Creamed Chipped Beef

Updated just slightly 6-17-22 and added another photo 6-21-22

When I was much younger, this was a common dish served on toast and even sold in some local restaurants or diners. Back then too, however, to some it had a bad reputation, as it had been served quite often that way in the military in the World War Two and Korean War eras (perhaps even after that too). The former soldiers had had enough of it. It was commonly called "S-O-S," meaning, in the more family friendly way, "Same Old Stuff," but in the far more common version, "Shit On (a) Shingle," with the toast representing the "shingle" and with the beef representing ... well anyway, it is quite easy to make, and, in spite of the bad name given it by former military people, it is really pretty good. I have it on toast, but I actually prefer it on mashed potatoes, which I show in the photo below. Dried chipped beef is very thinly sliced and it is typically sold in a small jar. 

 
Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt (the meat is cured, and thus it is salty, so you may want to taste the dish before adding any salt)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
1  2 1/4 ounce jar dried chipped beef, torn or cut into small pieces

Melt the butter in a pan over low heat. Add the flour gradually, stirring constantly to make a roux. Cook and stir briefly to remove the raw flour taste, but the roux should remain light in color, not browned. Gradually stir in the milk, a little at a time, allowing the roux to thicken the milk. Add the beef and mix well. Season with black pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper, and any salt, if needed (which I doubt). Cook further and allow the mixture to thicken to a sauce, but keep stirring to prevent sticking. If it is too thick, don't call Einstein (he's dead), just add some more milk until you achieve the desired thickness.  

Creamed chipped beef on toast, some mashed potatoes and sliced tomatoes ...

  There ARE mashed potatoes under there, trust me, and some tomato quarters.

 

 Dried beef is typically sold in small jars ...

WORD HISTORY: 

Don-English has two words of this spelling, but this is the word meaning "to put on clothing," and it is a truly English word. The other word, derived from Latin, is a borrowing, most frequently used for the head of a crime family; at least in American English, but it is used in Spanish and Italian to convey respect for a "gentleman," or, seemingly more so in the past, as a title for a noble or owner of a good deal of land, somewhat equivalent to "lord." The English word is simply a contracted compound form of "do" and "on." For the history of "do," this is the link:

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/11/portuguese-bread-soup-sopa-alentejana.html

For the history of "on," here is the link: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2014/05/its-about-coalitions-not-purity-part.html