Hamburger Steak with Onion Gravy

Hamburger steaks with a dark brown beef onion gravy in a cast iron skillet.

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Seasoned Hamburger Steaks made with 80/20 ground chuck and finished in a rich homemade onion gravy made with beef stock, rendered beef fat, onions, and Worcestershire sauce.

Prep Time10

Cook Time35

Total Time45

Course: Dinner, Main

Cuisine: American, Southern, Southern Comfort

Servings: Servings

Calories: 414kcal

Author: Jeremy Klae

Equipment

1 Cast Iron Skillet

Ingredients

For the Burgers

2 ¼ lbs Ground Chuck 80/20
1 Packet Lipton Beefy Onion Soup Mix
4 Tbsps A1 Steak Sauce
1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet Browning

For the Gravy

1 Large White Onion cut in half then sliced
1 tablespoon Fresh Minced Garlic
2 Cups Beef Stock
3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 tablespoon Rendered Beef Fat from Burgers
¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet Browning
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

Add the ground beef to a mixing bowl along with a teaspoon of the browning sauce, A1 Steak Sauce, and Beefy Onion Soup Mix.
Gently work everything together just until the seasonings are evenly distributed.
Form the beef into thick, oval-shaped patties and set them aside.
Cut the onion in half and slice it into thin strips then set the onions aside.
Heat a large 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.
Once the skillet is hot, add the hamburger steaks and leave them alone for about five to six minutes.
Flip the hamburger steaks and cook them for about another five minutes on the other side.
Remove the hamburger steaks from the skillet and set them aside.
Drain off some of the excess fat, leaving about three tablespoons in the skillet.
Add the sliced onions directly to the skillet and cook them until they begin to soften, stirring them around so they start picking up some of that flavor left behind by the beef.
Once the onions have softened slightly, stir in the fresh minced garlic and cook until aromatic.
Now add the remaining browning sauce along with the Worcestershire sauce and continue cooking until the onions have completely softened.
Stir the flour directly into the onions and rendered beef fat and make sure the flour is completely incorporated and you don’t see any dry white flour remaining.
Slowly pour in the beef stock while continuously stirring and scraping the bottom to get all that flavor into the gravy.
Once the gravy has come together and thickened, return the hamburger steaks to the skillet, nestling them right down into the onion gravy.
Cover the skillet, reduce the heat, and let everything simmer together for about another 10 minutes, or until the hamburger steaks reach an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

Video

Notes

Use 80/20 ground chuck. The fat isn’t just there to keep the hamburger steaks juicy. You’re also using three tablespoons of the rendered beef fat to make the gravy, so lean ground beef isn’t ideal for this particular recipe.

Don’t throw away those pan drippings. The rendered fat and browned bits left behind after searing the patties contain a ton of flavor. Building the gravy in the same skillet takes advantage of all of it.

Don’t overwork the beef. Mix the seasonings into the ground chuck just until they’re incorporated. Working ground beef too aggressively can give your hamburger steaks a denser texture.

Cook the flour before adding the stock. Giving the flour a chance to cook in the rendered beef fat helps eliminate that raw-flour flavor and creates the base for a smooth gravy.

Add the beef stock gradually. Stirring while slowly adding the stock makes it easier to incorporate the liquid into the roux without creating lumps.

Finish the patties in the gravy. Searing develops the browned exterior, but returning the hamburger steaks to the skillet allows them to finish cooking surrounded by that onion gravy.

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