Chicken-Fried Salisbury Steak

For the Salisbury steak:
Combine ground meat with onions, garlic, salt, pepper, parsley, red wine, and Worcestershire sauce in a large bowl. Use your hands to mix in beaten eggs, then mix in the panko crumbs. Mixture should be wet, but should form patties when pressed.

Roll 1/3 cup of the mixture into a tight ball, then press it into a patty and place on a plate. Repeat with remaining meat mixture, placing squares of waxed paper in between patties. Place in refrigerator while you prep the remaining ingredients.

For batter: Whisk eggs in a wide bowl. Whisk in half-and-half. In a separate wide bowl, combine flour and seasoning salt. Set aside.

Preheat the oil in a deep fryer to 375 F.

For gravy: Heat 1/4 cup butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sliced onions and saute for 5 minutes, until softened. Add sliced mushrooms and continue to saute for 8-10 minutes more, until mushrooms are soft. Remove mixture from skillet and set aside.

When fryer is ready, remove patties from refrigerator. Place one patty in to the flour mixture and pat to cover. Then place the patty in the egg mixture, then back into flour mixture. Repeat dredging once more—first in the egg and ending with flour coating. Brush off excess flour and place patty into the fryer basket. Lower the basket into the oil and cook patty for about 6 minutes, until batter is golden brown. Remove patty from basket and set on a paper towel lined plate. Cover with a separate plate to keep warm while remaining patties are cooking (coat them in the batter and fry each, one at a time).

While patties cook, finish gravy. Heat remaining 1/4 cup butter in the large skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour, stirring up all brown bits leftover from cooking onions and mushrooms. Continue to whisk until a sand-like paste is formed. Add milk, whisking constantly until a smooth paste is formed. Whisk in broth, 1/2 cup at a time, making sure that the mixture is evenly combined prior to adding more. When all broth is added, liberally add fresh ground pepper to taste, then stir in the sauteed mushrooms and onions. Reduce heat to low, whisking frequently to keep smooth.

To serve: ladle gravy over each chicken-fried Salisbury steak and enjoy!