Description
Hearty Amish wedding steak serves as a delightful centerpiece for family gatherings with rich, savory flavors. Comfort meets tradition in this simple yet satisfying Pennsylvania Dutch classic that connects generations around the dinner table.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 lbs (907 g) round steak, tenderized, or ground beef
- 2 cups soda cracker crumbs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (for dredging)
- 2 cups milk
- 1 can (10.5 oz / 298 g) cream of mushroom soup
- 1 can (10.5 oz / 298 g) water
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 can mushrooms (optional; fresh or canned)
Instructions
- Mixture Preparation: Combine ground beef, cracker crumbs, milk, onion, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl, blending thoroughly until uniformly mixed.
- Chilling Phase: Press meat mixture into a square cake pan, compacting evenly. Refrigerate overnight to intensify flavor profile and solidify texture.
- Preparation and Coating: Remove from refrigerator and slice meat into individual portions. Delicately dust each segment with all-purpose flour, ensuring complete coverage.
- Searing and Browning: Melt butter in a skillet and carefully sear meat pieces, achieving a golden-brown crust on both sides. Transfer browned segments to a baking dish.
- Gravy Creation: Whisk cream of mushroom soup with water and optional mushrooms until smooth, creating a rich, velvety sauce.
- Baking Process: Pour gravy over meat pieces, ensuring full coverage. Shield baking dish with aluminum foil and roast in a preheated 350F oven for 90 minutes until meat becomes supremely tender.
- Serving Suggestion: Remove from oven, allow brief resting period. Plate alongside creamy mashed potatoes or buttered noodles, letting the sumptuous gravy cascade over the accompaniments.
Notes
- Meat Mixing Technique: Blend ingredients thoroughly but avoid overmixing to prevent tough texture, using gentle folding motions for even distribution.
- Overnight Chilling Strategy: Refrigeration allows flavors to meld and meat mixture to firm up, creating better structural integrity and enhanced taste profile.
- Flour Coating Precision: Ensure even, light flour dusting by using a fine-mesh sieve or shaking in a sealed plastic bag to achieve uniform golden-brown crust.
- Gravy Consistency Control: Adjust water quantity to achieve desired thickness, potentially adding beef broth for deeper flavor complexity if cream of mushroom soup seems too dense.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 9
- Calories: 360
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 36 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 23 g
- Cholesterol: 60 mg