French Onion Salisbury Steak

Hello loyal follower(s)

   Before I get into the heavy stuff,  after eight months postoperative my energy level has improved.

When we moved to  our home in St George in  1994, there was only desert behind our home.  How there are about 48 houses behind our house and many trees and shrubbery.  Moisture was hard for the birds etc. to find and the birds would fly off with tomatoes for their young. The fence around our garden is in the background on the left in this picture.  To combat that problem and  to protect our plants from  the sun we built walk-in inclosure over the garden area.  Because of the many trees and fountains in some of the yards the garden was not getting enough sun and the birds on longer are desperate for moisture.  Therefore, last winter (while in pain) I salvaged the 2x2s from the enclosure and built four planting boxes out of the 2x2s.  One of the boxes in on it's side in the foreground of this picture and one has already been put in place along the wall. This month  my stamina has sort of returned and I could do one to two hours of this kind of work.

   What has been more hazardous has been my return to a more active involvement with the working of OUR kitchen.  Cyndy (my wife and opponent in the kitchen) suggested I try a recipe she found in a magazine called Cuisine At Home.   Also, I wanted to try another recipe from Cook Illustrated.

      Cyndy took this picture as I was just getting started, and no the floor is not dirty YET.  I think I will save the discussion of the second recipe; Mediterranean Braised Green Beans for next time and just discuss the results of the French Onion Salisbury Steak.

     I followed the recipe except when I made an error.  The results were what you would expect if you overcook the meat even while following the recipe.  The sauce would have been great if only the red wine was used instead of both red wine and sherry.
       Cyndy and I did a postmortem analysis of the results as we soaked in our Hot Tub in our backyard around midnight.  We concluded that it would be better if the Salisbury steaks were done on the grill and the sauce was done separately in a skillet.  It would be better to use   to thicken the sauce instead of all-purpose flour. Since I formed and floured the Salisbury steaks ahead of time and kept them in the refrigerator.  Big mistake the really stuck together, also  the flouring sort of soaked into the meat.  The much changed recipe follows this blog.  It will not become a "favorite" recipe until I try the revised version.

I do not like to brag, BUT last Sunday my boss and opponent in the kitchen requested that I make Apricot-Glazed Chicken Breasts for our dinner guests.  Cyndy made the side dishes.  I worked hard on the project and had everything ready to go.  There was extra time so I decided to take a nap.  It was time to start the cooking when I awoke from my nap.  Upon entering the kitchen area I found my opponent had usurped the  use of the oven.  Thus the "Oven War" began again. We sort of worked things out and had a temporary armistice in time to enjoy our friends, dinner and especially the great side dishes Cyndy made using the oven.

Recipe follows:

À bientôt,
Mr Nut

French Onion Salisbury Steak

Based on Magazine Cuisine At Home

Makes 4 steaks;Total time: 45 minutes

The original recipe called for using a skillet for browning the steaks, however doing the steaks on the grill allows for better control of the “doneness” of the meat.  

FOR THE  STEAK

1 lb. ground chuck

1/8 cup minced parsley flakes

2 tablespoons minced red onion

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper

FOR THE SAUCE

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 cups sliced onions

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 14.5 oz can beef broth

1/4 cup dry red wine

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

INSTRUCTIONS

1  Combine the red ingredients, use your CLEAN hands.  Divide into four  oval patties,  about three quarters  thick.

1. Fire up the grill including the braising burner if you have one.  While it is heating;
2. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a high sided skillet at medium heat.
3. Saute the green ingredients for about five minutes.
4. Add the Blue ingredients and saute about one minute
5. Stir in the Rose ingredients and bring the sauce to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for eight minutes.
6. NOW back to the grill, using the braising burner, braise each side of the salisbury steaks for one minute.
7. Transfer the steaks to the regular burner of the grill and cook until the interior temperature is at 115-120℉ (should only take a couple minutes)
8. Add the steaks to the sauce and continue simmering the sauce for a TOTAL of ten minutes.
9. Remove steaks from sauce and thicken the sauce with Wondra  to your liking.