Hamburg steak
Ground beef patty that became the hamburger.
Hamburg steak is a ground beef patty. German emigrants helped spread it worldwide, and it became a common dish around the early 1800s. It is a cousin to the Salisbury steak, another ground beef dish. The Hamburg steak is seen as the forerunner of the hamburger: in the early 1900s, sellers started placing the patty between slices of bread to make a sandwich.
The German version of this dish is the Frikadelle, also called a Bulette, which dates back to the 1600s. In the late 1800s, Hamburg steak became a popular item on menus in New York’s port restaurants. This patty was made from hand-ground beef, lightly salted, often smoked, and typically served raw with onions and breadcrumbs. The earliest known English-language mention of Hamburg steak is an 1873 menu from Delmonico’s Restaurant, offering an 11-cent plate (about $2.96 today) created by American chef Charles Ranhofer. That price was high—double the cost of a simple beef steak fillet. By the end of the century, the dish gained popularity because it was easy to prepare and became cheaper. Cookbooks from the era describe it in detail. By 1887, some U.S. restaurants served it raw or lightly cooked with a raw egg, and it was also used in hospitals for patients. Many 19th-century American restaurants offered Hamburg beefsteak for breakfast. A variation, Salisbury steak, was invented by Dr. James Salisbury and has been known in the U.S. since 1897; it is usually served with a brown gravy.
By 1930, Hamburg steaks were commonly eaten as a sandwich called a hamburger, and the meat portion became known as a patty. The term "hamburger" was often shortened to "burger," which is now used as a suffix for variants like cheeseburger, chickenburger, porkburger, baconburger, and mooseburger.
To prepare Hamburg steak, finely ground beef is mixed with seasonings, egg, breadcrumb, onion, and milk, then shaped into patties and fried, roasted, or smoked.
The dish appears in Escoffier’s list of classic haute cuisine dishes.
In Japan, Hamburg steak (hanbāgu) is a popular dish made from ground meat—often a mix of pork and beef—with finely chopped onion, egg, and breadcrumbs, flavored with spices, and shaped into a flat oval about 4 cm thick and 10–15 cm wide. Many restaurants specialize in it, with variations like cheese-topped, Japanese curry, or Italian-style (with tomato sauce instead of demi-glace). If only beef is used, re
- field
- Culinary dish
- known_for
- Origin of the hamburger; a patty of ground beef
- earliest_known_reference
- 1873 Delmonico's Restaurant menu
- related_dish
- Salisbury steak
Lore & Background
The German equivalent of the Hamburg steak is the Frikadelle, also known as a Bulette, which is known to have existed in the 17th century. In the late 19th century, the Hamburg steak became popular on the menus of many restaurants in the port of New York. This kind of fillet was beef ground by hand, lightly salted, often smoked, and usually served raw in a dish along with onions and bread crumbs. The oldest document that refers to the Hamburg steak in English is a Delmonico's Restaurant menu from 1873 that offered customers an 11-cent plate of Hamburg steak that had been developed by American chef Charles Ranhofer. This price was high for the time, twice the price of a simple fillet of beef steak. By the end of the century, the Hamburg steak was gaining popularity because of its ease of preparation and decreasing cost. Documents show that this preparation style was used by 1887 in some US restaurants and was also used for feeding patients in hospitals; the Hamburg steak was served raw or lightly cooked and was accompanied by a raw egg.
By 1930, Hamburg steaks were usually served as part of a sandwich known as a hamburger; the meat part of the sandwich became known as a patty. The term 'hamburger' has, in turn often been shortened to simply 'burger'. 'Burger' is now commonly used as a suffix to create new words for different variants of the hamburger, including cheeseburger, chickenburger, porkburger, baconburger, and mooseburger. Hamburg steak is listed by Escoffier as a classic dish in haute cuisine.
Reader's Guide
Hamburg steak holds significance as the direct precursor to the hamburger, one of the most widespread foods globally. Its evolution from a raw, smoked dish served in New York restaurants to a cooked patty in a sandwich illustrates a major shift in food culture. The dish also demonstrates how German culinary traditions, through migration, influenced American and then global cuisine. Its legacy includes the creation of the term 'burger' as a suffix for countless variations. In Japan, Hamburg steak (hanbāgu) became a staple dish during the 1960s, often made with a mix of pork and beef, and is now a common item in bento boxes and fast-food restaurants. In Hawaii, it is similar to the Japanese version and served with gravy, macaroni salad, and rice. In the Philippines, Jollibee serves it as 'burger steaks' with gravy and mushrooms. In Australia, it is called a Rissole, and in Denmark, hakkebøf. The dish's adaptability and affordability have ensured its lasting presence in many cuisines worldwide.
Did You Know?
- The oldest document referring to Hamburg steak in English is a Delmonico's Restaurant menu from 1873.
- By 1930, Hamburg steaks were usually served as part of a sandwich known as a hamburger.
- In Japan, Hamburg steak is often made from a mixture of ground pork and ground beef, called aibikiniku.
- Hamburg steak is listed by Escoffier as a classic dish in haute cuisine.
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