Cooking & Baking
Related: About this forumDoes the mention of salisbury steak make you gag?
I was looking at a site for vegan recipes and came across one for Salisbury steak. In MY defense, I am running out of meal ideas that I am not tired of making and grocery shopping today isn't what is used to be.
My husband shuddered. Made that face like he smelled something terrible. I said ?
"That's the nasty stuff from tv dinners.Why would anybody want to make that?"
Isn't it basically hamburger with mushroom gravy? Is that horrible?
We didn't have tv dinners when I grew up. I bought them a few times when I was in my 20's but I remember fish sticks or something.
Thoughts?
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,280 posts)I'd probably hate them now, but kids often like crappy food. Whether vegan Salisbury steak would be edible is a different question; I haven't found any faux-meat vegan food yet that didn't have weird texture and no flavor.
JenniferJuniper
(4,496 posts)every other Tuesday for some reason.
Phentex
(16,330 posts)but I don't remember anything being called that.
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)And yes, many of us (non-fondly) remember a very low end version from TV dinners.
Phentex
(16,330 posts)My experience with tv dinners is limited but I don't think I cook anything that comes close to that.
I can't even imagine his mom buying them too often. They had 5 kids.
luvs2sing
(2,220 posts)My husband knows it as hamburger steak. Neither one of us has any negative reaction to it. I remember seeing the TV dinners in the store, but my mother rarely bought them and when she did, it was always turkey, meat loaf, or fried chicken. My husbands mother and grandmother, who lived with them, cooked from scratch. Im not sure he ever had a TV dinner.
Now that I think about it, my Salisbury steak recipe is the one my mother used. Lots of onion and garlic mixed in for good flavor.
Phentex
(16,330 posts)just was not expecting such a visceral reaction. I'm about ready to close the kitchen for the summer, lol.
luvs2sing
(2,220 posts)Phoenix61
(16,954 posts)Smashed taters on the side (red-skin with the skins on, sour cream and butter) Dang. Now Im hungry.
ms liberty
(8,479 posts)Blue_playwright
(1,568 posts)But I confess that I even like the crappy On-Cor version. Nice and salty lol
The Polack MSgt
(13,159 posts)And she still makes it. Her recipe is basically a stove top meat ball squished into an oval with mushroom gravy
Laelth
(32,017 posts)My daughter is fanatical about them and insists upon them from time to time. Of course, I have always been of the opinion that English cuisine is underrated.
However, I sympathize with your husbands reaction. I react similarly to tuna casserole. Thats something I hope to never eat again in my life.
-Laelth
Phentex
(16,330 posts)As a young person, I only ever ate tuna in the version of tuna fish from a can. But the thought of anything being cooked with it did not appeal to me. But my tastes have changed and it might be something I'd actually try now. I wouldn't make it, but I would try it if someone else made it.
keithbvadu2
(36,369 posts)Hamburger that has been tread on by golf spikes.
Phentex
(16,330 posts)Well there ya go!
Polly Hennessey
(6,747 posts)Salisbury Steak 🥩 and it was good.
Phentex
(16,330 posts)I guess the tv dinner version ruined it for many
gibraltar72
(7,486 posts)procon
(15,805 posts)We love Salisbury Steaks, they are a savory hearty main dish like mini meatloaves without the all leftovers. I mix the ingredients in my stand mixer for a uniform consistency that holds the meat mixture together.
A good gravy is key to making Salisbury Steaks go from ordinary to extraordinary. I start with red wine, Worcestershire sauce and beef stock, adding onions, mushrooms, and roasted garlic, salt and loads of ground pepper.
Salisbury Steaks are best served with creamy mashed potatoes, and mine include more roasted garlic. Add a side dish, like fresh steamed asparagus, to round out your meal.
Yummy!
Vinca
(50,170 posts)We love it every so often. I think those TV dinners gave it a bad rap.
procon
(15,805 posts)potatoes. Anything in the onion family that I have on hand is good with me. I've been adding chopped kale, or stirring in bits of broccoli, fresh spinach or cilantro.
Vinca
(50,170 posts)I am open for my invitation to dinner. That sounds fantastic.
-Laelth
procon
(15,805 posts)One of the best things about a dish like Salisbury Steaks is that it's fairly cheap for a weekday family supper, but it can be dressed up with some lovely side dishes to make a meal suitable for guests.
Laelth
(32,017 posts)-Laelth
Blue_playwright
(1,568 posts)Im going to make it this week with the black garlic...
Warpy
(110,912 posts)Made poorly, it's like a bad covered dish supper meatloaf and the mushroom gravy swears with it.
The recipe was concocted by a doctor who recommended beef to his patients but found some lacked the ability to handle steak and roast beef, dentition being poor in the 19th century. All the recipes are about the same: minced beef, crumbs, egg, onion, salt, pepper. It is most likely one of those things that if you do more to it, you screw it up. I have found that hamburger works less well than cheap meat minced at home, either with a food processor or by hand.
I'm a little intrigued by what goes into a vegan version. I would strongly suspect that if you just called it veggie burger with mushroom gravy, the "ick" would disappear quickly. I don't know what you could do to beans, seitan, or any other vegan protein to make it come out like bad covered dish meatloaf. That is truly the stuff of nightmares.
Phentex
(16,330 posts)This version uses lentils and mushrooms (which many "meaty" vegan dishes use) so I was thinking that they called it steak to appeal to converted vegans. I love a good lentil meatloaf although that one is called lentil loaf, lol.
Warpy
(110,912 posts)toward giving lentil loaf and bean chili enough "bite" that it wasn't like eating savory marshmallow. Finely chopped walnuts and pecans also helped a lot. That's the only thing that annoyed me about being veg, most of it was mushy.
These days, what little meat I eat is a flavoring, not a main event. I routinely get 3-4 meals out of one chicken breast. I have an allergy to wheat (asthma), so most of the convenience foods are out were I to try to go back to being vegetarian.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,746 posts)Why a vegan would want an ersatz version is beyond me.
Wawannabe
(5,580 posts)But Ive made homemade many times. It is basically hamb steak with extra onion powder and garlic. Make your own brown gravy. Cook off some onion...then bake all together for a bit to mingle flavors.
I suppose your vegan recipe calls for mushrooms to be the meat substitute. Go for it!
PlanetBev
(4,098 posts)The worst, most craptastic fare. The Salisbury steak looked like dog food. The smell put me off, so I never could eat it.