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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.
It looks so good, I don’t about the others, but for me bread is always the best and this cream make it more tasty, great combination. Many thanks for sharing this.
Just made this today and it turned out soo good!
A new choice for my breakfast, this looks so good and creamy but still full for a new day , great recipe. Thanks
My dad was a Marine just like a lot of the commentors so Im assuming thats where they learned it! He made this me myself and sisters and we still talk about to this day! Semper Fi RIP Daddy! Btw just made this recipe and its spot on!! Love it!!
Thank you for sharing these awesome crock pot recipes. My family and I tend to eat the same thing every week due to the fact that both parents work full-time jobs and by the time baby is picked up from preschool we are all exhausted. These crock pot recipes give me a better idea of ways to incorporate new meals. The food will be done by the time we get home and not spending an hour trying to cook after we finally make it home from work.
I love to cook. Finding and updating new menu recipes every day makes me more interested and interested in my work. Today’s my lucky day, SOS creamed beef recipe is great, just follow the instructions and everything is easy, I like that. Thanks for your sharing
Easier way to make it is to cook the onions and meat together, then drain it. Do not remove the meat/onion. Put flour in and mix it up and then gradually add in the milk while stirring. It will thicken as you stir it. When it has a very high sheen it is done. Way to many steps in this recipe.
Awesome! Love your recipe, will try making it this weekend, hoping to enjoy the amazing SOS Creamed Beef. Thanks for sharing!
Look yummy! One of my favorite SOS Creamed Beef, nice to see your recipe, easy to follow, will cook this for family this weekend.Thanks you!
VERY GOOD! My kids want me to make it again tomorrow!!! Next time I will try it over noodles:-)