Salisbury steak is a dish made from a blend of minced beef

Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...

 and other ingredients, which is shaped to resemble a steak

Steak

A steak is a cut of meat . Most are cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers, improving the perceived tenderness of the meat. In North America, steaks are typically served grilled, pan-fried, or broiled. The more tender cuts from the loin and rib are cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole...

, and usually is served with gravy

Gravy

Gravy is a sauce made often from the juices that run naturally from meat or vegetables during cooking. In North America the term can refer to a wider variety of sauces and gravy is often thicker than in Britain...

 / brown sauce

Brown sauce

Brown sauce may refer to:* Brown sauce , in French and Scandinavian cuisines* Steak sauce, a spiced condiment containing fruits and vinegar** A1 Steak Sauce, an American brand of steak sauce** HP Sauce, a British brand of sauce...

. Hamburger steak is a similar product, but differs in ingredients.
Salisbury steak was invented by an American physician, Dr. J. H. Salisbury

James Salisbury

James Henry Salisbury, M.D. was a 19th-century American physician, and the inventor of the Salisbury steak....

 (1823–1905), an early proponent of a low-carbohydrate diet

Low-carbohydrate diet

Low-carbohydrate diets or low-carb diets are dietary programs that restrict carbohydrate consumption usually for weight control or for the treatment of obesity. Foods high in digestible carbohydrates are limited or replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of proteins and fats...

 for weight loss; the term "Salisbury steak" has been in use in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 since 1897. The dish is popular in the United States, where it is traditionally served with gravy

Gravy

Gravy is a sauce made often from the juices that run naturally from meat or vegetables during cooking. In North America the term can refer to a wider variety of sauces and gravy is often thicker than in Britain...

 and mashed potatoes or noodles.

Standards of identity (for packaged product)

The USDA standards for processed, packaged "Salisbury steak" require a minimum content of 65% meat, of which up to 25% can be pork, except if defatted beef or pork is used, the limit is 12% combined. No more than 30% may be fat. Meat byproducts are not permitted; however, beef heart meat is allowed. Extender (bread crumbs, flour, oat flakes, etc.) content is limited to 12%, except isolated soy protein at 6.8% is considered equivalent to 12% of the others. The remainder consists of seasonings, vegetables (onion, bell pepper, mushroom or the like), binders (can include egg) and liquids (such as water, milk, cream, skim milk, etc.). The product must be fully cooked, or else labelled "Patties for Salisbury Steak".

The standards for hamburger limit the meat to beef only, and of skeletal origin only. Salt, seasonings and vegetables in condimental proportions can be used, but liquids, binders and/or extenders preclude the use of the term "hamburger" or "burger". With these added, the product is considered "beef patties".

Products not made in USDA-inspected establishments are not bound by these standards.

Salisbury steak around the world

(Hamburg steak) is a popular Salisbury steak dish in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It is made from ground meat with finely chopped onion

Onion

The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...

, egg

Egg (food)

Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...

 and breadcrumbs flavored with various spices, and made into a flat, circular shape about a centimeter thick and 10 to 15 cm in diameter. Many restaurants specialize in various styles of hamburger steak. Some variations include hanbāgu topped with cheese (チーズハンバーグ, or chizuhanbāgu), hanbāgu with Japanese curry

Japanese curry

is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. It is commonly served in three main forms: , karē udon and karē-pan . Curry rice is most commonly referred to simply as ....

, and Italian hanbāgu (with tomato sauce rather than gravy).

Hamburger steak became popular during the 1960s as a more affordable way to serve otherwise costly meat. Magazines regularly printed the recipe during that decade, elevating it to a staple dish in Japanese culture. In Japan, the dish dates back to the Meiji period

Meiji period

The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...

 and is believed to have been first served in Yokohama

Yokohama

is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...

, which was one of the first ports opened to foreigners. Since the 1980s, vacuum packed hamburgers were sold with sauce already added, and these are widely used in box lunches (bento

Bento

is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware...

). Frozen

Freezing

Freezing or solidification is a phase change in which a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. The reverse process is melting....

 hamburgers are popular as well, often served in fast food style restaurants because they have a richer taste and firmer texture than vacuum-packed hamburger.

In Hawaii, hamburger steak is very similar to the Japanese hanbāgu. It consists of burger patty with brown gravy. It is usually served with macaroni salad and rice in a plate lunch

Plate lunch

The plate lunch The plate lunch The plate lunch (Hawaiian: pā mea ai is a syncretic menu item that is a quintessential part of the cuisine of Hawaii, roughly equivalent to a Southern U.S. meat-and-threes plate. However, the inclusion of pan-Asian ingredients makes the plate lunch unique to Hawaii....

. There is also a variety which includes an egg, which is called loco moco

Loco Moco

Loco moco is a dish native to Hawaiian cuisine. There are many variations, but the essential loco moco consists of white rice, topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg, and brown gravy. Variations may include chili, bacon, ham, Spam, kalua pork, Portuguese sausage, teriyaki beef, teriyaki...

. The dish is also common in South Korea, where the recipe and name (햄버그 스테이크 | hambeogeu sŭt'eik'ŭ) were adopted from Japan.

Minced cutlet

Cutlet

Cutlet refers to:# a thin slice of meat from the leg or ribs of veal, pork, or mutton # a fried cutlet# a croquette made of minced meat...

(котлета рубленная, kotleta rublennaya), or since the 1980s, simply "cutlet", is a staple of Russian cuisine

Russian cuisine

Russian cuisine is diverse, as Russia is the largest country in the world. Russian cuisine derives its varied character from the vast and multi-cultural expanse of Russia. Its foundations were laid by the peasant food of the rural population in an often harsh climate, with a combination of...

. It is essentially a Salisbury steak, with the main difference being pure beef is rarely employed -- usually pork

Pork

Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....

 or a beef-pork mixture is used. The meat is seasoned with salt and pepper, mixed with finely chopped onion (optionally fried), garlic, and a binder (eggs and breadcrumbs soaked in milk), divided into oval-shaped patties, lightly breaded and shallow-fried

Shallow frying

Shallow frying is an oil-based cooking technique. It is typically used to prepare portion-sized cuts of meat and fish, and patties such as fritters. Shallow frying can also be used to cook vegetables. Shallow-fried foods are often battered. It is a high-heat process, promoting browning and, in...

 in a half-inch of vegetable oil. The similarly named Japanese dish, menchi katsu

Menchi katsu

is a breaded and deep-fried ground meat cutlet or croquette. The meat is usually ground beef, or pork, or sometimes a mixture of the two. It is a rather pedestrian dish often served in inexpensive bento and teishoku....

, is always deep-fried and heavily breaded, being essentially a mincemeat

Mincemeat

Mincemeat is a mixture of chopped dried fruit, distilled spirits and spices, and sometimes beef suet, beef, or venison. Originally, mincemeat always contained meat. Many modern recipes contain beef suet, though vegetable shortening is sometimes used in its place...

 croquette

Croquette

A croquette is a small fried food roll containing, usually as main ingredients, mashed potatoes, and/or ground meat , shellfish, fish, vegetables, and soaked white bread, egg, onion, spices and herbs, wine, milk, beer or any of the combination thereof, sometimes with a filling, often encased in...

, while the Russian version is always shallow-fried.

In popular culture

• Salisbury steak is an item of food found in the Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas games. It can be used as an energy source, is usually found in abandoned shops and homes and contains a small amount radiation.

See also

• Hamburger
  Hamburger
  A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
  
  
• Meatloaf
  Meatloaf
  Meatloaf is a dish of ground meat formed into a loaf shape and baked or smoked. The loaf shape is formed by either cooking it in a loaf pan, or forming it by hand on a flat baking pan...
  
  
• Swiss steak
  Swiss steak
  Swiss steak is a method of preparing meat, usually beef, by means of rolling or pounding, and then braising in a cooking pot of stewed tomatoes, either on a stove or in an oven....
  
  
• Rissole
  Rissole
  A rissole is a small croquette, enclosed in pastry or rolled in breadcrumbs, usually baked or deep fried...
  
  
• Frikadelle