Instant Pot Amish Poor Man’s Steak

Instant Pot Amish Poor Man’s Steak–This traditional recipe has been enjoyed by Amish families for years, but step into the modern kitchen and you can make hamburger steaks and mushroom gravy with your electric pressure cooker.

Note: you can also make this in the slow cooker or in your stove/oven. Scroll to the recipe card to see how.

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Instant Pot Amish Poor Man’s Steak

Even though the title of this recipe doesn’t make it sound that appetizing, Instant Pot Amish Poor Man’s Steak is quite delicious. Poor man’s steak is also known as hamburger steak. The recipe is made with patties of ground beef, seasonings, crackers crumbs and then smothered in a mushroom gravy. A good steak is expensive so making your “steak” with ground beef can be much cheaper. With one pound of ground beef you can make enough for 4-6 servings.

My version of this high protein recipe is adapted from a recipe on All Recipes. The original author stated, “First had this dish at an Amish church in rural Ohio. I will never forget the delicious smell of that church kitchen! After a little questioning, a kind woman gave me the recipe. Great for a plan-ahead meal.” This recipe asks for a chilling time in the refrigerator so it’s perfect to make the night before or the morning of your dinner. It will come together quickly after that initial chilling time.

POOR MAN’S STEAK INGREDIENTS

This recipe calls for basic, pantry ingredients. I had everything I needed at home!

• 1 pound ground beef–85/15 works well. It has enough fat for flavor but not too much to get excessively greasy
• 1/3 cup milk–I used 1% but feel free to whole milk
• 1 cup crushed saltine crackers–another choice is to use panko bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp dried minced onions–you can also mince fresh onion (about 1/3 cup should do) or if you’re in a pinch use 1 tsp on onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder–for flavor
• 1 tsp black pepper–for flavor
• 1 tsp seasoned salt–for flavor, I used Lawry’s brand. You can also use 1 teaspoon salt if you’re in a pinch.
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce–for flavor
• 2 cups chicken or beef broth–to bring the pot to pressure and for the gravy
• 1 (13.5 oz) can cream of mushroom soup–you can use any cream of soup you like. Cream of chicken or cream of celery are good choices. You can also make homemade cream of mushroom soup if you’d like.

How to make poor man’s hamburger steaks in the Instant Pot:

1. Make the ground beef mixture and chill: In a large bowl mix ground beef, milk, saltines, onions, garlic powder pepper, seasoned salt and Worcestershire well with clean hands (I like to use disposable kitchen gloves*). Shape mixture into a narrow loaf and place onto a plate. Cover (with plastic wrap or foil) and refrigerate for 8 hours (or longer) or freeze for 1 hour. (This is a great prep ahead recipe! Make the morning of or the night before).
2. Cut into slices: Cut loaf into 1 inch thick slices. I used a serrated bread knife to saw and cut the slices.  
3. Sear: Turn Instant Pot to saute setting (more). When display says HOT sear the slices until browned, about 2-3 minutes per side. Insides will still be pink. You may have to work in batches for this step.
4. Deglaze: Move steaks out of pot. Pour in the broth and scrape bottom of pot so that nothing is sticking. Place the steaks back into the pot. 
5. Pressure cook: Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set manual/pressure cook button to 5 minutes on LOW pressure (low pressure will help the steaks stay intact. If you can’t adjust your pot to low pressure then 4 minutes on high pressure will be fine.) When time is up perform a quick release or let the pot sit until you are ready to serve. 
6. Make the gravy: Move steaks to a platter. Stir the cream of mushroom soup into the Instant Pot. Turn to saute setting and whisk well. Heat through. You can thin out the gravy with some milk if you’d like. 
7. Serve: Serve the gravy over the steaks. Garnish the top of the patties with chopped parsley, if desired. Eat and enjoy! This meat and gravy tastes great served over mashed potatoes!

How to make poor man’s hamburger steaks in the stove/oven or slow cooker:

If you’d rather you can make amish hamburger steaks on the stove and oven or the crockpot. Here’s how:

1. Make the ground beef mixture and chill: In a large bowl add the ground beef, milk, saltine cracker crumbs, onions, pepper, seasoned salt and Worcestershire. Mix well with clean hands. Shape mixture into a narrow loaf and place onto a plate. Cover (with plastic wrap or aluminum foil) and refrigerate for 8 hours (or longer) or freeze for 1 hour. (This is a great prep ahead recipe! Make the morning of or the night before).
2. Cut into slices: Cut loaf into 1 inch thick slices. I used a serrated bread knife to saw and cut the slices.
3. Brown: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cut loaf into 1-inch-thick slices and sear patties in the hot skillet until browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Insides will still be pink. Arrange browned patties in a roasting pan or in a slow cooker. Spread mushroom soup over steaks.
4. Bake: Bake steaks in the preheated oven until mushroom soup is bubbling and meat is no longer pink inside, about 1 hour or in the slow cooker for 6 hours on low. Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired.

Tips and questions

• Ground beef, ground pork or ground turkey will all work well for this recipe. Or you can use a combination.
• Don’t have any saltines? Try using panko bread crumbs instead.
• Try serving this steak and gravy with homemade mashed potatoes, fresh green beans and biscuits with honey butter for a perfect Sunday meal!
• If you don’t like to use canned soups you can try making your own condensed cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup
• Store leftovers in an airtight container* for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• I used my 6 quart Instant Pot* but this recipe can also be made in the 8 quart Instant Pot.
• Other versions of this recipe dredge the patties in flour but I don’t feel I missed out by not doing this step!
• For a lower sodium version: use low sodium broth, low salt cream of mushroom soup and cut the seasoned salt in half. To lower the amount of cholesterol use extra lean ground beef or ground turkey.

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Click here for all the Instant Pot beef recipes

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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.