What happens when you have a craving for Salisbury Steak, but the only ground meat you have is already frozen in the form of hamburger patties?  It’s simple.  You use those frozen hamburgers to make Salisbury Fake.  Granted, other people might call these smothered burgers, but in my kitchen, they’re Salisbury Fake.    The entire process is really rather simple.

You being by browning the burgers in a skillet.  We used four burgers, but this recipe could be made using 6 burger patties, too.  Season each burger patties with 1/4 teaspoon of garlic salt, 1/4 teaspoon onion powder, and 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper.    Then sprinkle 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce onto each patty, too.  Once the exterior of the burgers is browned nicely, remove them from the pan.    You may want to drain off some of the grease.  You really only need 2-3 tablespoons for the next step, but you can leave all of the grease in the pan.  It’s up to you.

To the pan drippings that remain, add 1 medium onion, halved and then sliced, and a 4 ounce package of mushrooms that have been sliced.  Saute for a few minutes until onions begin to become soft and translucent.  Return  the burgers to the pan and scoop the vegetables onto the top of the burgers.  Add a can of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup and 1/4 to 1/2 can of water depending upon how much liquid is in the pan.

Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.  This allows the burgers to finish cooking and for all of the flavors to combine.    These are surprisingly delicious and go great either over noodles or rice, but we had them this time with a side of Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes.    They were delicious.  

Here’s the recipe.  Give it a try and let us know what you think.    Thanks for visiting Patty Cake’s Pantry.