Praising Dr. James Salisbury

James Henry Salisbury, M.D. (January 12, 1823 – September 23, 1905) was a 19th-century American physician, and the inventor of the Salisbury steak.

“The Salisbury steak, his means of achieving this goal, is ground beef flavored with onion and seasoning and then deep-fried or boiled and covered with gravy or brown sauce. It was introduced in 1888. Salisbury saw beef as an excellent defense against many different physical problems. He suggested that Salisbury steak should be eaten three times a day, with lots of hot water to cleanse the digestive system. He was an early American proponent of a low-carbohydrate diet for weight loss, and he promoted his diet for that purpose. His diet became known as the “Salisbury diet”.”

Doc Salisbury did something right since he lived to be 82-years-old. May the creator of that incredibly tasty wonderful treat rest peacefully.

 

There should be a bronze plaque there declaring that “Here lies the creator of the Salisbury steak.

 

A pic upon the Web memorializes Doc Salisbury’s creation. It is repeated here to assist in easing access for folks to see the fine fellow with his wonderful creation alongside his visage:

Looks like a pretty hip dude. Surely fun to party with.

 

Find-a-Grave Dr James Henry Salisbury

 

Salisbury Steak: Civil War Health Food

The link above leads to what may be the definitive article about Doc and his creation.

“Dr. Salisbury, like many people before and since, believed that food was the key to health and that certain foods could cure illness, especially of the intestinal variety. He tested his theories during the Civil War, treating chronic diarrhea among Union soldiers with a diet of chopped-up meat and little else. After 30 years of research he finally published his ideas, setting off one of the earliest American fad diets.”

 

The Relation of Alimentation and Disease  1888

 

Folks, you can read on-line or download Doc Salisbury’s book that advises us to dine sumptuously and constantly upon Salisbury steak. Use the link above. Thank you, Google Books for your efforts to place hard-to-find tomes upon the Web for the masses to access and peruse.

Ease of preparation is one good aspect of the Salisbury steak. Some folks seek a preprepared Salisbury needing only heating to eat. TV dinners is one common source for these:

 

 

Look around the grocery store and you will surely find one or more Salisbury steak offerings ready to be heated in the microwave or oven then gulped down. I admit to having this in my freezer:

 

The stuff was on sale, $2 off so in the cart it went. For the curious here is what the USA federal government requires in regard to preparing those Banquet (and other firms) Salisbury steaks:

“The USDA standards[3] for processed, packaged “Salisbury steak” require a minimum content of 65% meat, of which up to 25% can be pork, except if de-fatted beef or pork is used, the limit is 12% combined. No more than 30% may be fat. Meat byproducts are not permitted; however, beef heart meat is allowed. Extender (bread crumbs, flour, oat flakes, etc.) content is limited to 12%, except isolated soy protein at 6.8% is considered equivalent to 12% of the others. The remainder consists of seasonings, fungi or vegetables (onion, bell pepper, mushroom or the like), binders (can include egg) and liquids (such as water, milk, cream, skim milk, buttermilk, brine, vinegar etc.). The product must be fully cooked, or else labeled “Patties for Salisbury Steak”.”

Standards of identity (for packaged product)

Uhhhhh….  nothing there that compels me to avoid the heat-and-eat stuff but my resolve to make my own Salisbury steak using store-bought burger has increases. Sorry, Banquet. Nothing personal but you know how it is.

I used to eat the budget brand semi-regularly but after reading the Wiki information On-Cor will be a thing of the past.

 

The Web is swarming with recipes for anything and everything. To conclude this awesome article here is one person’s article about the Doc and the Salisbury steak with a recipe so simple even I could struggle through the morass and create a concoction at least semi-similar to the intended outcome.

 

“As a 19th century “doctor”, he identified horrible problems (disease, death) and wanted to do something about it.  That is noble.  What is not, however, was his idea. He concluded that horrible, premature death was caused not by poor sanitation and inadequate diets of most residents of the 19th century, but rather by vegetables and starches , which had safely nourished humanity since something like the dawn of man. What he prescribed in its place?  Ground beef mixed with onions and topped with gravy.  The recommended dosage of this fine feast?  3 meals a day. Think of him as the pre-Atkins Atkins, the forbearer of horrible fad diets, and inventor of the Salisbury steak. There are some great historical web entries that detail his idiocy, yet somehow, even though his methods have been completely disproved, the Salisbury steak has stuck in there.”

School Days Thursday: The Mystery of Salisbury Steak

 

Well, the author at that site is not enamored with the Doc but they seem to think their method of creating a Salisbury steak results in a mighty-fine meal. Maybe it will work for you. As I said… there’s a horde of recipes out there so use one you already have or grab one from the Web or invent your own concoction. Whatever you do when you eat your Salisbury raise your fork in respect to the Doc who brought us a yummy delight that is easy to make and sure goes good with mashed potatoes!!!

Click on any pic below to open the nifty slide show. You can leave a comment for each pic. Click on the pic to advance the frame or use the arrows on the sides. Click on the black area or the X in the upper right corner to return here. Well, it’s supposed to work that way. Let’s find out!!!

 

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