Bobby Flay Suggests Upgrading This Key Ingredient In Salisbury Steak

Salisbury steak is all about three central ingredients. There's the meat — typically a cross between a hamburger and meatloaf — the sauce, and, of course, the mushrooms, and it's this latter ingredient that celebrity chef Bobby Flay wants to upgrade. While Flay is all about the traditional flavors of Salisbury steak, he has one simple suggestion for improving your mushrooms. Rather than use any specific kind of mushroom, Flay suggests putting your own spin on tradition and using whatever variation of mushroom most appeals to you.

In a video shared by CBS News, Flay pinpoints the funghi as a standard — yet flexible — Salisbury steak ingredient. Originally, circa the 60s and 70s, Flay says the dish was made with domestic button mushrooms that were easily found in your average supermarket. However, tradition is meant to be toyed with and Flay suggests experimenting with your favorite mushrooms. "[Use] whatever you like," he said in the video. "Pick the mushroom that you like the most."

Of course, if that much choice sounds daunting, there are a few staple mushrooms you can keep in your steak-making wheelhouse. You can't go wrong with any variety, though Flay pinpoints a few particular suggestions.

When it comes to choosing mushrooms, the world — the grocery store — is your oyster, and oyster mushrooms can do the job in this dish. Flay's recipe calls for 12 cremini mushrooms, stemmed and cut into quarters. In fact, many recipes suggest utilizing cremini mushrooms, which, once sliced, take about five minutes to cook.

If you'd rather a different mushroom, Flay points to shiitake and portobello mushrooms as two potential options for your next Salisbury steak. Portobello mushrooms are similar to cremini mushrooms in flavor; they're just an older mushroom, so they look different in appearance and size. In fact, many mushrooms are fairly similar in flavor, so the choice truly belongs to you and your own, personal preferences. "Now that we have such an array of mushrooms available to us, why not, sort of, upscale if you want?" asks Flay. 

We couldn't agree more. Once you cook your favorite mushrooms, add some tomato paste and half-and-half to your Salisbury steak sauce. What's better than a thick and creamy sauce that covers both steak and mushrooms?