Salisbury Steak Meatballs with Mushroom Gravy over Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Resourcefulness is a top priority for us whenever we cook or do anything on the farm. For this dish, we used bread that I made a few days ago that was getting stale, potatoes from the garden that were harvested four months ago, and mushrooms from the refrigerator that needed to be used ASAP. We used dried herbs that we always have on hand, and the protein is the best pasture-raised ground sirloin steak from one of our freezers. We always have freezers stocked with the best meats we can source and offer them through our on-site farm store. This is a quick and easy dish to prepare with a food processor that does all the chopping of the vegetables and grinding the bread for the crumbs. It only took us 30 minutes from start to finish, and it was so flavorful and comforting. This dish will become one of our go-to recipes on a cold winter day. We highly recommend giving it a try yourself.

Ingredients for the Salisbury Meatballs

• 1/2 Cup homemade breadcrumbs or store-bought (you can use ground-up croutons or panko).
• 2 Garlic cloves finely minced
• 1/2 Cup of yellow or white onion finely chopped with the food processor, by hand, or with a grater.
• 1 lb Ground Beef
• 2 Tablespoons ketchup
• 2 Tablespoons stone ground mustard (dijon or 1 teaspoon dried ground mustard)
• 1 Teaspoon beef stock paste (we used Better Than Boulion) (1 dried/ground bouillon cube will work too)
• 1 Teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 Egg

Ingredients for the Mushroom Gravy

• 6 oz Mushrooms of your choice, sliced
• 1/4 Teaspoon dried garlic powder or 1 clove finely minced
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 Cup beef stock
• 1 1/2 Tablespoon flour
• 1 Tablespoon stone ground mustard (dijon or 1/2 teaspoon dried ground mustard)
• 1 Tablespoon dried parsley, if using fresh 2 tablespoons finely chopped

Ingredients for the Garlic Smashed Potatoes

• 4 Cups diced potatoes; we used russets
• 3 Cloves whole garlic
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1/2 Cup half and half
• 1 Cup sour cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation - 10 minutes Cook Time - 20 minutes Serving 4-6

1. Place your ground beef in a large mixing bowl. Add to the top of the meat your measured ketchup, mustard, beef bouillon paste, and ground pepper.
2. Then, tear your stale bread into small pieces. Place it in a food processor and grind them to a medium consistency. Once ground, place the crumbs over the meat with the sauces.
3. Finely chop the garlic cloves in the food processor. Leave them in the bowl of the processor. Add the onion to the bowl and press the pulse button of the machine until the onions are finely chopped. Place this mixture over the ground meat in the mixing bowl.
4. Add the egg to the bowl and mix with your hands thoroughly, being careful not to overwork the meat but to incorporate the bouillon paste evenly throughout the mixture. You do not want the bouillon paste to be left in chunks because it is very salty in nature and will create undesirable salt pockets throughout the meatballs.
5. Measure the meatballs by hand or with a 1 oz ice cream scoop. Gently form the balls into lightly compacted rounds and brown on all sides in a large skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil. Once browned, remove from the skillet and set aside until the gravy just starts to thicken. The meatballs with be partly cooked and still raw on the inside. The final cooking will take place in the mushroom gravy.
6. Now it is time to sautee your mushrooms in the same skillet on both sides in olive oil and garlic. You will want to lightly salt them to help draw out the moisture. This increases the flavor of the mushrooms.
7. Melt butter directly over the mushrooms, and add the beef stock, flour, parsley, and mustard. Be diligent to whisk in the flour to prevent lumps from forming.
8. Add your meatballs into the gravy and cook with a lid for 5 minutes over low/medium heat until it thickens. Finally, taste the gravy and adjust the salt and pepper.

Directions for the Garlic Smashed Potatoes

1. You will want to start cooking your potatoes in a medium pot at the same time the mushrooms start to sautee. This will make it so the smashed potatoes are finished at the same time as the meatballs and mushroom gravy.
2. Roughly dice your potatoes in 1 1/2 inch pieces, place them with the whole garlic in a pot, and top with water to cover. Over a medium flame, allow the water to get to a low boil. Be careful to keep an eye on the boiling water. You will not want the water to boil over.
3. After the potatoes become fork-tender, drain them in a colander and put them back in the same pot. Then, add salt, butter, sour cream, and half and half to the pot with the potatoes. Smash the potatoes until they reach the desired texture and creaminess level. Taste your smashed potatoes and adjust the seasoning accordingly. Keep it hot by placing a lid on the cooking vessel.

Serving the Dish

You have a couple of options for how to serve this dish.

• Option One: You can keep it casual and serve it family style in one or two platters. One platter would consist of the smashed potatoes on the first layer covered with gravy and meatballs. You can also do this individually with one serving tray with meatballs and gravy and another one with smashed potatoes.
• Option Two: We selected this option. Indivulully serve the dish for each person in a bowl with the mushroom gravy and meatballs over the smashed potatoes.
• Option Three: I am calling this self-serve. Allow your party to serve themself directly from the stove.

This dish is wonderful served as is, or with crusty warm bread and a nice side salad. It pairs well with a non-fruity red wine or dark beer.