Bobby Flay's Salisbury Steak Recipe

Salisbury steak has long been a comfort food staple of home cooks, packed with rich beef flavor, but made with simple and affordable ingredients. Acclaimed celebrity chef Bobby Flay has his own take on the classic recipe, which comes together quickly and is sure to satisfy even the heartiest of appetites. However, if you're looking to change things up a bit, but are still craving the same flavor profile, try this version of Bobby Flay's Salisbury steak with a twist.

Adapted by recipe developer Erin Johnson of Probably in the Kitchen, this spin on Bobby Flay's tried and true recipe does away with the dish's characteristic oblong patty shape and instead, shapes the seasoned meat mixture into bite-sized meatballs, which can be served over egg noodles or pasta with the classic beef and mushroom sauce. The smaller size helps this version of Salisbury steak cook faster than its palm-sized counterpart, and the noodles drenched in the delectable sauce make a full meal the entire family will enjoy.

No matter what version of Salisbury steak you're making, the main ingredient is always ground beef. Flay recommends ground chuck for his recipe, so that's what Johnson has gone with as well. To flavor the meatballs and help them come together, you'll also need an egg, Parmigiano-Reggiano, breadcrumbs, garlic, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper.

For the sauce, gather together cremini mushrooms, a white onion, beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and half-and-half. You'll also need canola oil for cooking, and fresh parsley to help finish off the dish and add a pop of color.

Before you begin cooking, you'll want to make sure all of your ingredients are cleaned, chopped, and ready to go. After cleaning your mushrooms, remove the stems, and cut the mushrooms into quarters. Then, set aside.

Crush the garlic using the side of your knife, chopping, smashing, and scraping it with the knife until it forms a paste. Thinly slice up half an onion, and set it aside. Chop up the parsley leaves to finish off the dish at the end.

This is where things get a little messy. In a bowl, mix together the ground beef, egg, Parmigiano-Reggiano, breadcrumbs, garlic, Kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper until all of the ingredients are evenly worked through the beef mixture. Johnson recommends starting with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and ½ teaspoon of black pepper, but stresses that, "The amount of salt and pepper is best determined by taste. With meatballs, I always make a small test first to make sure the seasonings are right." In other words, cook up a small amount of the meat mixture to taste, and adjust as necessary before you begin cooking up batches of meatballs.

Once your meatball ingredients are well combined, form them into balls with your hands, and set them aside on a plate. Johnson recommends aiming for 1 to 1 ¼-ounce meatballs, but in case you don't have a kitchen scale handy, shoot for a size of "about a golf ball."

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat, and once it's hot, add your meatballs in a single layer. If you have too many meatballs to fit in the skillet without crowding, you may need to cook them in batches. Cook the meatballs for about four minutes, then flip them over and cook for an additional four minutes on the other side. Once the meatballs are browned on both sides, remove them from the pan, and set them aside on a plate. If you need to cook the meatballs in batches, simply repeat this process until all of your meatballs are browned.

Into the same hot skillet that you just used for the meatballs, add the onion and mushrooms, giving them a good stir or shake. Once the onions are tender, add the Worcestershire, tomato paste, and beef broth, and stir to combine. If you want to change up the flavor profile a little more, you can substitute red wine for some of the beef broth, although you'd then be straying even further from Flay's original recipe.

Once the sauce has simmered for a few minutes, add the half-and-half, and then add your meatballs back into the skillet. Spoon the sauce over the tops of the meatballs so that they're completely covered, allowing them to finish cooking in the sauce. "Taste the sauce as you go, and adjust," Johnson reminds home chefs, since this will be your last opportunity to make sure your seasonings are just right.

Once the meatballs have finished cooking in the sauce, which should take about five minutes, it's time to serve them. While these Salisbury steak meatballs are delicious on their own, Johnson recommends serving them over pasta, egg noodles, or even mashed potatoes — topped, of course, with plenty of the creamy mushroom sauce.

Top off the meatballs with a sprinkle of fresh parsley to add a dash of color and bright flavor to the finished dish. Grab a fork, and enjoy — although we wouldn't blame you if you were tempted to slurp up the sauce with a straw.

While the ingredients of both Bobby Flay's version and Johnson's are the same, Johnson's twist changes up the preparation and presentation of the dish, shaping the meat mixture into balls instead of patties, and serving it over pasta or potatoes instead of as a standalone dish. So, although the flavors are the same, the textures and eating experience will be different. Additionally, the noodles allow the Salisbury steak flavors to stretch farther, infusing not just the meatballs themselves, but the pasta that will help soak up all of the mouthwatering sauce, making sure not a drop goes to waste.