Salisbury Steaks - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 lbs lean ground beef
3 eggs
2 teaspoons pepper (ground)
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 (10 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 large yellow onions, sliced
3 -4 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons beef base (Better than Bouillon)
4 cups hot water

Preparation

In large mixing bowl combine the lean ground beef, eggs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, Panko breadcrumbs, dried onions and Cream of Mushroom soup. Mix together well.
Prepare a wire cooling rack by covering it with parchment paper. Shape the meat mixture into 6-8 oval shaped patties. We like ours thick about 1-inch thick, so I got 6 patties out of this batch.
Leaving the steaks uncovered, place the rack in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours (can do this the night before if you like). This gives the meat a chance to absorb all the flavors you've mixed into it.
Approximately 1 hour before you want to serve this meal, preheat your skillet over medium-high heat. I used my cast iron and let the oven heat it for me as I sliced the onions. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. While waiting for the oven, slice the onions into 1/4-inch thick slices. Set aside. When oven is preheated, take your skillet out and on medium-high heat, melt 2 TBSP butter.
Place 3-4 steaks in the skillet, make sure you do not over crowd the pan. Brown for 3-4 minutes then flip over and brown the other side for 3-4 minutes.
Remove from skillet and set aside on a plate. Repeat with remaining steaks adding another tablespoon butter if needed. Remove these steaks and let rest with the others. Now add another 1-2 TBSP butter to the same skillet (do NOT remove any of the drippings or fond from the skillet).
Brown the sliced onions in the skillet until golden and soft, this should take 7-10 minutes. Stir in flour - start with 3 TBSP stirring constantly to cook the flour, if it appears too wet, add another TBSP flour and keep stirring. Now stir in 2 TBSP beef base (I used Better than Bouillon) and add 3 cups HOT water. (Always add hot water to a hot pan - especially cast iron, you don't want it to crack or warp!). Once you have the water added and the lumps smoothed out, return the steaks to the pan.
Spoon the gravy over the tops and if the gravy appears too thick add more hot water, 1/4 cup at a time until it's the consistency you desire. Place skillet in the oven and bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes. Check it halfway through the time and baste the steaks with the gravy.
Delicious with mashed potatoes, rice or noodles of your choice.