SOS- where can I find real "dried, chipped beef"?

Growing up in Eastern Pennsylvania, another childhood recipe I am trying to work out is "Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast". It is a standard breakfast food in most dinners from about Central PA and east, and it possibly best in Amish Country, Lancaster County, PA.

It was so ubiquitous to the breakfast menu, WWII vets refered to it as "SOS- S%*t on a Shingle." My Father In Law went so far as to swear he would never eat it again!

I have bought the dried beef , a beautiful chunky, dark brown meat sold at butcher shops in PA. It is miles and miles away from the "dried beef" wrapped in a circle and sold in glass jars at many local markets. (That meat product is about as close to the real deal as a Philly Cheesesteak bought in, say, Des Moines.)

Has anyone ever seen real dried beef sold here in Chicagoland?

Here is the recipe with a yummy picture:

http://www.alderfermeats.com/recipes/Vi ... spx?cid=74

Anyone else remember this classic as a child?

You seem to be going for a specific taste that corresponds to your memory of how you had it, and I can't say this recommendation will address that need, but have you considered using cesina, the salted, aged beef of Mexican cuisine? This stuff is available at many Mexican markets, and it seems like you could actually make a very fine SOS with it.

Just as mac n' cheese, hamburgers, etc.,are getting high-end treatment (with truffles, kobe, etc.), could it be long before Moto and others try their hand at upgrading SOS?

Sorry--edited to remove post...misunderstood...
Good luck!
CC

Hi,

My last serving was at Barbara Fritchie Restaurant in Fredricksburg, MD.

I know, that wasn't much help.

Regards,

Cathy2,
Not suprising... Drive straight north from Fredericksburg, MD and you are in the heart of Penna Dutch country in about an hour!

And yes David, I am looking for a "Food Critic in Ratatouille" moment...hope my reference isn't too obscure : )

I just saw it this weekend, and I can see why the French love it.

Capsu78 wrote:And yes David, I am looking for a "Food Critic in Ratatouille" moment...hope my reference isn't too obscure : )

My guess is that most people on this forum understood what Anton Ego was experiencing about 2-3 seconds before it registered on the rest of the audience in the theater. We been there.

Could the OP be talking about Bresaola? I'm not sure if it's available anywhere in town, but Caputo's would be the first place I'd look...

In my family (Dad from the middle of Penn., Mom from LI, we lived in NJ), Sunday breakfasts regularly featured scrambled eggs with chipped beef. We'd tear it into small pieces, saute in butter, then add the raw eggs and cook the entire thing together. Mmmm! I remember that we'd buy it in an ~8oz jar or a plastic bag (sort of like you'd buy shredded cheese). Since I think it's relatively shelf-stable, have you tried to buy it via mail order? Also, doesn't Stouffer's make a chipped beef on toast frozen meal? Not the same as from-scratch, but it might temporarily alleviate the craving.

Yes , after finding this link I decided to buy what amounts to a "6 months supply" from this site:

http://www.alderfermeats.com/products.aspx?cid=6 Knauss is the brand that used to be in my hometown.

However, I want to ry the other suggestions here to, so thanks for the replys, everyone.

Saveur Issue #96 featured a recipe for SOS. It is linked here:

http://www.saveur.com/food/classic-recipes/creamed-chipped-beef-on-toast-1000000040.html

I am very familiar with the Knauss brand as I used to go through about 20-30# of the product a month making ... creamed chipped beef down in Virginia. It is a favorite among the military retirees.

Having said that, SOS was generally not made with dried chipped beef, especially in field kitchens, I have been told. More often or not, it was made with ground beef or leftover beef scraps (heard that from several people including a mess sergeant as well as the former director of one of the officer's club in Germany).

Stouffers makes a pretty good product.

I have seen the dried chipped beef at the various Woodman's stores. Call tehm to make sure that they have it in stock.

Funny you should mention. Or that I should read it tonight, because I just made creamed dried chipped beef from lovely dried chipped beef I bought at Elburn's meat market. I don't know if they always have it, but they did last time I was there.

It was as good as the real chipped beef I used to get in Pennsylvania at the Amish market at Renninger's in Lancaster County.

Mmmmmm.....creamed dried chipped beef.....

Elburn's Meat Market
http://elburnmarket.com/
128 N Main Street
Elburn, IL
630-365-6461

Well, to set at least part of the record straight, on my destroyer in the mid-1950's, SOS was ground beef in a white sauce served over toast.

Wasn't bad, with enough Worchestershire Sauce squirted over it.

The creamed chipped beef, though, was known as "foreskins on toast" and it wasn't bad, either. I still make it now and then, with the stuff in the little glass jar. Makes a nice breakfast.

I'll get some from Randy Ream's Elburn Market next time I'm out that way. Everything he does is just great.

The Hinsdale Rotary Club gets 400 of his Brats and 400 hotdogs every year when we operate a hotdog stand at Hinsdale's Fine Art Fair every Father's Day weekend. (adv't.) The walls of his market are almost completely covered with framed awards he was won, mostly for the brats.

Mike

Wikipedia on S.O.S. and other dysphemisms

In my company messhall S.O.S. was shredded (not exactly ground) beef mostly; but sometimes I'd swear that there was a bit of sausage in it. Plus a pretty decent flour + milk gravy. I actually liked it with a sunnysided egg on top.

Ah, the memories.

Geo

Stouffer's does indeed make a pretty damed good frozen version. I've not seen it in Chicago, but haven't honestly looked for it. I'm sure you could get your grocer to carry it.

Yeah, SOS was a staple in my house and I still love it. Just like I still like Spam on white bread with lots of mayonnaise and a sliced tomato. It's abhorrent really, but so good too?

My mother used to buy the chipped beef in a bag, in the deli meat section, and then make the milk gravy from scratch. It never crossed my mind there might be a "gourmet" version of dried, chipped beef!

Good luck finding the "gourmet" version, there's always the good ol' grocery store stand by too!

I had forgotten I signed up on this forum until I received an email survey today. I've been having fun reading all of these posts, so thanks!

Creamed chipped beef was a standard in my household too, but we usually served it over squares of cornbread. This is the only way I ever knew it. It was a really basic cornbread recipe - I think the one on the Quaker cornmeal container. I liked it because the cornbread was a little bit sweet, which was nice when combined with the salty beef and sauce.

MHayes-

TJ's in Downers Grove has packaged Bresaola, so I would suppose the others do, too.

Mike

This was a staple in my house, and still is for me and I have always used the Carl Buddig's beef. My wife however would use the Hormel stuff in the little jar that had to be rinsed (but still to salty for me).

I haven't made creamed chipped beef from scratch (yet), generally eating it while traveling or just getting the Stouffer's version at home, but I have seen the glass jars of dried, chipped beef at the Buffalo Grove Jewel grocery store. I don't know if they still carry it, but I did see it in the recent past, which suggests that one might be able to get one's grocer to simply order it.

Hi, I'm a Lebanon county transplant, myself. Every Christmas I receive from my family a care package from Weaver's in Lebanon. This often includes smoked dried beef. I don't know if I've ever seen it "chipped". It is usually sliced paper thin. I just eat it out of hand but I imagine it would work well in a "creamed" recipe.

I couldn't find a website, but here is the address and phone (I know they have a print catalog, I'm sure they'd be happy to send you one):

Weaver's Famous Lebanon Bologna & Baum's Bologna
15th Avenue & Weavertown Road
Lebanon, PA 17042
717-274-6100
or
800-WEAVERS

edited to add: I just found this online source for Weavers smoked dried beef.

I also love their canadian bacon and regular bacon.

I caved in and ordered a "care package" from this company, as they used to be based in my childhood hometown:

http://www.alderfermeats.com/products.aspx?cid=6

I order the Creamed chip beef packages and guess they are better, or comparable to the Stauffers.

If I had it to do over, I would of just ordered the "dried beef" and made the white suace myself.

I think the glass jarred versions to be as unlike the actual product as "American Airlines Chicago Style Pizza" is to Lou M's...

Capsu78 wrote:I think the glass jarred versions to be as unlike the actual product as "American Airlines Chicago Style Pizza" is to Lou M's...

Ah -- I read the original post too quickly, and thought you were actually looking for the glass-jarred stuff.

So, if the stuff in the glass jar is unlike what you were looking for, how does the Budig chipped beef in the plastic pouches compare to the ideal? I'd be curious to know how unlikely I'd be to achieve success if I did use the Budig beef in a recipe. (I've always just eaten it straight out of the package -- got it instead of candy when walking home from school as a kid.)

Frugal Gourmet makes chipped beef:

Hi,

I recently picked up some Hormel dried beef at Woodman's with the intention to make SOS.

This was our lunch today, which was better than I imagined. When I tasted the meat as-is, it was not very good. Mixed into a cream sauce with some Worcestershire sauce and lots of black pepper, it was not awful and even pretty good.

This was served over freshly baked biscuits, which helps just about any dish along.

Will do again sometime.

Regards,
Cathy2

scanz wrote:This was a staple in my house, and still is for me and I have always used the Carl Buddig's beef.

Ditto

Both my mother many years ago and My Bride currently.

We buy the dried beef at Ream's in Elburn. It's made by them. It is called dried beef.

http://reamsmeatmarket.com/lunchmeat-deli