Hamburger vs hamburg

[A. Maberry]

On Sat, 14 Jul 2001, Alice Faber wrote:
>
> I could imagine that the original Salisbury steak was more like what we
> would call a cube steak, that is, a single, integral piece of meat whose
> fibers have been broken up by a medieval torture device. This "torture"
> might be believed to make the meat more easily digestible.

dInIs seems to agree as well. I recall Salisbury steak as being a bit
tougher than hamburger, more like cube steak, and always with brown gravy
with mushrooms. Swiss steak is floured and browned first before braising
and Salisbury steak is just browned, I think. It's been so long since I've
had either, but I'm sure I put ketchup on both.

What does the "cube" in cube steak signify? I seem to recall hearing also
"cubed steak".

allen
maberry at u.washington.edu