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This SOS creamed beef recipe is one of the easiest dishes. My dad always made it when I was growing up, and I still crave it today!
SOS stands for “shit on a shingle,” and growing up, I loved it when my dad made this for dinner.
I mostly loved it because I could say “shit” and not get in too much trouble.
This is one of those classic old-fashioned military meals nostalgic for many people. My family included!
Although SOS is traditionally made with chipped dried beef – a dried, smoked, and salted meat product – my family has always used ground beef. When you use chipped beef, you typically call it “creamed chipped beef.”
Either way, it’s tasty, but I find the ground beef to be a bit more filling and a lot less salty.
Texturally creamed hamburger gravy is similar to sausage white gravy. It’s great spooned over toast, soft white bread, or homemade biscuits.
SOS recipe ingredients
- Ground beef
- Yellow onion
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Unsalted butter
- All-purpose flour
- Whole milk
- Toasted bread
What is shit on a shingle?
Visually, it’s not the most colorful or beautiful dish but filling and comforting.
Sometimes, that cancels the old rule: “You eat with your eyes first.”
Plus, it’s like the dinner version of sausage gravy and biscuits, which you know means it’s going to be amazingly delicious! I like to make mine and serve it over toast, but I hear serving it over potatoes is also a great way to scarf down this deliciousness.
If you’re unfamiliar with this dish, you should know it’s comfort food. It’s super cheap to make and works perfectly when you have a big family to feed.
SOS can be made with either ground beef or chipped beef but for this recipe I used ground beef because that is what my family uses. Popular chipped beef brands Buddig beef or Hormel.
To keep things simple, season this SOS creamed beef recipe with salt and pepper, but sometimes, adding other spices like garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, or even fresh herbs is fun.
I like mine with a little sprinkling of crushed red pepper or a pinch of cayenne pepper because I always crave heat!
How to make creamed hamburger
The great thing about this easy recipe is that it doesn’t require a lot of extra energy in the kitchen. And it can be made relatively cheap!
- Add ground beef and onion in a large skillet and cook until the meat is browned.
- Drain the beef, remove it from the pan, and set aside.
- Melt butter in the same pan and add flour to create a roux to help thicken our gravy/cream sauce.
- Slowly stream in 2 cups milk and gently simmer until thickened.
- Add the ground beef and onions to the pan, stir, and simmer until warm.
- Serve over sliced toasted bread (Texas toast is fun!) or biscuits.
More ground beef recipes
- Are you looking to feed a crowd of people? Try my Ground beef tacos
- Do you love a one-pot recipe? Try my One pot ground beef stroganoff
- Craving a little heat? Try my Chipotle ground beef enchiladas
- Want to bust out the Instant Pot? Try my Instant Pot lasagna soup
SOS Creamed Beef Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- Bread, toasted
Instructions
- Set a large 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add ground beef and onion to the skillet and season lightly with kosher salt and black pepper.
- Break up the meat as it cooks and cook until it’s brown in color and no pink remains. Drain the meat and set aside.
- In the same pan as you used to brown the meat, set it over medium heat and add the butter.
- Melt the butter and sprinkle in the flour and whisk together until it forms a paste.
- Let it bubble slightly and cook for about a minute.
- Slowly stream in milk and whisk until thick. This might take a few minutes to get the gravy as thick as you like.
- Add cooked beef and onion to the white gravy mixture.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Feel free to add more flavor by sprinkling in crushed red pepper, garlic powder or fresh herbs.
- Serve over toast.
Notes
- If the gravy gets too thick you can thin it out with more milk.
- Do not skimp on adding the kosher salt and black pepper after cooking. If you don’t add enough seasoning the gravy will taste very bland.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
comments mom served this a lot but she called it hamburger gravy. I still make it as it is definitely a comfort food serve it over mashed potatoes next time over toast.
Ad a cook in the Marine Corps we made this almost daily for up to 18,000 per meal. Guys ate it on eggs fried and hash brown potatoes, over toast and anything else.
I seriously prefer this to the chipped beef which I find too salty. This seems to be a decent recipe. We would not use the butter butmix the flower with thebeef using the grease that didn’t drain off.
I’ve not had SOS, since I’ve retired from the National Guards in 1995. Time to try it again!
Instead of flour to thicken the gravy, for added flavor, try powdered brown gravy mix !
Try the Same for your roux if you use sausage instead of ground beef !
We had this alot growing up but we always called it hamburger gravy..sos was made w/chipped beef:)
That is a simple way for someone is not good at cooking like me.
I have been making this since I was quite young. I am retired so its been over six decades. When I make this I put it over a baked potato it’s very good that way. I also used bread or biscuits if I’m out of potatoes. The only thing I don’t like it served over is toast.
The true meaning of SOS or more accurate SOSOS is a distress morse code meaning; Save O Save Our Ship. Both the Army and Navy version are good but family enjoys the Army version. The Navy version has tomatoes, tomato juice, hamburger, nutmeg, mace and sugar but no toast or biscuits and is served in a bowl.
Another variation that delicious , is using same recipe but instead of beef using canned tuna fish drained with canned peas drained!
I remember my grandfather making this for us when I was a child. I recall him calling it by the actual name “Sh*t on a Shingle”. He was in WWII. We would always eat it over rice and I remember him using white pepper.