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Table of Contents
- 🍽️ A Quick Look at the Recipe
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Useful Tools
- How to Make Smothered Hamburger Over Savory Garlic-Butter Rice
- Pro Tips
- Smothered Hamburger Over Savory Garlic-Butter Rice Recipe
- Make-Ahead, Storage and Reheating
- What to Serve With This Recipe
- Variations and Other Dinner Ideas
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More AB Recipes
- Save This Recipe
Browned ground beef and onion gravy turn a pan of garlic-butter rice into a filling dinner. The rice cooks alongside the gravy, with enough resting time to keep the grains fluffy before the sauce goes on top.
🍽️ A Quick Look at the Recipe
Recipe Name: Smothered Hamburger Over Savory Garlic-Butter Rice
⏱️ Ready In: About 55 minutes, with rice and gravy cooked alongside each other
👨👩👧👦 Serves: 6
🥣 Main Ingredients: Ground beef, white rice, beef broth, onions, butter
📖 Dietary Info: Contains dairy and wheat; check seasoning and broth labels
🔥 Flavor Profile: Beefy, buttery, garlicky, and savory
⭐ Best For: Weeknight comfort food and family-style dinners
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The beef is crumbled, so there is no need to shape patties.
- The rice rests while the gravy finishes, keeping the dinner moving.
- Optional cream or milk gives the gravy a richer finish without changing the basic method.
Key Ingredients
- Long-grain white rice: Rinse and drain it well before toasting. This recipe starts with dry rice, unlike a leftover-rice casserole.
- Ground beef: The source prefers 80/20 for flavor. Drain excess rendered grease as directed before building the gravy.
- Onion, garlic, and butter: Both the rice and gravy have their own allocations; measure the components separately from the card.
- Beef broth and bouillon: They reinforce the savory sauce. Keep the rice broth separate from the gravy broth so neither pan ends up short.
- AB’s Steak and Burger Rub and seasoned salt: The named rub seasons the rice; the gravy uses seasoned salt. Taste the finished components before adding extra kosher salt.
- Flour and optional cream: Flour thickens the gravy. The optional dairy finish is a choice, not a requirement for thickening.
Useful Tools
Use a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid for the rice and a large skillet for the gravy. A fine-mesh strainer, fork, and stirring spoon help keep the rice grains separate.
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- Chef Knife: Prepare the vegetables and aromatics on a stable cutting board.
- SnG Food Thermometer: Check safe doneness and reheat leftovers to 165°F.
- AB’s Premium Garlic Press: Prepare the fresh garlic for even distribution through the sauce or seasoning.
- Spring Chef Measuring Cups and Spoons (paid link): Measure the card ingredients before you start cooking.
- Pyrex Glass Mixing Bowls (paid link): Organize prepared ingredients and keep raw-poultry or raw-meat utensils separate from ready-to-eat food.
How to Make Smothered Hamburger Over Savory Garlic-Butter Rice
1. Start the rice
Rinse the rice and drain thoroughly. Soften the rice portion of onion in butter over medium heat for 3–4 minutes. Add garlic for 30 seconds, then rice, AB’s Steak and Burger Rub, onion powder, and thyme. Toast for 1–2 minutes.
2. Simmer and rest
Add the rice broth and optional Worcestershire. Bring to a gentle boil, then cover and lower the heat. Cook 17–20 minutes without repeatedly lifting the lid. Remove from the heat and leave covered for 10 minutes.
3. Brown the hamburger
While the rice cooks, brown the beef over medium-high heat, breaking it into crumbles. Allow browned edges to develop; cook ground beef to 160°F rather than relying only on its color. Add the gravy onion for 3–4 minutes, then garlic for 30 seconds. Stir in its dry seasonings and drain excess grease as directed.
4. Make the gravy
Sprinkle flour over the beef and stir for 1–2 minutes. Add the gravy broth gradually, followed by Worcestershire and bouillon. Scrape up the browned bits, then simmer over medium-low heat for 8–10 minutes until the gravy coats a spoon.
5. Finish both pans
Stir the gravy butter and optional cream or milk into the sauce. Add the remaining rice butter and parsley to the rested rice and fluff gently. Taste before adding salt. Spoon the hamburger gravy over the rice and garnish if desired.
Pro Tips
- Measure the rice and gravy ingredients into separate groups before starting.
- Leave the rice covered during its 10-minute rest before fluffing.
- Simmer the gravy gently; thin it gradually with broth if it becomes too thick.
Summarize and Save
Smothered Hamburger Over Savory Garlic-Butter Rice
Video
Ingredients
For the Savory Garlic-Butter Rice
- 2 cups long-grain white rice
- 3 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1/2 small yellow onion finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons AB’s Steak and Burger Rub
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce optional
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Kosher salt only if needed after cooking
For the Hamburger Gravy
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef preferably 80/20
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon beef bouillon powder or 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream or whole milk optional
For Garnishing
- Chopped parsley or green onions optional
Instructions
- Place the rice in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse it under cold water until the water runs mostly clear. Drain thoroughly.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the finely diced onion and cook for 3–4 minutes, until softened.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add the drained rice, AB’s Steak and Burger Rub, onion powder, and thyme. Toast for 1–2 minutes, stirring until the grains are coated with butter and seasoning.
- Pour in the beef broth and optional Worcestershire sauce. Stir once and bring the liquid to a gentle boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and cover the saucepan tightly. Cook without lifting the lid for 17–20 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the rice rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
- While the rice cooks, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and break it into pieces. Cook for 5–7 minutes, allowing some of the beef to remain against the hot skillet long enough to develop browned edges. Cook ground beef to 160°F before serving; color alone does not establish safe doneness.
- Add the diced onion and cook with the beef for 3–4 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, seasoned salt, black pepper, and thyme.
- If there is excessive grease in the skillet, drain some of it, leaving approximately 2 tablespoons behind.
- Sprinkle the flour over the beef. Stir thoroughly and cook for 1–2 minutes to remove the raw flour taste.
- Slowly pour in the beef broth while stirring. Add the Worcestershire sauce and beef bouillon, then scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the gravy coats the back of a spoon.
- Stir the butter into the gravy. For a creamier finish, add the heavy cream or whole milk. Taste and adjust the seasoning carefully.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the parsley to the rested rice. Fluff gently with a fork and add kosher salt only if needed.
- Divide the garlic-butter rice among serving plates and spoon the hot hamburger gravy over the top. Garnish with parsley or green onions if desired.
Notes
- Measure the rice and gravy ingredients into separate groups before starting.
- Leave the rice covered during its 10-minute rest before fluffing.
- Simmer the gravy gently; thin it gradually with broth if it becomes too thick.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Make-Ahead, Storage and Reheating
Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours of cooking, or within 1 hour if the room or outdoor temperature is above 90°F. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below and use within 3–4 days. Do not leave a pot or skillet on the counter until completely cold. Cool rice promptly in shallow portions; cooked rice needs the same timely refrigeration as the meat.
Freeze cooled portions for longer storage and thaw in the refrigerator. Reheat to 165°F throughout, stirring and adding a little broth or water if the rice or gravy has tightened. For the hamburger dish, storing rice and gravy separately makes it easier to control the reheating texture.
What to Serve With This Recipe
Choose a vegetable or bread to round out the meal; for a larger gathering, add a second side.
- Southern Cornbread: savory bread for catching the pan juices.
- Green Beans and Bacon: a savory green vegetable side.
- Honey Balsamic Brussels Sprouts: roasted vegetables with a sweet-tangy finish.
- Southern Fried Cabbage: a simpler cabbage side.
Variations and Other Dinner Ideas
Use the optional heavy cream for a richer gravy, whole milk for a lighter dairy finish, or omit both as the card allows. The flour still thickens the sauce. For a different beef-and-gravy or rice dinner, follow one of these full recipes rather than substituting its liquid ratio here.
- Southern Smothered Meatballs and Rice: a saucy ground-meat dinner.
- Smothered Cube Steak with Onion Gravy: a beef-and-gravy supper.
- Southern-Style Meatloaf: a beef-and-sausage loaf with a sweet-tangy glaze.
- Crockpot Chili: a slow-cooked beef-and-bean dinner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this hamburger steak?
This version uses crumbled ground beef in gravy rather than shaped patties. Browning some of the crumbles before stirring builds flavor without the extra shaping step.
Why is the rice wet after simmering?
Keep it covered for the full rest before judging the texture. If liquid remains after resting, the heat or pan seal may have differed; return it briefly to low heat and check gently rather than stirring it into paste.
More AB Recipes
More Sides for a Family Table
- Soft and Fluffy Dinner Rolls: soft bread for the dinner table.
- Sweet Potato Cornbread: a warmly spiced bread option.
- Southern Baked Mac and Cheese: a creamy side for a larger comfort-food spread.
- Creole Cornbread: a cheesy cornbread alternative.
- Ultimate Baked Mac and Cheese: another complete baked macaroni recipe.
More Comfort-Food Dinners
- Dirty Cabbage: a beef-and-sausage cabbage dinner.
- Dirty Smothered Potatoes: a loaded potato skillet with sausage and ground meat.
- Dirty Green Beans and Potatoes: a Cajun-style vegetable and meat skillet.
- Fried Cabbage with Smoked Sausage and Shrimp: a cabbage dinner with seafood and smoked sausage.
- One Pan Smothered Chicken and Rice: a chicken dinner with rice cooked in the same pan.
Dessert to Finish the Meal
- Chessmen Banana Pudding: a chilled dessert to make ahead.
- Holiday Peach Cobbler Two Ways: a warm fruit dessert after supper.
Save This Recipe
Save this recipe for the next time you want a hearty comfort-food dinner.
