The cows always say, “Eat more chikin.” The fact is we eat a lot of both beef and chicken. Both run about even in the energy, nutrient, and protein categories but the overall winner is chicken by a neck.
All of that doesn’t mean much if you are craving a hamburger, ground beef casserole, Beef Stroganoff, or hamburger steak with gravy and onions as we were last night.
Where’s the beef?
Beef is a staple of American mealtime. Nutritious. Delicious. It is Americana on a plate.
- There are more than 800,000 ranchers and cattle producers in the U.S.
- As of Jan. 1, 2020, there were 94.4 million head of cattle in the U.S. herd. That’s more than the populations of California, Texas, Florida and Mississippi combined.
- U.S. farmers and ranchers produce 18% of the world’s beef with only 8% of the world’s cattle.
- The most popular beef products include ground beef, ribeye steak, strip steak and t-bone steak.
- Beef is one of the most important dietary sources of iron. You’d have to eat three cups of raw spinach in order to get the same amount of iron in one 3-ounce serving of beef.
- It’s also a source for other nutrients our bodies need, including protein, B vitamins, zinc, selenium, niacin, phosphorus, riboflavin and choline.
Beef, it’s what’s for dinner
Every day, 76 million Americans eat beef. We consume, on average, 112 pounds of beef per year. Wow! Now that we have established that we love beef, here is a recipe that you might like to serve at your family’s dinner table.
Usually any recipe with gravy I leave up to my husband to prepare, the so called Gravy King at our house, but I have come up with a recipe for this dish which has proven to be a winner.
Ingredients
1/2 lb of ground beef (more or less depending on how many you are feeding)
1 egg
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbls oil
2 Tbls flour
1 cup beef broth
1 Tbls red wine
1 cup onion, sliced
Directions
In cast iron skillet add oil and sliced onions. Cook on low heat until onions are tender and begin to brown slightly.
Mix ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, wine, Worcestershire sauce and seasonings in bowl. Make patties.
Scrape onions to side and add beef patties to skillet. As patties begin to brown, flip and spread onions over patties. Cook about 4 minutes on both sides.
In separate bowl, whisk beef broth and flour until lumps are dissolved.
Add mixture to beef patties and onions and simmer until gravy thickens, about 10 minutes.
I served the hamburger steak with onions and gravy with leftover creamed corn, fried okra, and fresh sliced tomatoes. (In case you are wondering, this was my husband’s plate. He always puts a blob of mayo and pepper on his sliced tomatoes.)
This recipe is also delicious with mashed potatoes or rice. Enjoy!
