Beef patties in gravy are a wonderful comfort food dish. The flavors can be modified for your tastes. This dish is fairly simple to prepare, but delicious. I made it Gluten-free and it turned out perfect. I serve this over rice to soak up the gravy. A nice side salad and a vegetable, make a great balanced meal.
Grass-fed Ground beef
Every year we purchase freezer beef from a local farmer. We usually run out of ground beef first, so I will buy 10-20 pounds at a time from a farmer at the local farmers market when we need more. We only use grass-fed ground beef. It is quite lean. The flavor and texture of grass-fed, local ground beef, in my opinion, is far superior to other ground beef. There are many health benefits to eating grass-fed beef vs conventionally raised beef. Studies have found that Grass-fed beef has less saturated fat, more Omega-3 fatty acids, higher levels of B vitamins, selenium, iron, and zinc, than conventionally raised beef. https://www.webmd.com/diet/grass-fed-beef-good-for-you#1
Making the beef patties
I make sure to use a large cast-iron skillet for this dish. Cast iron is great for browning and for simmering as it holds the heat well. I have several cast-iron skillets, for this dish I used a 12-inch skillet.
Mix the beef with the spices and ingredients for the patties and then form them with your hands. I form them into an oval shape, but it really can be round or any patty shape you want. You will have to brown them in batches. I browned both sides of the patties, but do not cook them all the way through, at this point. I get a clean plate and put the browned patties on them as I remove them from the pan and do the next batch. After I finish browning all the patties, I start making the gravy. I finish the gravy and I carefully place the patties back into the pan and dump any juices that accumulated on the plate, back into the pan.
Making the gravy
Since the grass-fed ground beef we get is so lean, I add butter to the skillet to make the roux.
When making the gravy, after browning the beef patties, I will add the flour and butter and mix it till the flour is browned and the mixture is thick. If the flour isn’t all moist from the fat, you need more fat. You can use the leftover fat from browning your beef, bacon fat, butter, or any fat of your choice. I make sure I scrape all the fond (the particles left in the pan from browning the meat) off the bottom of the pan as I make the roux, they are amazing flavor enhancers.
I add the beef bone broth to the roux slowly and whisk or stir it in. I sometimes find the gravy isn’t quite as thick as I want it to be after the bone broth is all incorporated, so sometimes I may add a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with a bit of water to thicken the gravy more.
Once the gravy is boiling, I turn it down to medium-low and nestle the patties back into the pan. I sprinkle the sliced onions over it and cover to simmer till the beef is fully cooked and the onions are cooked and translucent.
The last time I made this dish, we had a couple of slices of leftover bacon in the fridge. I cut them into pieces and sprinkled them over the top with the onions. It gave it a nice smoky flavor.
My family likes it over rice or mashed potatoes. I like it just as much over cauliflower rice too! The leftovers never last long in my house.
Beef Patties in Gravy
Course: Main, BeefDifficulty: Medium6
servings40
minutes30
minutesIngredients
2 pounds grass-fed ground beef
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
2 teaspoons dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce (gluten-free)
4 cups beef bone broth (can use more if needed or add a bit of water)
1/4-1/3 cup gluten-free flour of choice (I used brown rice)
2-4 Tablespoons butter, as needed for roux
1 medium onion, diced or sliced thin
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Mix ground beef with spices, egg, and Worcestershire sauce. Make sure it is mixed well, and then form the mixture into oval patties.
- Brown beef patties in cast iron skillet till browned on both sides. The patties will not be cooked through, that is ok. May need to brown in batches, just put browned patties on a plate while you cook the next batch.
- Remove browned patties to a plate and set them aside. Add butter (if not enough fat in the pan) and flour to pan and mix well, stir constantly as you scrape the fond off the bottom of the pan. Stir till the flour and butter mixture is golden brown and is slightly thickened.
- Slowly whisk the beef broth into a roux, making sure to mix it well so there are no lumps. Once all the broth is added, whisk it frequently until it comes to a boil and thickens into gravy consistency (if it isn’t thick enough when it is boiling, reduce heat and add a bit of cornstarch mixed with water to mixture and whisk in, allow to come back to boil to see if it thickens to the right consistency.) Salt and pepper gravy to taste.
- Once the broth is boiling, reduce heat to medium-low so it is at a simmer. Nestle the browned meat patties into the gravy, scatter the onions over the top, and cover with a lid. Allow it to simmer till meat is cooked through and onions are translucent and soft. This usually takes about 20-30 minutes but could take longer.
- Serve it over rice, mashed potatoes, or cauliflower rice.