INGREDIENTS:

1 pound lean ground beef 85 percent lean or higher
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or Sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black peppercorns (Tellicherry)
1 beef bouillon cube (crushed) or granulated beef bouillon cube
1/2 teaspoons Wild Bill's Meat Rub
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef and onion.  Stir in the flour, crushed or granulated beef bouillon cube, salt, pepper and Wild Bill's Meat Rub.  Continue to sauté until flour is absorbed; about 5 to 7 minutes.  Gradually stir in the Worcestershire sauce and milk.  Simmer on low to medium heat and cook until thickened about 10 minutes.  Adjust seasonings as needed.

Serve while hot over toast, noodles, biscuits or rice.

YIELD:  4 servings.

My first encounter with creamed ground beef on toast or SOS as the military folks call it was in August of 1964 during my US Navy Boot Camp training at Great Lakes, Illinois.  The US Navy also served it a couple different ways; using dried chipped beef and adding tomatoes and beans.  Originally, most branches of the Armed Forces used the dried chipped beef and soaked the salted dried beef overnight to hydrate and get rid of some of the salt.  Every place I was  stationed while in the US Navy served the SOS at least once a week mainly for breakfast or a late night snack before going onto the third or night shift duty.  There are other gravies of this type; Poor Man's Gravy, Sawmill, Red Eye and the classic gravy during The Great Depression Era  was called "Hoover Gravy" but those gravies did not have any ground beef added because of lean or poor times and rarely used milk. 

This recipe if fairly generic and many similar versions available on the internet.  As with any recipe, you can add or take away the ingredients as desired.

Click on thumbnail sequence pixs below for a larger view:

Alternate recipe below more in line with the original military recipe before they switched over to ground beef.

CREAMED CHIPPED DRIED BEEF ON TOAST aka SOS

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound dried beef, chipped
3 Tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups milk or Half and Half
4 pieces whole grain toast (or your favorite bread)
Butter
Fresh ground black pepper corns (Tellicherry) to taste

In a large skillet over medium heat add olive oil and brown the chipped beef.  Mix flour and water together, mixing thoroughly until there are no lumps and add to the sautéed dried beef mixture.  Cook until thickened, stirring constantly.  Add milk and simmer for a couple minutes until thick enough.  Normally the chipped dried beef is salty enough without additional salt.  Add fresh ground black pepper corns (Tellicherry) and serve while hot over your favorite butter toasted bread.

YIELD:  4 servings

Above pix of Creamed Chipped Dried "Venison" adorning wheat toast on 07-30-12.  My friend William Pence from PA sent me several packages of dried chipped venison that were processed there in PA by the Amish folks.  Here is the email transcript about the above venison:

"Porter,  I am glad to hear that you enjoyed the dried deer that I got to you this past weekend.  As I was telling you where I now live there are quite a few small family run butcher shops.  I guess living in “Amish” country does have some benefits.  Anyhow, my butcher smokes the hindquarters in his own smokehouse for a couple of weeks after soaking them in some kind of salt mixture/preservative.  He then slices them real thin for me and vacuum seals them for freshness.  As you can personally attest the creamed dried deer or SOS is pretty darn tasty.  As I was sitting here the other evening after we spoke on the phone,  I couldn’t help but think about the deer that I got these hindquarters from, a big doe that I had killed at my grandmas farm last fall during black powder season.  This farm is where I killed my very first deer as a young kid and as you can imagine I am still quite fond of hunting there when time allows.  After shooting this doe I drug her straight out of the pines directly to the barn where I dressed her, since I was using the BILL PORTER time proven method of hunting directly behind the house.  Anyway what is interesting is the journey that it took from there to your kitchen.  All total,  I figure after the trip to Pennsylvania and back that old Richmond County slick head must have traveled a good 1100 miles to grace your frying pan.  Take care Porter, figured you would enjoy the story, I will holler at you soon."

Click on the sequence pixs below for a larger screen view:

Updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter 07-30-12.

LEAVING ON A SPIRITUAL NOTE