It is said that the prototype of hamburger steak is a raw meat dish eaten by the Tartare of the Mongol Empire, who invaded Europe around the 13th century.
In preparation for their long journey, the Tartare brought many horses as a means of transportation and food, but the muscular horses were tough and difficult to eat. So they placed finely chopped meat under the horse's saddle and crushed it with their own weight and the horse's movement to make it easier to eat.
This eventually spread to Europe, where beef and pork were used, and it became similar to the hamburger steak of today, which is cooked on a hot plate or net with spices, onions, and breadcrumbs. In the port city of Hamburg in Germany, it was called tartare steak and was a very popular dish among workers. It was then introduced from Germany to America, where it became known as Hamburg-style steak (hamburger steak).
Everyone is also familiar with hamburgers, which are hamburger steaks sandwiched between buns. There are various theories about the origin of hamburgers, but at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, a round bun with a hamburger steak was sold as a "hamburger." After that, the McDonald brothers in the United States started selling hamburgers at drive-in restaurants, where they became very popular, and from there they spread all over the world. Nowadays, there are many hamburger restaurants all over the world, and it has grown into a major food genre.
It is not clear when hamburger steak was introduced to Japan, but in the Meiji era, it was on the menu of restaurants under the names "German steak" and "mince balls." It became a very popular menu item in Japan after 1950 because it can be made with relatively cheap minced meat, looks luxurious, and is soft and easy to eat. Nowadays, hamburgers are a standard menu item for dinner and eating out.
