The first place to look for dry beef in a supermarket store is in the canned meats section. The dried meat you’ll find in this section will be packaged in jars.
If you can’t find dried beef in the above-mentioned aisle, the deli department is the next best location to look in the grocery store.
What is the name for chipped beef?
Beef that has been partially dried, salt-cured, and thinly sliced is known as dried beef, sometimes known as chipped beef. This cured pork works well as an appetizer, snack, or dinner. Although dried beef has a long history, it is now a relatively unknown meat product in most parts of the country. You’re in for a treat if you’ve never tried dried beef before!
Smoked dried beef is a tasty and adaptable cured meat that may be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or any time in between, from rich creamed chipped beef to salty, protein-packed nibbles. It’s the ultimate comfort food, and it’s worth trying for the first time or making in a new way.
What is the best way to sell chipped beef?
Chipped beef is made from crushed, salted, and dried meat that has been thinly sliced. For added flavor, some producers smoke the dried beef. The modern version is made up of small, thin, flexible partially dried beef leaves that are usually offered compressed in jars or flat in plastic packs. “An air-dried product that is comparable to bresaola, but not as good,” according to Hormel, a processed meat company.
Is Hormel dried beef equivalent to Hormel chipped beef?
Dried beef, often known as chipped beef, has long been a mainstay in American kitchens and remains so today. Hormel dried beef is made up of thin slices of lean beef that can be served creamed over toast, biscuits, English muffins, or home-fried potatoes, as well as in casseroles and dips.
What’s the closest thing to chipped beef?
Chipped beef was a popular dinner during the Great Depression and World War II, when people were trying to stretch their supplies.
Meat was scarce and had to be stretched as much as possible. This dinner was simple and straightforward to prepare. It was also rumored that it was used for military personnel. Chipped beef, Shit on a Shingle, and SOS are all names for the same thing.
So, what exactly is chipped beef? It’s meat that’s been thinly sliced and dried. It’s impossible to get in organic form, and finding it at a supermarket shop might be challenging. You can use organic thinly sliced deli beef or ham as an alternative.
What is the origin of the term “chipped beef”?
The Background of Chipped Beef on Toast This meal was a traditional army recipe that was simple to prepare, inexpensive, and very filling. S.O.S. stands for “Save Our Stomachs,” “Same Ole Stuff,” or another abbreviation we’d prefer leave out, as chipped beef on toast is known among soldiers.
What is the origin of creamed chipped beef?
Note from the editor: This is the second installment of our “Foods of War” series. The goal is to look into the history of various rations and meals supplied to soldiers and sailors across time to evaluate if their reputations are well-deserved. Finally, because it wouldn’t be a Molotov Cocktail essay without a drink pairing, we’ll include one, primarily to ensure that we have something to wash it all down. Keep a watch out for further blogs in the future, and best wishes!
“It’s an institution that’s as much a part of the Army as parades, pressed uniforms, and gleaming boots.”
I recall strolling into my dorm room’s kitchen after a night of excess to find my roommate preparing an unknown dish during my time as a naive undergraduate. It was certainly beef-based, but I was intrigued when I watched him combine butter, flour, and milk to make an off-white sauce.
What impressed me about the scene was the fact that true culinary technique was being used. The meal, while simple, seemed much beyond my cooking abilities at the time, which mostly consisted of boiling pasta and slathering it with bottled tomato sauce. In short, I had no idea what I was looking at, but I knew it was something I enjoyed.
I was compelled to learn more after that. I had no background for this odd and exotic cuisine because I did not come from a military home. This simple recipe brought up good memories for almost everyone who grew up in a military family or had a parent who served, according to some rapid Internet research. There have been various variations on the dish’s name over the years, including Shit on a Shingle, Save Our Stomachs, and Same Old Stuff. Many servicemembers and veterans have a love-hate connection with the dish, as evidenced by these names. S.O.S. tastes really wonderful, to be honest. It’s hearty, salty, meaty, and pleasant (certainly better than hardtack), but I can see it becoming tedious if consumed on a regular basis.
The beginnings of S.O.S. are a mystery. The dish’s origins can be traced back to World War I, when an Army field kitchen was unable to keep up with the Marine Brigade’s quick advance. As a result, the brigade’s creamed beef dinner didn’t come until the next morning, when the first sergeant ordered the dish to be served on dry bread. This story is intriguing and fascinating, but it is most likely apocryphal. The recipe first appears in the Manual of Army Cooks in 1910, seven years before the United States entered the First World War. The Navy has its own version, which is a little more sophisticated thanks to the addition of tomatoes (along with other fresh vegetables), fresh ground beef, and nutmeg.
The Army version of S.O.S. was the first to be released, and it called for chipped beef, a dry meat product made for the battlefield. Indeed, the S.O.S. recipe in the Manual for Army Cooks, 1910, calls for evaporated milk, which would have been easier to transport, shelf stable, and (at the time) safer to drink than fresh milk. In fact, if fresh butter is replaced with a more shelf-stable fat (such as lard) and beef stock is replaced with water, the entire dish can be produced from the cupboard in a rush.
S.O.S. is more of a rubric than a dish, as the name implies: make a sauce, add meat of some sort, and serve over bread. In this sense, the dish is similar to southern staples like biscuits and gravy or even British classics like beans on toast. While S.O.S. remains a part of our military’s culinary lexicon, the meal is arguably most handy after a night on the town.
Despite its unappealing name, appearance, and provenance, the dish’s culinary roots are French. The heart of S.O.S. is a traditional Bchamel sauce, one of Auguste Escoffier’s five mother sauces. As a result, the recipe starts with a roux made from equal parts fat (in this case, butter) and flour. The sauce thickens as milk is added, until it is smooth and coats the back of a spoon. From here, you can add cheese (for a Mornay), onions (for a Soubise), or mustard to make a Mornay (for a, you guessed it, Mustard Sauce). Isn’t it obvious why they call it a mother sauce?
The following recipe, which pays homage to the original Army 1910 version but is scaled down to serve two people (or one, after a particularly debauched night out), uses a semi-classic Bchamel (the stock could be replaced with an equal amount of milk) and uses a semi-classic Bchamel (the stock could be replaced with an equal amount of milk):
Sear the meat for roughly 2 minutes over medium high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside. 2 pieces of white bread, toasted
Melt the butter in the same skillet where you browned the beef. Once the butter has melted, mix in the flour a little at a time, being careful not to clump it. This is the roux you’ll be using.
Whisk in the milk and beef stock once the roux has started to bubble (approximately five minutes).
In 5-10 minutes, the sauce should thicken. Add the steak and 2-3 generous grinds of black pepper to heat through.
Pour the creamed chipped beef equally over the “shingles” on a plate. Serve with a fork and knife, garnished with finely chopped chives.
When I first decided to produce S.O.S., I wanted to combine it with something historically relevant that American G.I.s would have developed a love for while stationed in France, so I went with brandy or cognac. However, with more reflection, it appears that this dish is significantly more likely to be consumed either before or after a night of heavy drinking in our present times. Water is, of course, the best companion for the former (if you’re thirsty, you’ve already lost the battle). However, there can only be one pairing for the latter scenario: the Bloody Mary. The acidity, the peppery punch, and the…vodka all of these elements combine to make this cocktail the ideal complement to S.O.S.’s unctuous, salty delight.
I should mention the Blood Mary before I get into the recipe. This drink needs its own page, but in a nutshell, the Bloody has achieved the pinnacle of our drinking culture. A once mystical cocktail has been reduced to slop buckets full of chunky mix clumsily blended with rail vodka, from the “build your own” Bloody Mary bar to its central role in the endless brunch. Furthermore, bars’ habit of serving the drink in a pint glass results in a watery drink that warms before the consumer can finish it. The Bloody Mary has been elevated to the rank of a craft drink thanks to the recipe below.
In a Boston shaker with ice, combine all components (excluding garnishes). Shake the bottle vigorously. Strain into a Collins glass filled with ice, garnish, and serve with a pony beer chaser, Milwaukee style.
So there you have it: a meal and a drink that, when combined, can overcome all but the worst effects of overindulgence. S.O.S. should be viewed of as a strategy rather than a recipe, despite its opaque roots and disputed formulation. In that spirit, the aspiring Army cook should exemplify American “can-do” and not be afraid to make do with what they have (ham, pork sausage, or chicken thighs would all work well). While your cardiologist may disagree, I urge you to fulfill your job as an American and embrace the cuisine that has fed our troops and their families for years. S.O.S. is the most uncommon type of military ration: one that truly tastes nice.
James Sheehan is a cider producer and homebrewer. He works for a democracy education non-profit in Washington, D.C. when he’s not fermenting stuff. He graduated from King’s College, London, with an MA in Terrorism, Security, and Society.
What makes chipped beef different from corned beef?
Although they both have a high sodium level, the corned beef is brined cured whereas the dried meat is simply salt-cured. For extra flavor, dried beef is occasionally smoked, although corned beef is not.
In Canada, what is chipped beef?
What is the definition of chipped beef? Chipped meat (also known as dried beef) is air dried beef that has been thinly sliced. It is now dried, shaped, and cut ground meat.
What is the shelf life of creamed chipped beef?
- You can purchase dry beef in a jar or something like Carl Buddig’s original beef lunch meat.
- Tips for storage: Refrigerate leftover cream chip beef in an airtight jar for up to four days.
- Reheat leftover gravy in a glass or porcelain container in the microwave, covered, for 30 seconds on high for 1/2 cup of gravy.
