Salisbury Steak Meatballs With Mushroom Gravy

Salisbury steak meatballs

There’s a good number of meatball recipes on this website. Sixteen, to be exact. So to say that these Salisbury steak meatballs have shot straight into the top 3 is a big call – but I’m standing by it! Think – savoury seasoned juicy tender beef meatballs smothered in a wickedly tasty mushroom gravy. It’s got even more flavour than ordinary Salisbury steaks even though we use the same ingredients. Why? Because there’s so much more surface area on 22 meatballs vs 5 large Salisbury steaks. More surface area = more browning = more flavour on the meat itself plus more flavour in the gravy which is made in the same pan after searing the meatballs.

Ingredients in Salisbury steak meatballs

Here’s what you need. Note: I’ve broken it up into groups so there are repeat ingredients, so it looks like more than you actually need!

For the meatballs

Beef mince (ground beef) – Lean is fine here, though I generally just go standard beef because fat = flavour! Alternatives: Chicken, pork, turkey or lamb should all work equally well here. Panko breadcrumbs – Adds bulk and absorbs moisture so the mixture isn’t too wet to form meatballs. Onion – A key flavour base in most of my savoury dishes! My secret for extra tasty, extra soft meatballs is to grate the onion over the breadcrumbs so it soaks up the juices. It softens the panko which makes the meatballs juicier and more tender. Plus, if you use diced onion you’d need to cook it separately beforehand. When it’s grated, there’s no need!Panko breadcrumbs are easy to find these days in the Asian and breadcrumb aisle of grocery stores. Ordinary breadcrumbs (smaller and finer, like sand) can also be used but the meatballs will not be quite as tender. Worcestershire sauce – The sauce auto-correct has to fix for me, every single time! 😂 For savoury flavour. Beef bouillon cubes or powder – Better than salt! Use powder or crumble a cube. (Tip for Aussies – Oxo brand crumbles easily, other brands are a bit hard). Ketchup – Adds a touch of sweetness as well as flavour. Dijon mustard – For flavour. Substitute with any other plain smooth mustard, though not hot English (too spicy!) or wholegrain. Egg – Holds the meatballs together.

For the sautéed garlic mushrooms

Olive oil AND butter – Oil for browning the meatballs, then butter for flavour when sautéing the mushrooms. We can’t use butter to brown the meatballs as it will burn. Mushrooms – Just ordinary white mushrooms. If yours are very big – or you’re using big mushrooms like portobello or BBQ/flat mushrooms – just cut the slices into smaller pieces. Garlic – For flavour. Hard to find a mushroom recipe on my website without garlic in it!

For the gravy

This recipe uses a simple, lump-free technique for making gravy where we make a slurry by mixing the flour with a little water. Then just pour that into the beef stock and watch as the gravy magically thickens! Alternatives: Chicken, pork, turkey or lamb should all work equally well here. Panko breadcrumbs are easy to find these days in the Asian and breadcrumb aisle of grocery stores. Ordinary breadcrumbs (smaller and finer, like sand) can also be used but the meatballs will not be quite as tender.

Beef stock gives the gravy the lovely deep brown colour. My recipes are written for low-sodium beef stock and homemade beef stock. So if you have full-salt beef stock, just reduce the salt then add it at the end only if required. Flour – To thicken the gravy. Dijon mustard – Used to add flavour to the gravy. As above with the meatball mixture, substitute with any other smooth mustard (avoid hot English mustard!).

How to make Salisbury steak meatballs

In summary:

1. Salisbury meatball mixture

Now, it’s pretty well known throughout my team that I don’t have the patience for meatball rolling. Love eating ’em, but hate rolling ’em. So here’s the fastest way I’ve figured out (so far) for how to roll reasonably evenly sized meat balls.

How to make the mushroom gravy

And here’s how we make the mushroom gravy. ℹ️ This method of using a slurry is a handy way to make lump-free gravy. The usual method would call for adding flour into the cooked mushrooms, then adding the stock and stirring to dissolve the flour in. For this recipe, the gravy was a bit lumpy because of the volume of mushrooms we’re using. And it was difficult to remove the lumps, even using a whisk. So I chose to use this slurry method instead. This slurry method is actually a variation of a classic French cooking technique to thicken sauces, soups and stews called beurre manié. I use it in traditional French dishes such as Coq au Vin and Beef Bourguignon. Proof of tender, juicy insides: Leftovers will keep for 4 days in the fridge. Actually, like with stews, the flavour of the gravy improves with time. It also freezes perfectly, fully cooked, which is handy to know. And lastly, in case you’re worried you won’t be able to sleep tonight until you know, the other 2 meatball recipes (currently) in my top 3 are:

Italian Meatballs – this will never budge from the #1 spot); and Swedish Meatballs, Vietnamese Bun Cha meatballs, Baked pork meatballs and Moroccan meatballs (equal 3rd place). Don’t make me choose!

– Nagi x