flipCreamed Chipped Beef on Toast (S.O.S.)
Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast (S.O.S.)
Why this dish? During the Depression years, Neel lived frugally, sometimes depending on public assistance. This dish of dried beef bound in a milk sauce — nicknamed S.O.S. by soldiers — was THE meal that fed an entire studio for a few cents: meat stretched endlessly by milk and flour.
Thin strips of dried beef warmed in a creamy white sauce, poured hot over toast. Salty, comforting, and incredibly cheap.
Listen to me: when you've got nothing in your pockets but a mouth to feed, you make do with what the grocer lets you have on credit. A handful of dried beef, a little flour, milk, and there you have something to keep you standing to paint till evening. I served it to my models between sessions, no fuss, on stale toast — no one ever turned up their nose in my studio. Poverty never stopped me from looking people in the eye, or from filling their bellies.
- •Dried beef (chipped beef) — a good handful (stretched protein)
- •Wheat flour — a few spoonfuls (thickener)
- •Butter or fat — a knob (roux fat)
- •Milk — a large bowl (sauce base)
- •Stale white bread — 2 slices per person (toasted base)
- •Black pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast (S.O.S.)
Thin strips of dried beef warmed in a creamy white sauce, poured hot over toast. Salty, comforting, and incredibly cheap.
Why this dish? During the Depression years, Neel lived frugally, sometimes depending on public assistance. This dish of dried beef bound in a milk sauce — nicknamed S.O.S. by soldiers — was THE meal that fed an entire studio for a few cents: meat stretched endlessly by milk and flour.
Listen to me: when you've got nothing in your pockets but a mouth to feed, you make do with what the grocer lets you have on credit. A handful of dried beef, a little flour, milk, and there you have something to keep you standing to paint till evening. I served it to my models between sessions, no fuss, on stale toast — no one ever turned up their nose in my studio. Poverty never stopped me from looking people in the eye, or from filling their bellies.
Ingredients (period version)
- Dried beef (chipped beef) — a good handful (stretched protein)
- Wheat flour — a few spoonfuls (thickener)
- Butter or fat — a knob (roux fat)
- Milk — a large bowl (sauce base)
- Stale white bread — 2 slices per person (toasted base)
- Black pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Dried beef in thin strips (or sliced bresaola) — 120 g (stretched protein)
- Flour — 2 tbsp (thickener)
- Butter — 30 g (roux fat)
- Whole milk — 400 ml (sauce base)
- Country bread — 4 slices (toasted base)
- Freshly ground black pepper — generous (seasoning)
Method
- If the beef is very salty, soak it in warm water for 10 minutes, then drain.
- Melt the butter in a skillet, add the flour and stir for 1 minute to form a blond roux.
- Gradually pour in the milk while whisking until smooth and thick.
- Add the shredded beef, let simmer 3-4 minutes. Season generously with pepper (salt only if needed).
- Toast the bread slices and pour the hot sauce over them. Serve immediately.
How it was made : Born in the U.S. Army (the famous 'S.O.S.' = chipped beef on shingle), this dish became a poor-kitchen staple during the Great Depression: dried beef keeps without refrigeration, and the milk sauce stretches a little meat to feed a whole table.
The contemporary twist : A pinch of grated nutmeg and a dash of Worcestershire sauce wake up the gravy; serve on well-toasted sourdough for a crispy contrast.
Alice Neel · Charactorium
