Chipped beef

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Chipped beef is a form of pressed, salted and dried beef that has been sliced into thin pieces . Some makers smoke the dried beef for more flavor. The modern product consists of small, thin, flexible leaves of partially dried beef, generally sold compressed together in jars or flat in plastic packets. The processed meat producer Hormel once described it as "an air-dried product that is similar to bresaola, but not as tasty."

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Availability

Chipped beef is served in many diners and restaurants in the United States as a breakfast item. Creamed chipped beef is standard fare on many such diner menus, especially in the Mid-Atlantic, but has become harder to find in chain restaurants that serve breakfast; among the restaurants still offering chipped beef on toast are Golden Corral and Silver Diner. IHOP no longer offers this on their menus, having substituted sausage gravy, and the same is true for Cracker Barrel restaurants. It is also available from companies such as Stouffer's in a frozen form which can be put on top of separately-prepared toast; it is typically quite salty. For instance, Stouffer's creamed chipped beef contains 590 mg sodium per 5.5 ounces (160 g) serving. The mixture was also, at one point, available from both Freezer Queen and Banquet as "hot sandwich toppers"; as of late 2007, Freezer Queen no longer makes this product, and the Banquet variety is rarely found. Finally, both the Esskay Meat Company of Baltimore and Knauss Foods make a refrigerated version of creamed chipped beef which can be easily microwaved. The meat itself is also available for purchase under the Knauss and Carson's Brand names.

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Chipped beef on toast

Chipped beef on toast (or creamed chipped beef on toast) is a dish comprising a white sauce and rehydrated slivers of dried beef, served on toasted bread. Hormel recommends flavoring the dish with Worcestershire sauce. Chipped beef is also often served on bagels, English muffins, biscuits, home fries, rice, and in casseroles. It is often served in diners in the Northeastern United States, especially in the Mid-Atlantic states, particularly in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

U.S. military cuisine

In the United States, chipped beef on toast was commonly served to service members of the United States Armed Forces. It was thus considered emblematic of the military experience, much as pea soup is in Finland or Sweden. In American military slang it is commonly referred to by the dysphemism "Shit On a Shingle" (SOS), or "Stew On a Shingle", "Same Old Stuff", "Something On a Shingle", or occasionally "Save Our Stomachs".

Wentworth and Flexner cite no origin for the term, but noted "shingle" for slice of toast has had "some use since 1935" in the U.S. Army, mostly in the expression "shit on a shingle", and the latter had "wide World War II Army use".

Chipped beef on toast (S.O.S.) is the title of a book of military humor. In his World War II book Band of Brothers, Stephen E. Ambrose evokes the military basics:

At the end of May, the men of Easy packed up their barracks bags and ... [took] a stop-and-go train ride to Sturgis, Kentucky. At the depot Red Cross girls had coffee and doughnuts for them, the last bit of comfort they would know for a month. They marched out to the countryside and pitched up tents, dug straddle trenches for latrines, and ate the Army's favorite meal for troops in the field, creamed chipped beef on toast, universally known as SOS, or Shit on a Shingle.

This dish was mentioned many times on the 1970s television show M*A*S*H in the mess tent.

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Other variations

While the common S.O.S. base is typically a white sauce made from a roux, a variety of meats may take the place of the chipped beef. These may include tuna, sausage, or ground beef, and may be served over toast, biscuits, or hash browns.

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Chipped beef in popular culture

Over the years, chipped beef has been mentioned in numerous movies and television shows. Examples include:

• In a 1955 Three Stooges short titled "Of Cash and Hash", Larry Fine has an argument with a customer about ordering either fried eggs or creamed chipped beef on toast.

On M*A*S*H, Col. Potter mentioned that he like creamed chipped beef after church.

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See also

• Biscuits and gravy
• List of dried foods
• List of military food topics
• List of sandwiches
• List of toast dishes

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References

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External links

• SOS recipe of Bob's Coffee Shop in Fountain Valley, California
• The Cookbook of the U.S. Navy, 1945 recipe

Source of the article : Wikipedia