German Style Salisbury Steak

I have no idea why this is "German - Style" but I do know it was really good. I got carried away with the salt in the gravy, so just know that if you use beer taste before salting the gravy.

I had to find out about Salisbury steaks and where the heck they came from. Turns out they are named for a doctor who encouraged his patients to eat lots of beef. And Salisbury steaks are nothing more than seasoned ground beef. 

I highly recommend using the dark beer instead of substituting with beef broth.  The alcohol cooks off and therefore you're left with the deep, rich flavor of the dark beer. 

German Style Salisbury Steak

Serves 4

• 4 strips thick sliced bacon
• 1 1/4 lb ground beef chuck
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste

• 2 medium onion, sliced
• 1 package button mushrooms sliced
• 2 T All purpose flour
• 1 can (12 oz) dark beer (or you can use 1/2 cup beef broth)
• 1/2 cup beef broth (yes in addition to the dark beer)
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon in a large sauté pan until done. Remove bacon and reserve 1 T bacon grease.  Crumble bacon.

Combine ground beef, minced onion, salt and pepper, parsley into 4 patties about 3/4" thick.

Brown patties in bacon drippings in sauté pan over medium high heat, about 4 minutes per side.  Remove patties from pan. Add onions and mushrooms, sauté for 8 minutes or until onions are tender.

Stir in flour; cook and stir for 1 minute.

Remove pan from heat and add beer, broth, sugar, tomato paste, caraway seeds and garlic. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.  Return pan to heat. Bring liquid to a boil for 1 minute or until liquid is thick.

Put patties back into pan and simmer until meat is cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Top steaks with onion mushroom sauce and bacon.  Oh and save a little bacon piece for the cook.