My whole family just love it!! Instead of using jar of dried beef I just use 8oz. thin slices of beef lunchmeat "Budding" and it a lot cheaper!! Not salty at all and you don't even have to rinse!! You must try it and believe me, you won't be disappointed!!!!
Just like moms, minus the pepper and her beef came out of a bag. TIP: If you find this dish too salty, soak the beef in cold water for about 10 minutes, and drain. Try a piece, if its still too salty, soak in fresh water for 10 more minutes.
Comfort Food! Once I got the roux down (it took 2 tries), it was fantastic. I added the ceyenne pepper, seasoned salt and cracked black pepper. We used the Budding Luncheon Meat. Served it on toasted potato bread buns. I bet it would be great on biscuts! The boys scarfed them down faster than I could serve them. Goes down well with a BIG glass of cold MILK!
I LOVE Chipped Beef (we call it Chipped Beefy at our house, for whatever reason). This recipe is fine but it's missing the CRUCIAL step of rising off the dried beef in hot water before adding to the roux. You can always add more salt later, but you can't take it out! Pour some hot water over the dried beef and let it soak for a few minutes. Then, rinse the dried beef with hot water. In fact, rinse it twice! Rinse it with cold water after that, then squeeze and chop up.
To avoid lumps the easy way, add the beef to the roux after it's done browning BEFORE you add the milk!. Trust me on this. I've made this recipe since I was 10. Then, add the milk and keep stirring. I think because the beefy brings down the temperature of the roux, you avoid cooking it and it becoming lumpy before it is incorporated into the milk. (which is really the only challenge with this easy recipe)
Also, at our house, we always added a touch of Dijon Mustard at the end, which adds a note of complexity to the roux. (incidentally, the more browned the roux, the "nuttier" the flavor. just don't burn it. then it'll be bitter.)
You can always let the individual diner salt, mustard or cayenne their own slice.
Oh! And my favorite toast to serve this on is whatever is the cheapest Wonderbread-y bread that is at your grocery store.
Now I'm super hungry for some Chipped Beefy!!
It's funny that the recipe says that SOS stands for "Same Ole Stuff". That's the nice version but not the original. It's really "S*** On a Shingle" and the first word isn't "Stuff". That's what the military has been calling it since way before my time. My mom just called it "Creamed beef" but even she knew what it was really called. She was just too polite to use the real name. ;~}
My mom used to make this with browned hamburger from time to time. Now I'm the one who does all of the cooking for my wife and two kids and I seem to be the only one who loves it. I use browned hamburger and a little minced onion and just use the fat from the hamburger to cook the onion and make the roux. Just sprinkle the flour over the cooked hamburger and onion and cook a bit. Then whisk in the milk. I add lots of black pepper and sometimes a splash of worcestershire sauce. It's good over toast but even better over buttermilk biscuits. It's basically the same recipe as sausage gravy but with beef instead.
Serious comfort food for me but it's also seriously low brow cuisine. Add a little chopped parsley if you want to pretend it's fancy. I was a chef in some pretty nice restaurants for years but I still love the back woods, low brow, peasant food like this. Makes me want to whip up a batch right now!
If this recipe is too salty for you just boil the chipped beef in a little water for a few minutes then drain off the water which will take some the salt away with it.
I was surprised at how easy this recipe was. At first i was concerned that there was too much beef for the recipe but it turned out perfect! It is rare to find a creamed chipped beef recipe that is thick - this is it! i would like a little more flavor but i dont know what else to add. I love the cayenne but i feel like there could be another spice that i am not thinking of. Anyway it was great and i would definitely recommend this recipe just as it is!
I figured out that I have to almost double the sauce recipe. I still only use one jar of dried beef but with more sauce it's not as salty. Though it is definitely something that you can make quickly for everyone to eat. We make all the time.
This recipe is G-R-E-A-T!!! If yours turned out too salty you probably used the jarred dried beef and should have RINSED it first. We used fresh dried beef from our local locker. Even my EXTREMELY picky 13 year old daughter and 5 year old son LOVE this stuff...and ask for it on a regular basis!
