So, I decided to grab my camera, measure out the ingredients and share it with my readers. Who knows, you might have a Ratatouille Moment of your own?

A printable recipe card is at the end of this post.