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S@#$ on a shingle never tasted so good!

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I always find it interesting to compare the regular recipes that I ate as a child to that of my husband. I grew up basically with a brother and a sister until my baby brother came when I was 15. My husband was one of 7 children. My mom stayed home and kept house while my mother in law worked part time and finally full time as a high school history teacher. We both had full, loving lives, but our dinners were completely different. Obviously my mother is from England and thus we ate pretty traditionally, while my husband’s family came over on the Mayflower though of English and Dutch decent with some Native American thrown in as well. My husband grew up on typical, frugal American Fare.

This sometimes leads to pretty intense discussions because while its pretty apparent, having grown up in New England he had never had a Knish before coming to live in New York, he simply could not believe that I had never ever had chipped beef on toast aka S#$% on a shingle in my entire life. True, my mother happily made white onion sauce, while my father hated it, but she never thought to put meat into gravy unless it was giblets in poultry pan gravy.

So, a few weeks ago, when making a purchase from my Amish Dairy Club’s website, I clicked on dried beef, thinking incorrectly that it was beef jerky. When I went to pick up my order, there in the cooler was a small vacuum sealed plastic bag labeled with my name on it. I had no idea what it was and told the delivery manager they had screwed up my order. He laughed and explained that this happened often and that beef jerky was indeed called beef jerky on the website and this was dried beef which was thinly sliced, seasoned with warming spices and a bit of molasses and dehydrated slightly.

I was dumbfounded. What would anyone do with this stuff? I had not a clue, so I asked my husband when I got home if he knew what it was after I opened it. I guess the smell triggered a memory for him and he said chipped beef on toast. Blank stare from me. You know! No, I don’t know! He then proceeded to tell me all about S@#$% on a shingle and how they always laughed when it was the meal of the night like they had some private joke and while no one would admit to actually liking it, and they always complained when it was on the menu, they all ate it with gusto and cleaned their plates.

I decided at that point to search for recipes but I had also emailed my dear friend who is the farm manager to find out more about it. She giggled profusely and said she made Amish Dried Beef Gravy all the time and she gave me her basics which I used to create my gravy. I served it over some home made whole wheat biscuits instead of toast.

Amish Dried Beef Gravy

Serves 4 to 6

1/4 Lb. Dried beef (I am lucky to be able to get grass fed dried beef!)

2 Tbs. Butter

3-4 Tbs. Flour

3 cups whole milk (I used raw milk from pastured cows!)

Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large sauce pan or skillet melt butter on medium high heat. Coarsely chop or tear the dried beef into small pieces and toss them into the butter. Brown the meat slightly and then add in the flour, starting with 3 Tbs, stirring well to brown it. When the flour has been coated with the fat and browned a bit, add in the milk, sea salt and pepper and stir constantly until the gravy bubbles.

If the gravy is too thin, take a small amount of cold milk and mix in the additional tablespoon of flour into it and add to the gravy to thicken it further. Turn the heat down to low and continue stirring for about 5 minutes until gravy has finished thickening. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Serve over toast points or biscuits. Gravy can be reheated over medium low, adding in a little bit more milk if too thick.

I have to say that I was extremely surprised by how delicious and filling this recipe was! I have had biscuits and sausage gravy before, but this was much lighter and I loved the combination of the creamy white sauce and the unique flavor of the dried beef. It was absolutely perfect over the biscuits and my kids really enjoyed it. I will definitely be ordering more dried beef in the future. I am so glad of this mistake which led me to trying something new and so glad I was open to experimenting with new foods, which does give you the opportunity to find new favorites!

This article is a part of the Hearth and Soul Hop-Volume 39, Monday Mania, Homemaker Monday, Delicious Dishes, Made By You Monday, Mouthwatering Monday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Tasty Tuesdays.   This recipe was also posted on the wonderful food community Eat Cook Share, so please stop by and join this lovely foodie group!