Emergency Steak

T-bone shaped seasoned ground beef with Wheaties

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City/Region: United States of America

Time Period: 1943

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Rationing didn’t begin in the United States until May 1942, and in order to buy certain foods, you used a combination of stamps and money. Better cuts of meat required more stamps, so there came a slew of recipes that either replaced meat, or made lesser cuts seem like better ones, like this recipe. 

This “emergency steak” is actually very nice. It’s essentially a kind of meatloaf, and is surprisingly flavorful given the scant ingredient list. Is it like a T-bone steak? No. Is it tasty? Yes.

“Emergency Steak
(1 lb.—serves 6)
Mix…..
1 lb. ground beef or hamburger
1/2 cup milk
1 cup WHEATIES
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. chopped onion
Place on pan, pat into T-bone steak shape, 1 in. thick. Broil 8 to 15 min. at 500° (very hot). Turn once.
Meats…7”

— Your Share by Betty Crocker (General Mills), 1943

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Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped onion
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup Wheaties cereal, lightly crushed

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven’s broiler to 500°F (260°C).
2. In a large bowl, lightly mix the salt and pepper into the ground beef.
3. Add the chopped onion and mix.
4. Add the crushed Wheaties and mix.
5. Add the milk and mix. This might take a minute or so, but it will come together.
6. Place the mixture on a lined baking sheet and make it into a T-bone steak shape that is 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick.
7. Broil the steak for 8 minutes, then take it out and flip it. Since the steak is rather delicate, the best way I found to do it was to use oven mitts to invert another lined pan over the steak, flip the whole thing over, then remove the original pan (which is now on top).
8. Return the steak to the broiler for another 8 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160°F (71°C).
9. Serve it forth with your favorite steak sauce, though it really is tasty enough on its own.

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