How many of you like S.O.S and why is it so despised by others?
I never had it or heard of it until I was in the Army. I really liked the stuff but never understood why it was so unpopular among G.I.'s.
If you don't know what S.O.S. is, anyone who's been in the military can probably tell you.
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30 Comments:
Chipped beef and white sauce...awesome. Loved it as a kid and I still love it. Don't know why the GI's don't like it....probably because they get served it all the time?
arm1970 at 3:21PM on 07/01/09
I LOVE IT! my mom used to make it sometimes on sunday for breakfast. it's so salty and delicious...
kristin314 at 3:24PM on 07/01/09
love it! never heard it called sos. thanks @arm for clearing that up
_greenbean at 3:27PM on 07/01/09
Ha, Ha, Ha - When I saw the title I thought you were talking about the scrub pads for dishes. I was confused as to why people dispised them. Seemed like such an odd thing to have such strong feelings about. LOL, good thing I read the entire post :)
Martini Me at 3:33PM on 07/01/09
My BF loves the stuff and can't figure out why no restaurant we have gone to ever make SOS. I never had the beef version but my mother used to make it with chicken and I loved it.
pjracz10 at 3:44PM on 07/01/09
Growing up we had it for dinner sometimes .. I never made it for my kids.
goodcooker at 3:54PM on 07/01/09
I love it! I used to get the frozen kind and put it on toast for quick dinners. Then one day I found the chipped beef in the deli department and made it from scratch. I also love sausage gravy and creamed chicken, so I guess anything made with a white creamy sauce will work for me.
And I got it in boarding school, not the military as my introduction. Being six and eating stuff like that should have made me dislike anything strange and off the wall, but I seem to gravitate to weird food.
queenbleu at 3:57PM on 07/01/09
I thought you were talking about the pot scrubber, SOS......
CJ McD at 4:03PM on 07/01/09
I like my version (with chopped olives) and Stouffer's. My mom's was bad; she never cooked her roux long enough and so it tasted floury. Same problem when she made scalloped potatoes. Also, she never put cheese in her scalloped potatoes. Bummer!
duncan1205 at 4:26PM on 07/01/09
That is too funny. I knew exactly what it was when I read it. It was also just mentioned in a previous thread. SOS scrubbing pads, huh? You people clean too much. LOL
arm1970 at 4:27PM on 07/01/09
My dad used to make this for Sunday morning breakfast when we were kids. We loved it. My bechamel is a bit different from dad's since I add some crushed garlic and chives. We serve it with english muffins or biscuits.
julie527 at 4:34PM on 07/01/09
Ditto pot scrubber thoughts. I truly love my S.O.S. for scrubbing tough, cooked on grime and grease...but I'm not overly fond of Brillo for some reason.
bessfour at 4:45PM on 07/01/09
well, poutrygeist, since you were apparently in the military, why don't you enllighten us as to what it is?
gastronomeg at 5:01PM on 07/01/09
oh how i love this stuff..SOS... pretty much creamed beef on toast/biscuits or chipped beef in white gravy-like sauce. my Dad referred to it as "sh*t on shingles"..lol. we pratically devoured it whenever my Mom would make it: ground beef, can of cream of mushroom, salt and pepper and you're good to go... don't forget the toast/biscuits!!
fruitypebbles82 at 5:12PM on 07/01/09
gastronomeg, in the Army S.O.S. stood for "sh_t ona' shingle" ( shingle referring to the toast points that the chipped cream beef was served on ) - it's a terrible name for something so good. When I pulled KP I remember the cooks even called it that.
I do like the Stouffer's version but the Army stuff was pretty special.
Poultrygeist at 5:35PM on 07/01/09
I used to love that stuff! We often got it for dinner as kids when my dad worked late (he did not like it) and we thought it was a great treat. My mom made it from scratch. We were allowed to call it SOS in the house, about the only time we could curse and get away with it. We were NOT to call it that in public though!
I have tried the frozen versions and thought they were simply awful. Like salt and wool with scraps of meat. Uck.
Have not had it in ages though now I want some too!
sadiepix at 5:44PM on 07/01/09
My grandfather who served in WWII really disliked this stuff. He said they were expected to eat quickly and get back to duty, and this was something that could be eaten fast - no need to cut it or chew. He also felt it was cheap - just a way to mask dried salted beef.
yayfood at 5:49PM on 07/01/09
i thought it was a distress call.....
pooch at 5:57PM on 07/01/09
That would be:
(· · · — — — · · ·)
arm1970 at 6:03PM on 07/01/09
omg. you guys are so funny! :)
yayfood at 6:08PM on 07/01/09
I thought you mean steel wool pads too...
My brother loves SOS. I think it looks like vomit on toast. I just can't stand white gravy in general.
gingercookiewithlime at 7:19PM on 07/01/09
I was the only one in my family who didn't like it--therefore I had to eat it often along with meatloaf the other dreaded meal. I was never much of red meat eater. And as soon as I hit college--gave up all red meat--not a bite since 1985. That said, I saw a weird thing in the packaged cold cut section of the store the other day--creamed chip beef in a vacuum pack that you just threw in the nuker. Convenience food gone awry IMHO.
dhorst at 7:44PM on 07/01/09
I've loved the stuff all my life. Make it all the time. I once did a fancy version with roasted garlic, shallots and herbs in the sauce, served over toasted brioche rounds.
sailordave at 9:14PM on 07/01/09
I knew that the traditional recipe calls for chipped beef but I'm not absolutely sure what that is or where I could get some. My family, three generations, have made variations using ground beef or bulk sausage and the cream gravy combination over; toast, biscuits, saltine crackers or mashed potatoes.
There's no one in my family who doesn't like this dish but none of us would say it's healthy. Bottom line, it's fast, easy, inexpensive and somehow comforting. We don't brag about it and it never gets considered when we are entertaining but...
I gotta agree, I'd probably give it a go if I found it on a cafe's menu and now wonder why I haven't.
czken at 5:29AM on 07/02/09
I would think many GI's wouldn't like it because I'm sure there wasn't the "quality" put into it like you would make it at home. It was probably pretty tasteless and unpleasant to look at.
I asked my mom to make it for my birthday lunch last year. Since my mom makes lunch for several of us kids* every monday (aren't you jealous?!) my brothers were expecting something "special" for my birthday lunch.. and were very vocal about my lack of a serious lunch selection. I did notice however there were NO Leftovers and they all ate it up - yum!
*I'm 52 .. how lucky am I my mom can do "Mom Monday's" for 4 of her 6 kids! (and often includes a grandkid or two and even her Twin Great Granchildren!
TeriN at 8:46AM on 07/02/09
Cream Chipped Beef (aka SOS) is out of this world! My great-grandmother taught me how to make it - with lots of fresh cracked black pepper. To this day, it's still my favorite breakfast!
@czken - you can find chipped beef at the grocery store. I'm in PA, which may be why it's easy for me to find it...gotta love those PA Dutch! haha
tiffanyh283 at 8:58AM on 07/02/09
Yeah, I ate SOS all the time when I was a kid. My dad loves it, he'd say, "We're having shit on a shingle for supper!" Creamed tuna on toast is good, too; add some shallots and peas and that's a mighty fine meal. We used the Carl Buddig chipped beef. Is that still around?
ride&cook at 9:09AM on 07/02/09
@tiff - When we moved to the South from PA years ago my grandmother used to send care packages with Chipped Beef!
arm1970 at 9:12AM on 07/02/09
Yeah, I don't do white gravies at all and the idea of meat floating around in a white gravy is squicky to me.
RegrettableFoodie at 4:26PM on 07/03/09
mmm! creamed chipped beef, or tuna, or ground beef, or sausage on toast (or biscuit)! God, I ate SOS every frickin meal in basic training. There used to be a truckers dive called Stavers in Colton/San Bernardino. A person had to get there early on the weekend or else they'd run out and youd be outa luck.
RossS at 4:57PM on 07/03/09