Friday, October 27, 2023

Truck Stop Food? Almost.

Disclaimer: I have never worked in the kitchen of a truck stop, even though, IMO, I would make an excellent truck stop cook. Not having that position in my resume doesn't matter much, since truck stop level of cooking is a matter of attitude, rather than opportunity. By the way, should this post potentially lead to an employment offer, I am not looking for a job, since I am both retired and lazy.


 I need to start this off by admitting that I have dined at more than a few truck stops in the past. Most of the time, the folks who wait on you and cook your meal at these places are all hard workers who understand they are there to get you fed quickly and back on the road. The places I visited were never hard to find, since most were at the top of the Interstate exit or at some state highway crossroad. For years, you could count on what you would find on their one-page-menu before ever pulling off onto the lot. The food would be hot, and heavy on carbs and protein. If you wanted breakfast at 3:00 in the afternoon, they were understanding and happy to serve any item on the menu 24/7. 

Now days, many truck stops have gone healthy (gasp!) and offer different menu options for their patrons. As I understand some even offer sushi, although I would be wary of ordering that dish from a redheaded lady names Lucille at a flat roofed, cinderblock dinery beside the highway. Understanding this, I would not feel bad about placing this recipe on any diner table, if the driver I was cooking for was not George Bush Sr. (who hated broccoli).

Here is how I would make this simple, somewhat healthy dinner:

Hamburger steak with onion gravy and steamed broccoli. 

Ingredients:

For the hamburger steak

1 pound ground beef. I used ground round to reduce the fat content.
1 Tablespoon Garlic Salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 cup breadcrumbs. I used wheat bread.
1 Tablespoon dried or chopped fresh parsley.
1 egg
1/4 of a large onion, diced.

 For the gravy

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 of a large onion, sliced.
1/4 cup AP flour
1 cup beef broth, or 1 tablespoon better than bouillon paste and 1 cup water.
1 cup water
A splash of good red wine (?) for flavor.
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
2 teaspoons garlic salt


Directions:

Make breadcrumbs and dice 1/4 of the onion. Cut the rest of the onion into slices, separate into rings and set aside.



 

In a suitable mixing bowl, combine breadcrumbs, parsley, egg, onion, parsley and ground round.





Form the ground beef mixture into two 1/2 pound portions (what I did), or four 1/4 pound patties (for smaller portions) 



Cook in a medium hot skillet with a little vegetable oil. As I said earlier, I like to form mine as half pound patties and cook them until the beef is fully done and somewhat crusty. 




Remove beef from the skillet and add AP flour, salt, and black pepper. Cook the flour to a medium dark brown.

 




Add sliced onion and continue cooking until the onion begins to brown.






 Add beef broth garlic salt, Cajun seasoning, wine (for truck drivers?), and Worcestershire sauce. Cook with continued stirring to make gravy.
 


Return hamburger steaks to the gravy, reduce heat and cook for a while. I like to cook with a lid to develop the flavor. 



Cook broccoli florets (fresh or frozen) with a little butter, a teaspoon of salt, and two Tablespoons of water in the microwave for 4 – 5 minutes until fork tender. Alternately, you can cook in a boiler of lightly salted water, and remove with a slotted spoon when tender, then add the butter over the cooked broccoli. 



Serve and enjoy. 



Optional - To make this dish really truck stop worthy, you could also make mashed potatoes or rice to add the tasty carbohydrates and starch many truck stop diners need to keep on trucking down the interstate. If you do this, make good use of the gravy, by spooning some of it over the mashed potatoes or rice. Crusty bread, or U-Brown-Em rolls would be nice, too.  

Thanks for looking at my post.

God Bless You

25 comments:

Bill Dees said...

I'm making this ASAP! It sounds and looks delicious.

Anonymous said...

I have been doing something similar for years but you have some added ingredients that I have not thought to use. Might try yours next time I do mine. Probably steam some brown rice to make use of the beautiful gravy. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Where is Bear hiding the mashed potatoes made with yogurt and cheddar, the golden color of which finishes the color and taste palate? The broccoli could be kicked up a small notch with lemon juice squeezed over, but this recipe I could serve and enjoy with few qualms of conscience, provided the "vegetable oil" was either avocado or olive.

Anonymous said...

Past time for you to put together a cook book.

Anonymous said...

Not bad, but if you used good 80/20 hamburger meat, you wouldn't need the breadcrumbs or the vegetable oil and it tastes better too. I cook my onions in the drippings before I add the flour but your way is ok. Glad to see you didn't put anything tomato in it - some people do and it's hideous.

Anonymous said...

Looks great! Thanks.

Anonymous said...

That looks divine, Mr. Bear. I make essentially the same recipe, add a little dried mustard, too, and call it Salisbury steak. I put the cooked meat patties back into the gravy for a couple of minutes to get them hot and juicy before serving. Mashed potatoes are a must to sop up the gravy.

Yum! Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Oh and potatoes are ok, but a pot of rice for that gravy is a must.

Anonymous said...

If you open a truck stop cafe, just name it the Chum Bucket. God almighty, that looks just like one of Sheldon's culinary creations.

Robert W Neill Jr, Land Broker said...

That looks great. What restaurants/truck stops/dive bars have the best hamburger steak?

Anonymous said...

That'll stick to your ribs. Been jonesin for some liver and onions

Anonymous said...

Please explain why restaurants and recipe-posters so often feature junk like broccoli as a 'side'.

It's the one vegetable that takes zero imagination, no prep time, no clever plating and is cheaper than week-old bagged cabbage.

Stuff About ZeroBear PolyBear said...

7:02

As presented, this is a keto recipe and broccoli has very few carbs. That is why we eat a lot of it at our house. Sorry, but you will see a lot of it in my presentations. Just adjust your imagination so that you see rice or mashed potatoes.

My apologies.

Stuff About ZeroBear PolyBear said...

Me again. I should also have said that, unlike President Bush #1, I actually like broccoli and eat it a lot because of that and as you said, it is easy to quickly cook and get on the plate.

My recipes. Do yours however makes you happy.

Cheers.

Stuff About ZeroBear PolyBear said...

Me again. I would like to let you know I have a tasty cabbage in a bag recipe I will post after the holidays.

Ben Waiting said...

Three posts back-to-back to express your anger? You're beginning to sound more and more like Kingfish every week.

Stuff About ZeroBear PolyBear said...

Angry?

Not me. Just Bored.

Stuff About ZeroBear PolyBear said...

And too quick hitting the submit key.

Stuff About ZeroBear PolyBear said...

This stuff happens when you are dealing with an old guy.

Stuff About ZeroBear PolyBear said...

Smile....

Anonymous said...

The only thing worse than a large gob of restaurant-plated broccoli, is asparagus as big around as your middle finger.

Why restaurants continue to pull that one on us is baffling.

Stuff About ZeroBear PolyBear said...

Sadly for you guys, I love me some Asparagus too. Next thing we will get is a Brussels Sprouts comment, quickly followed by a Collards or steamed Cabbage complaint.

Anonymous said...

Bear - I posted at 10:27. I love asparagus, properly selected and cooked. But you know as well as I know that spears as large as your middle finger are way past their prime.

Nothing much better than grilled asparagus, wrapped in bacon and gently tooth-picked, spritzed with Pam and salted with Tony's.

Anonymous said...

@7:24PM - I have a brother in law that drives for one of those big delivery companies. He swears by the Kewanee Truck Stop in Toomsuba, MS.

Stuff About ZeroBear PolyBear said...

5:29 pm - Funny, I have dined at that establishment, although it has been quite a few years (maybe 15). As I recall, they had an excellent Bacon Cheeseburger with fries and rings. I imagine it came in at about 2400 calories, but that night, I wasn't counting calories.


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