Ah, the memories! I loved it so much that when I was in the Air Force and they were sending from one base's hospital to another's, they had to fix me a breakfast well before the chow hall normally served it. The cook ask me what I wanted and, of course, it was SOS. The cook there made it with sausage. My mother always made it with chipped beef. Darn, I was going to have meatloaf for dinner, but now I have a craving for SOS and I do have a jar of dried beef in the pantry.

One of my favorites too. Be sure to cut the meat into managable pieces. It will be salty, probably more noticeable then when you enjoyed it the last time. Have to look for a jar of it, sounds great to have something different

omg! I just mentioned 'chipped beef' to a friend the other day. My family loved it! It's been many years since I've seen it in the stores, but I'll try to find some now. I remember my mom de-salting it... I think she'd rip it into pieces and toss it into hot water for a few minutes, then drain it before adding it to her white sauce. We always had it on mashed potatoes, rather than toast. yum! :)

Nah, we used the little jelly jars and Kraft cheese jars for those. :)

But yeah, my mom and dad both liked creamed chipped beef on toast. Me, I preferred creamed hamburger on a baked potato.

I love SOS....and I like to add some grated parm cheese to the cream sauce....not salty...much! And sometimes some frozen peas!!

Creamed chipped beef on toast was one of my favorite meals when I was a kid. My kids wouldn't even touch it. Make it every ten years or so just for old times sake. It's been a while...gotta' add chipped beef to the grocery list!

My mom made it using the little jars of thin beef. Later is was available in the lunch meat section of the store in a plastic bag. I like sliced hard boiled egg with it, but I never really cared for it. It was one of Mom's economical meals.

Well I am pleased with how it turned out! I did what you all said, I soaked it for a couple of minutes in water, drained it and shredded with my hands. I just made a normal bechamel sauce and added it, but I did Doctor it up a little more than salt and pepper, I added a little garlic powder, a good dash of cayenne, and some dried onion flakes. I also made frozen peas and they were just the right thing with it. I had a little left over and I just mixed the peas up in it and I'll have it for lunch tomorrow. DH said it was good. I'd told him what I was making and when it was ready I announced that his "gourmet" dinner was ready. LOL!

I like it too. It was one of those "cheap" meals in the 50s/60s (along with tuna noodle casserole) and it is filling meal. Haven't made it in a while and may have to remedy that.

BTW, we were also raised on sausage gravy and biscuits for breakfast but it was never referred to as "S.O.S." just "gravy and biscuits".

Oh yeah, I LOVED it, we called it "creamed chipped beef". On buttered toast made with Grandma's homemade bread, it was wonderful.

It was originally made with those little glass jars of dried beef, and yes, we reused the jars as drinking glasses and as containers to dip our paintbrushes in when we were painting with those watercolor paint sets. Later Grandma started buying the Buddig beef in packages, two for a dollar, because they were less salty. It was a meal that used up our excess milk when we still had a milk cow. She also made sausage gravy although we had it with mashed potatoes, never with biscuits. She also made "burnt flour gravy" with the bacon grease, some browned flour and milk. Served over anything you wanted, from potatoes to meatloaf to pasties.

Probably not so healthy...(grin)

Annie

I've never had SOS but am familiar with the concept. Also can't bring myself to eat sausage gravy on biscuits but I DO love creamed tuna on toast (with peas and a hardboiled eggs).

The last time I made creamed chipped beef on toast, it was anything but an economy meal! those little glass jars are no longer around and the Buddig stuff at $.50 a package doesn't cut it....and the alternative was dried smoked beef from the Amana colonies at about $12 a pound. I only needed 1/3 pound...but....
And it was very very good!!
I guess these days, $4.00 and a little flour and milk is not too bad for a meal

Dried Beef

This is what I bought, it was $4.99 at Publix. It was right next to the canned corned beef.

I've never eaten this. Though I was born in Kentucky, there were a lot of country foods my folks never cooked or wanted, and we moved to NYC early in my life.

I'll have to try.

S.O.S. was a favorite of my FIL - he was in the Navy for 20 years and said it tasted best when served on a ship - must be the salt. I used to make it when I was young and poor now I'm old and can't have that much salt.

Someone mentioned tuna noodle casserole and THAT brought back wonderful memories. My kids were 6 or so and learned how to make it - they put crushed potato chips on top. I liked the chips better than the casserole since I didn't know what real tuna tasted like and hated all canned tuna. Well, I still do hate canned tuna but eat sushi or grilled fresh tuna at least once a week.

So funny, but I've never even tasted it because my WWII Army vet father forbade it to ever be served @ our table!

He definitely called it SOS & even explained to his little girls what that stood for.

FWIW, I've made 'tuna' casserole, but subbed chunks of canned salmon instead & it was great = )

My father, a navy man from WWI, said they called chipped beef on toast SOS and that they had it often.

I feel left out, I have never had it !

Sue

I had to look up SOS. Sh** On a Shingle!. I didn't know about chipped beef, but I know my Dad would not eat Spam. It was never in our house. I guess chipped beef was worse than that!. Now, we used to have tuna noodle casserole a lot and salmon corquettes.