Cutty Sark and SOS

Today's recipe is in honor of the Cutty Sark, which suffered a serious fire overnight. My late grandfather served on a Merchant Marine vessel (torpedoed by the Nazis) and he said the food was the same as in the US Navy. This is a love it or hate it recipe given to me by a retired naval cook. My Dad still loves this stuff and he's been out of the navy since the 50s. It also is very useful on camping trips. Usually referred to as SOS when around women or children, nonetheless, pretty much any guy who has been in the military knows about it and either loves it or detests it. Easy, easy to make, although nowadays, I use Carl Buddig deli beef or corned beef instead of dried beef (lower in salt, easier to chew, cheaper). If you do that, you can alter the first step as you don't have to hydrate the beef. I've noted here on the Internet that some folks have substituted cooked hamburger for the chipped beef. It's probably just fine, but it's not SOS. Final note: dried beef is typically found in the vicinity of Spam which is another love it or hate it food popular in the armed forces. I happen to love it.

Photo from Wikipedia

Shit On A Shingle (or Chipped Beef on Toast)

4.5 oz. dried beef
2 cups milk
2 tbs. butter
¼ cup flour
Salt and pepper
6 slices bread

Melt butter in pan, add dried beef. Cook 2-3 minutes to brown. Add milk (reserve ¼ cup for later), salt & pepper. Bring to boil. Mix flour and remaining milk together. Slowly add to boiling mixture until it begins to thicken. Serve over toast.

Now, the above is the home version. The one at Wikipedia is much closer to what this retired navy cook actually made.
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Chipped_beef_on_toast