Old-Time Hamburger Steak with Grandpa's Gravy

You know, when I was growing up, hamburger steak was one of those simple suppers that showed up on the table a lot. Nothing fancy, just good seasoned hamburger steak and plenty of rich brown gravy. But Grandpa's gravy always was a little different. That's because he used one ingredient we all thought was pretty strange, but I'll tell you what, it sure worked. Today we're bringing back those old-fashioned hamburger steak flavors, along with Grandpa's gravy and his little secret. So let's get started. Okie dokie, the first thing we're going to do is get a pound of ground beef into a bowl. Season things up with a little bit of salt, I guess about a teaspoon, something like that. And a good heaping of ground black pepper. Oh, I don't know, a good heaping teaspoon of that because I love ground black pepper. A teaspoon of something I always use, Italian seasoning. It's got just about everything in it. A couple of teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce, that depth of flavor. Follow that up with another couple of teaspoons of good old ketchup. You can use barbecue sauce too, I just like ketchup, it's always handy. A bit of onion powder, I guess half a teaspoon, a teaspoon of that. A teaspoon of the good old garlic powder. And last but not least, an egg to fold everything together. Then we shall use our hands. Some people use gloves, but I'm not going to use gloves. I'm just going to wash my hands afterwards. And we're just going to massage this into the meat until everything combines nicely. Now we've got a nice uniform round ball, everything mixed together nicely. What I'm going to do here is grab up about a third of that, and I'm going to form it into a nice hamburger patty. I find with a pound of ground beef, you can usually get about three good sized patties. I'm going to stretch four out, but they're a little small, so three is perfect for me. Just like that. Doesn't that look great? And we'll just set this aside on a plate. Next up, I've got the old cast iron pan heated up over medium-high heat. So I'm going to go in with a bit of oil. Then in we go with those wonderful, wonderful patties. And we're just going to fry these up for a few minutes on each side until they're basically cooked through. And a lot of people say to me, Dave, when you're using ground beef, you don't need oil. Well, I usually don't. But with hamburger patties or patties of any kind, I do. Cast iron absorbs a lot, and sometimes they stick, and I don't want them falling apart. But it's up to you. But just look at these patties sizzling away, guys. Oh, they are so good. And this is what I usually use for, you know, for hamburgers, cheeseburgers, whatever. So you can just, this recipe is very versatile, so you can just use it anywhere. Okay, these patties are doing well. So what I'm going to do is give them a flip over and just look at that. Oh, yes, I love it. Now, my friends, judging by my bounce back test, I think these burgers are pretty much done. And so what we're going to do, and they're looking wonderful, is pull them out and set them aside on a plate to rest. And I do have to mention that these patties have shrunk a little bit because, well, patties always do. So that's why I said only make three, because four, you just would end up with meatballs with a pound of ground beef. But again, it's up to you. And I have to say, this pan is just about perfect for gravy with the drips and drops. So in we go with a tablespoon, a couple of tablespoons, actually, of butter. And we'll just go ahead and let this melt down. Looking good. Now that butter is melted down, I'm going to add in two tablespoons of all-purpose flour. And I'm just going to whisk this around until a bit of a roux forms here. I think this is going to be super, super good gravy. Just by the look of it right now, those drops and bits from the hamburger steaks. Now slowly pour in a cup and a half of good, rich beef broth. And just whisk as we go here. Oh, look at this, guys. And again, I've reduced the heat to medium-low here. And look at that gravy starting to form. This pan is just about totally deglazed here. Oh my goodness. And look at this. We're beginning to bubble and thicken here a little bit. So what we're going to do is season this with a little touch more Worcestershire sauce for that little depth of flavor. A little more ground black pepper. And now, and only now, we're going to do good old Grandpa's secret. Two tablespoons, believe it or not, of black coffee. And we'll just give this a stir around. And you know what? You might say, black coffee? I've never heard of that in gravy before. Well, never had I heard of it before until Grandpa did it. And I think what he did is actually spilled some coffee in the gravy. But you know what? When we ate it at the table, we thought, this is good gravy. And I think it does really make a difference. It adds that nice richness. Give it a try and let me know what you think in the comments section. And before I throw those steaks back in, what I think I'm going to do, I'm going to add a bit more garlic powder. Just a little dusting because I love garlic. Add a stir around. Now, here we go, my friends. I'm going to go back in with those hamburger steaks. Just something like that. And I'm going to grab up my spoon. And over the top of the steaks, we go with Grandpa's good old gravy. Just look at this. Doesn't this look absolutely fantastic? So, let's reduce the heat a little bit to low. Slip a lid on. And we're going to let this cook away. Oh, I don't know, for about 8 to 10 minutes. Just enough simmer. After about 8 minutes, we are pretty much done. And just look at this. The wonderful gravy. Those steak, hamburger steak patties. Oh, my goodness. And there you have it, my friends. Our old time hamburger steak with Grandpa's gravy. You are simply, simply going to love this. And to be all fancy, Grandpa never did this, but I'm going to garnish this up with a little bit of parsley just to make it look all kinds of fancy and green like. Doesn't that look good? Now, that's what you would call an old time hamburger steak with Grandpa's gravy. That's got to be it. And I bet you, it is so good. Okay, my friends, let's cut into this and see what we have. This is going to look incredibly good. Let's get some of that gravy on there. Now, look. Oh, but just look at this. Doesn't this look fantastic? To me, those hamburger steaks are done so perfectly. And that gravy looks so rich and yummy. I don't know. Is this just as good as the T-bone? You can let me know. Now, what I think here, guys, before we do the taste test or during the taste test, I got to do two independent taste tests. First of all, I have to taste that gravy. It is absolutely incredible. I think I really think that coffee does make a difference. It just adds that extra richness to the gravy, but it is so, so good. I mean, you can serve this up over mashed or whatever you like. But anyway, let's go ahead and grab up some of that hamburger steak, a good chunk of it and see what that's like. Oh, my goodness, guys, it's juicy and the flavors in there are just incredible from that seasoning and stuff we added and mixed with that gravy. Like I say, you could put this over mashed rice or just eat it as is. But it is so, so good. You definitely have to make this up. And if you do, leave us a comment. Love to read them. Most of all, like and subscribe helps the channel out. Thanks for watching, guys. Stay safe, but definitely make this up. I'm still tasting. It is so good.