Recipes

Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast

  • Serves

    serves 4-6

A recipe for chipped beef for "60 men" first appeared in the 1910 Manual for Army Cooks. In military slang, this dish was commonly referred to as S.O.S.—"bleep" on a shingle, with the shingle referring to the toast.

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 12 lb. paper-thin dried beef slices, shredded
  • 3 tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup half-and-half
  • 18 tsp. freshly milled white pepper
  • 1 tbsp. minced fresh chives
  • Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
  • 4-6 slices toast
  • 1 tbsp. minced fresh parsley

Instructions

Step 1

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the dried beef and sauté until it develops a few crisp edges, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook until it just begins to color.

Step 2

Slowly whisk in the milk and half-and-half, then add the pepper, chives, and nutmeg. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until thickened and creamy but still pourable, about 5 minutes longer. Ladle over toast, scatter with parsley and serve immediately.

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