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Meat-and-Three-Style Hamburger Steak with Onion Gravy

Source of Recipe

From "The Southerner's Cookbook" from the editors of Garden & Gun


Recipe Introduction

"One of the South's most hallowed restaurant styles, the meat-and-three is so simple it's confusing. Visit one, such as Puckett's in Nashville or Niki's West in Birmingham, and you'll see a bounteous steam-table spread of dozens of down-home foods served cafeteria-style. The confusing part comes when you have to start making decisions: one meat and three sides. Hamburger steak, made from inexpensive ground beef, smothered in gravy, and usually served with creamy mashed potatoes, is a staple of the genre. This recipe riffs off that classic but elevates it more than a few notches—mixing richer ground chuck with the sirloin and splashing some red wine into the onion-gravy base. It's still country at heart, just come to town."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 12 ounces ground sirloin
â—¦ 12 ounces ground chuck
â—¦ 1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
â—¦ 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ ½ teaspoon kosher salt
â—¦ ½ teaspoon onion powder
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
â—¦ 1 tablespoon canola oil
â—¦ 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for serving
â—¦ 1 medium Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
â—¦ 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
â—¦ 2 cups beef stock
â—¦ â…” cup red wine
â—¦ Chopped fresh parsley for garnish


Recipe

Mix the ground meats, ½ teaspoon of the Worcestershire sauce, the pepper, salt, onion powder, and cayenne in a large bowl using clean hands just to combine. Don't overwork the meat mixture or the patties will turn out tough. Divide into 6 equal portions and form them into oval patties about ½ inch thick. Depress the center of each patty slightly with your thumb so they cook evenly without puffing.

Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add 3 patties and cook undisturbed for 6 minutes, then flip and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on second side for medium-rare, or until desired doneness. Transfer to a plate and keep warm by tenting loosely with foil. Cook the remaining patties in the same way and transfer to the plate.

Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and butter to the hot skillet and swirl to melt. Add the onion and sauté for 7 to 10 minutes, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the flour and stir for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the stock, wine, juices that have collected from the meat on the plate, and the remaining 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce. Stir to scrape up any remaining bits from the bottom of the pan and simmer for 5 minutes to reduce and slightly thicken the gravy.

Return the patties to the skillet to warm through. Serve the patties topped with gravy and a tangle of onions. Garnish each serving with a pat of butter for added richness and a sprinkling of parsley. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Serves 6