This Old-Fashioned Dried Beef Gravy recipe was a regular dinner on our table growing up. Growing up in the middle of nowhere, “country” foods were a staple. And cheap.
Cheap and Easy
It’s really kind of comical how in today’s society more people can’t cook. I was blessed that I can. My sister can’t, and it irritates my brother-in-law to no end. I also married a man who isn’t too shabby at holding his own in the kitchen either.
I remember my Dad making this for dinner a lot back in the day. We grew up in a culture of “men don’t cook”. He could though. Not extravagantly, that’s for sure, but we never starved or died. His “go-to” menu was pretty simple, and in retrospect, really cheap.
Keep it Simple
The best advice I give anyone who is wanting to learn how to cook is just to keep it simple. This Dried Beef Gravy recipe is nothing short of that. It’s really just 3 ingredients, with salt and pepper added for taste.
The hardest part of this entire recipe is slicing up the dried beef.
Dried Beef?
Technically, I don’t think what I technically use is the same as the original recipe from long ago. I’ve had people ask me repeatedly what it is and where to find it. What we use in ours is the small Buddig packages of beef found in the lunchmeat section of the grocery store. They’re the little cheap packages towards the top. If I remember correctly (they change the packaging a lot) they are white and blue currently.
Do NOT accidentally get the corned beef version. Yuck.
I know there are tons of names for this recipe. I’ve heard it called Creamed Beef Gravy and Chipped Beef Gravy. Shit on a Shingle (SOS) is what my family always called it actually. All I know is that it’s really good, really fast, and even my husband can throw it together.
We do however prefer it over my Homemade Bread.
I also know people who use browned ground beef in theirs. I can’t say that I’ve ever had it OR made it that way. If you want to, give it a try.
Old-Fashioned Dried Beef Gravy
Old-Fashioned Dried Beef Gravy
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups warm milk
- 4-5 packages dried beef sliced into strips
- salt to tasste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat dried beef slices.
- Allow to heat through and add some grease to the pan.
- With a slotted spoon, remove to a platter, while leaving as much grease behind as possible.
- Whisk in flour all at once to form a roux.
- Whisk in milk, a little at a time, increase heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring, until thickened.
- Bring to a boil, stir in beef, salt, and pepper.
- Heat through and serve over toast.
I haven’t had Dried Beef Gravy in years, but this sure does look good, I goint to have to make some! Hope you are having a great week and thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with us at Full Plate Thursday,483.
Come back soon!
Miz Helen
I love SOS. I make it a little differently though. I make a roux with butter, and flour, and stir that about for five minutes or so, to get rid of the raw flour taste, then add 1/4 cup minced onions, slowly add up to four cups of milk, and work on my sauce. Rather than frying the beef, I slice up a 5 oz. jar of dried beef, and rinse it in a colander to get rid of some of the sodium. Then I add it to the cream sauce, heat through, and serve on toast.
As an Army veteran, I can say that It’s better than the stuff served in mess halls. But, however one makes it, SOS, is always great. (Creamed salmon on toast is delicious too.)
; )
Jan- what an interesting variation. I will have to try it that way. My husband is also former military. I’ll have to ask him about Chow Hall SOS. 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by.