Comfort food made from a pound of ground beef? Awesome! This quick and easy family dinner recipe will gather rave reviews and requests for more. Killer Hamburger Steak in a Skillet is a beef recipe you’ll be making again and again.
Killer Hamburger Steak in a Skillet Recipe – Comfort Food That Really Satisfies
Howdy! Chef Alli Here. Let’s Get You Cookin’…. Shall We?? 🙂
I am always on the lookout for a good ground beef recipe! Especially one that makes a meal that my guys would consider to be a hearty old-fashioned, country-style meal…..yep, pretty much a meat-and-potatoes kind of thing.
Because I’m a big fan of skillet meals (I adore my 12-inch cast iron skillet!), I’ve got lots of skillet meal recipes here on my blog….all family-approved, of course.
Take the Pork Steak and Sauerkraut Skillet Meal – talk about easy and delicious! Or, if you’re a pasta lover, you might really enjoy the 6-Ingredient Creamy Tortellini Pasta Skillet recipe since it’s creamy and rich, not to mention fast.
And since we are huge Mexican food fans, my guys really dig Tex Mex Cornbread Casserole (made with ground beef) and Southwest Pork Cutlets with Calico Rice. And, fyi, if ya need a good margarita to serve with either of these meals, you better give these Refreshing Pitcher Margaritas (with a secret ingredient!) a go….pretty sure you will NOT be disappointed.
What to love about ground beef skillet steak –
- The name says it all – hamburger turned steak!
- All you need to add is a good batch of mashed potatoes or cooked noodles.
- If you’ve got lots of hungry people to feed, you can easily double or triple this recipe.
What you’ll learn from this recipe –
- The secret for browning meat properly and why it’s so very important
- Why a good heavy-duty skillet is an essential tool
- Why it’s important to not over-work ground beef when handling it
- How and why to cook flour when added to fats in a skillet for making a sauce or gravy
- The secret to making lump-free gravy and sauces
- How to deglaze a skillet so you can utilize all the good drippings in the bottom of the pan
Here are the ingredients you need to make hamburger skillet steak –
Garlic
Onion
Lean ground beef
Granulated garlic (or garlic powder)
Granulated onion (or onion powder)
Olive oil and butter
Portobello or button mushrooms
Flour
Worcestershire sauce
Beef broth
How to make Killer Hamburger Steak
**Full, printable recipe card below – just scroll on down within this post to find it!
Make the ground beef patties by combining the beef with the spices and using your hands to form 4 equal patties; season with salt on both sides.
In a skillet over medium high heat, brown the ground beef patties until nicely browned and caramelized on both sides, making sure the patties have ample space in the pan and are not crowded as they cook; remove the patties to a plate and keep warm.
**Don’t worry if the patties are not fully cooked throughout at this point since you’ll be simmering them in the brown gravy later on to finish them.
In the same skillet, melt the butter then add the onions and sliced mushrooms, cooking over medium to medium-high heat until the vegetables soften, approx. 6-8 minutes or so; add the garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds.
**Adding the garlic at the very end and only cooking it for a few seconds is what will keep it from getting bitter.
Sprinkle the flour in a single layer all over the onion/mushroom mixture in the skillet.
Gently stir the flour around in the skillet, letting it incorporate with the mushrooms and onions. Then, let everything cook for a full minute or two so the flour can brown a bit.
**Don’t skip this step of really cooking the flour since your are essentially creating a “roux” at this point, which is the foundation for the gravy. If you don’t let the flour cook and get golden brown along with the mushrooms and onions at this point in the process, you can wind up with gravy that tastes kind of “pasty”….never a good thing.
When you move the onions and mushrooms to the sides of the skillet to expose the bottom of the pan, you will see all the beautiful drippings (aka “fond”) stuck to the bottom.
**These drippings are like GOLD when it comes to FLAVOR, so take full advantage of them! Adding broth (the next step in this process) is what deglazes the pan at this point, bringing and all of that yummy stuff from the bottom of the pan up into the brown gravy you are making.
Remove the skillet from the burner, then slowly add the broth and Worcestershire sauce, whisking constantly to incorporate the liquids. Return the skillet to medium heat, continuing to simmer until the sauce is nicely thickened.
**Leaving the skillet on the heat when adding liquid to make your gravy is what can easily cause lumps to form. This is the secret set to making perfect gravy! Always remove the pan from the heat before adding any liquids.
Slide the reserved burgers back into the sauce in the skillet, letting them simmer until hot throughout. Divide the burgers between 4 plates; generously spoon the sauce over each one to serve. Hamburger steak is delicious served over mashed potatoes or cooked noodles.
Answers to Common Questions Asked About This Recipe
Which tools are helpful for making hamburger steak?
- Heavy-duty skillet – this is an essential kitchen tool. I really like my Lodge 12-inch cast iron skillet and use it continually.
- Thin, metal spatula makes flipping burgers really easy.
- Garlic press for mincing fresh garlic.
- Burger press is great if you really want your burgers to be all the same size and shape.
- Silicone spatula spoons are so handy for stirring anything in a hot skillet.
So what’s the difference between Hamburger steak, Swiss steak, and Salsbury steak?
Great question and I used to wonder the same thing!
Hamburger steak is made from ground beef patties with just a few added spices mixed in, served in a brown sauce (gravy).
Salsbury steak is made using ground beef patties, also, but often has some added fillers, such as bread crumbs or parmesan cheese, etc. in the meat. Salsbury steak is usually served in a brown sauce (gravy).
Swiss steak is made using tenderized round steak and is typically served in a brown sauce (gravy) that includes diced tomatoes. Because round steak is a tough cut of beef, Swiss steak is a dish that’s simmered low and slow so the meat can become fork-tender.
What is the best way to brown hamburger burger patties in a skillet? Should all meat be browned when it’s cooked? Why does browning matter?
For browning any type of meat, be sure that you skillet is nicely preheated before the meat hits the pan. The skillet should be nice and hot so that when the meat makes contact with the surface, there’s some good SIZZLE going on.
SIZZLE is important because sizzle creates browning, and browning creates caramelization.…caramelization is FLAVOR!! If you opt out of browning any type of meat as you prepare it, you’re simply shorting yourself on FLAVOR – don’t do it!
What is a safe internal temperature for cooked hamburger steak or hamburger patties?
160 – 165 degrees F.
Use an instant-read dial thermometer for testing the center of the burgers for doneness. Learning to use this tool will help you cook any type of meat to the proper internal temperature. Yay! No more over-cooked or under-cooked meat to deal with!
Why is a heavy-duty skillet an essential tool for cooking?
Because browning is so important for nearly anything we are cooking, a heavy-duty skillet is absolutely essential to the process. A skillet with a heavy bottom will always cook evenly, providing even heat throughout and superior browning. A good skillet can also handle high temperatures without any problems or damage to the skillet.
How do you know if a skillet is a good quality skillet with a heavy bottom?
The skillet should have some weight to it when you pick it up and should also take a while to preheat. If you place a skillet onto a heated burner and it is instantly hot, this tells you that you’ve got a flimsy skillet that is likely not going to be around long and will not be a good servant for you in the kitchen.
If a skillet takes a long time to heat up, this also means it will hold heat well and that’s exactly what we want in a skillet so that it provides us with a superior cooking experience and
Are good skillets expensive?
Nope. I cook with cast iron nearly every day, most often using my 12-inch Lodge cast iron skillet. Purchasing good-quality cookware (even if it’s just a few select pieces!) is an investment that you’ll never regret and with proper care, should last nearly a lifetime in the kitchen.
If cast iron cookware is properly taken care of, it will never wear out and can be passed down through generation of generation of family cooks.
Can I cook with traditional cast iron cookware if I have a smooth-top electric range?
Actually, NO. However, enamel-coated cast iron cookware is specially created for cooking on smooth-top electric ranges. Yes, it is a bit more more expensive than traditional (non enamel-coated) cast iron, but also lasts for years as long as it is properly taken care of.
What happens when ground beef is over worked when patties are being formed?
When overworked, nearly all types of ground meat can become rather tough in texture as they cook. Keep the handling to a minimum for the most tender eating experience.
What should happen once flour is added to fats in a skillet to make a sauce or a gravy?
If you’ve ever experienced a gravy or sauce that tasted rather “pasty” (kind of like glue, perhaps?), this is likely because when the flour was added to the fats in the skillet to make the roux (the foundation of the sauce or the gravy), it didn’t have the change to get fully cooked and browned a bit before the liquids were added.
When you are creating this recipe and add the flour to the onion/mushroom mixture, be sure to cook the vegetables for a good 1-2 minutes, stirring often, so the flour can fully cook before you add the broth.
How do you deglaze a skillet and why do you need to?
Deglazing is an important technique and is most often the first step of the sauce (gravy) making process.
Deglazing happens when liquid is added to a skillet so that it can loosen all the good stuff (called “fond”) that’s stuck to the bottom of the pan. Once these particles are loosened, they can be stirred (or whisked) right into the liquid you’ve just added to the skillet, enhancing the flavors of the sauce or gravy you are making.
What is the secret for making lump-free gravy and sauces?
When you are preparing to deglaze the skillet to make the sauce or gravy, remove the pan from the heat before you add any liquid. Once the pan is off the heat, slowly pour in the liquids, stirring or whisking to incorporate all the ingredients together.
Once you’ve got everything fairly well combined, return the pan back to medium low heat and continue to cook, stirring or whisking until the sauce (gravy) is nicely thickened and smooth as it simmers.
A an essential tool for making lump-free gravy is a flat whisk – you are going to want at least a couple of these!!
**Please note: A FLAT whisk is NOT the same thing as a BALLOON whisk. A flat whisk is for skillets and sauces. A balloon whisk is for combining ingredients in a bowl.
If my family doesn’t care for mushrooms, will this recipe still taste good if I leave them out?
YEEEESSSS!!!
More favorite meat recipes to enjoy –
- BACON-WRAPPED PORK TENDERLOIN WITH PEACH GLAZE
- AIR FRYER BRATS WITH PEPPERS AND ONIONS
- JUICY CAST IRON SKILLET STEAK
- INSTANT POT BEEF POT ROAST
- PEPPER JELLY GLAZED PORK LOIN ROAST
- COUNTRY-STYLE ASIAN BBQ RIBS
- HOW TO COOK EYE OF ROUND ROAST BEEF
- GROUND MEAT ASIAN STIR FRY WITH NOODLES
Printable Killer Hamburger Steak in a Skillet Recipe –
Killer Hamburger Steak in a Skillet
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 medium yellow or white onion, thinly sliced
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 1 tsp. granulated garlic or garlic powder
- 1 tsp. granulated onion or onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 Tbs. olive oil
- 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
- 8 oz. baby Portobello or button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 Tbs. flour
- 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups beef broth
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ground beef with the granulated garlic, granulated onion and black pepper, using your fingers to gently combine everything together; don’t overmix.
- Divide the ground beef mixture into 4 equal portions, forming 4 patties that are about 1/2-inch thick, placing them onto a plate; sprinkle the patties with the kosher salt on both sides to season them.
- In a 12-inch skillet over medium high heat, add the olive oil; when the oil is nicely hot, slide the burgers into the skillet, making sure they have ample space in the pan so the heat can circulate well, caramelizing the burgers on the exterior. **You can cook the burger patties in two batches if using a small skillet, so they have room to cook without touching each other in the pan.
- Cook the patties for 4 minutes on the first side, then turn over and cook for an additional 4 minutes. Cooking at medium high should get the burgers nice and crusty brown on each side, especially around the edges. **Don't worry if the burgers aren't fully cooked at this point since they will also be simmering in the sauce before serving.
- Remove the burgers to a plate and keep warm. Melt the butter in the same skillet,, along with the browned bits that are still in the bottom of the skillet, still over medium high heat; add the onions and sliced mushrooms to the butter once it begins to sizzle.
- Cook, stirring just once in a while, until the mushrooms and onions have softened, 6-8 minutes or so, turning the heat down to medium. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for an additional 30-45 seconds.
- Add the flour to the onion/mushroom mixture, stirring to coat, until all of the flour has been incorporated; continue to cook the floured onion/mushroom mixture for a full minute or two to allow the flour to cook throughout. Don't worry if the vegetables begin sticking to the bottom of the skillet a bit at this point.**Letting the flour cook with the veggies is a very important step, so be sure you don't skip this part of the recipe. Cooking the flour very well ensures your sauce doesn't taste "pasty"…..never a good thing!
- Remove the skillet from the burner, then slowly pour in the Worcestershire sauce and the broth, whisking constantly to incorporate the liquids well. Now return the skillet to the burner over medium heat, continuing to cook and whisk the sauce until it begins to thicken nicely, 2-3 minutes.
- Slide the reserved hamburger patties into the prepared sauce in the skillet, nestling them into the onions and mushrooms; let the burgers simmer for 4-5 minutes until hot throughout.
- Divide the burgers between 4 plates; generously spoon the sauce over each one to serve. Hamburger steak is delicious served over mashed potatoes or cooked noodles.
Notes
Nutrition
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Let’s Get You Cookin’,
Chef Alli
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