The 90s, what a time to be alive. As kids, our biggest dilemmas were scratched CDs, losing the AOL connection (after it took 17 minutes and 46 seconds to connect to) and malfunctioning Super Nintendo cartridges. Actually, I take back the last one (all you had to do was blow into it and it would miraculously start working again).
In retrospect, the 90s were one hell of a decade for kids to grow up in. We were free-range kids before kids were labeled free-range kids, and we remember when MTV (Music Television) actually played music videos. Crazy, right?
But when I reflect back on what our parents/lunch ladies fed us, I can't help but cringe. One word comes to mind. YIKES. The food and diet trends of the 90s were weird. If a food label read " FAT FREE" then it was considered healthy, despite the 86 grams of sugar and mile-long list of mystery ingredients. We were also fed A LOT of pre-packaged, processed frozen mystery meats. The TV Dinner Industry was killing it.
As a matter of fact, Chris and I were recently talking about meals we were fed way too often as kids, and at the same exact moment we both blurted out "SALISBURY STEAK!" We agreed that this was one of our favorite frozen meals as kids, despite not having the slightest clue what it actually was. At that very moment, I decided we needed to have salisbury steak for dinner. So that's what we did.
With a little trial and error, I developed a recipe for homemade Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy that is dairy-free, gluten-free, low carb/keto-friendly, Paleo AND Whole30 compliant. Whew, say that 5 times fast.
What in the heck is Salisbury steak?
Honestly, I had to do a bit of research to answer that. I had no idea whether it was made from cheap cuts of steak, ground beef or a concoction of animal by-products (I was really hoping it wasn't that one). Come to find out, it's simply a blend of ground beef, herbs and spices traditionally served with some sort of gravy or brown sauce. So if a meatloaf and a hamburger had a baby, it would probably look and taste like a Salisbury steak.
Ok, enough of the jibber-jabber. Let's make some Salisbury steak!
First things first, let's make the patties. Here's what you'll need:
- 1 pound of ground beef (preferably organic & 100% grass-fed)
- 1 cup of kale
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground sage
- ¼ teaspoon marjoram
- 1 /4 teaspoon pepper
In a large bowl, using your hands or a heavy spoon, mix all of the patty ingredients together until very well-combined. At this point, it should look like a heaping pile of raw meatloaf. Yum. Moving along, form the meat mixture into six hamburger-esque patties. I eyeballed it, but each patty should use up about a quarter cup of the meat mixture.
Next, heat 2 tablespoons of ghee in a large non-stick pan until hot but not smoking. Working in batches, brown each patty for 2 minutes on each side. Set browned patties aside while finishing the rest of the patties.
The next instruction is very important. DO NOT CLEAN THE PAN! The leftover melted ghee and the juices from the browned patties are about to make the best gluten-free mushroom gravy you've ever had, like ever.
So about that gluten-free mushroom gravy.
This was actually the first time I've ever made gravy from pan drippings, and it's a lot easier than I had imagined.
While the pan is still hot, add 2 large white onions sliced into ¼ inch thick rounds and 8 ounces of sliced white mushrooms. Let the onions and mushrooms cook down and soften a bit, and then stir in a cup and a half of beef broth, a half cup of coconut milk and 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard. Bring the liquid to a boil.
While the liquid heats to a boil, make the slurry (the thickening mixture for the gravy). Simply whisk together 3 tablespoons of tapioca starch and 2 tablespoons of cool water until smooth. Slowly pour the slurry into the bubbling mushroom mixture and simmer for an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until the gravy begins to thicken. Give it a solid stir every now and then.
Once the gravy begins to thicken, nestle the Salisbury steak patties into the gravy, lower the heat, cover and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
And there you have it, a classic childhood comfort food made from scratch without any of the junk. Chris and I ate these steaks served over my Instant Pot Whole30 Garlic Mashed Potatoes (recipe coming soon), while continuing to reminisce about all of the reasons the 90s were the absolute best. Topics included "Wazzzzzup?", Bill Clinton and SURGE. Hey! Maybe I should start working on a Whole30 compliant SURGE recipe! What do you guy think?!
Kidding.
Anywho, take a walk down memory lane and give this recipe a shot! You're going to love it! If you make this recipe, I'd love to see it. Tag me in your Instagram snaps with the tag #paleoishkristaeats. I love seeing what you guys are making!
PIN NOW! COOK LATER!
