Shit on a Shingle is a very simple to make the recipe, and it tastes terrific. Some of you might have eaten it in your childhood because we know that your parents might have used to cook it if they are in a hurry and want something for dinner. It is not one of the best-looking dishes for those of you who believe that you eat with your eyes first, but you cannot forget the taste of smoked, salted dried beef. But of course, most of you don’t care about the looks of food as long as it tastes delicious.

The versatility of this dish is unspeakable because instead of beef you can also use, chicken or sausages as well. Instead of a toast, you can also go for burger buns as well or even opt for tortillas. You can go for biscuits, bagels, English muffins, rice, home fries, and casseroles as well. It is a recipe for all of your family members even those who are the pickiest. In addition to its little preparation time, the ingredients are not too expensive.

What is required to prepare Shit on a Shingle?

In the old times, the recipe included a sauce made of beef stock and milk. The army cooks used a roux to make the sauce thick, and everything was seasoned with pepper and parsley. The beef was cooked in its fat. The excessive fat was removed from the pan and was saved for making roux later.

The roux was prepared by adding the reserved fat into a double boiler or a big pan, and then they slowly added sifted flour into it. They use to continue stirring it on slow heat until it is well blended. They cooked it, and before turning brown, milk was added to it. Then add butter and scald and then add roux to it. Later on while continually stirring it the meat mixture was added and cooked for about ten minutes.

Chopped beef was added into the sauce right at the end just before serving for preserving the smoky and salty taste of the meat. Since then the recipe has evolved a lot, and now it includes the ingredients that we see these days.

First of all, you need to keep this in mind that there are no culinary expertise are necessary to prepare this dish. The list of ingredients needs to make this recipe is straightforward and not expensive at all. You can crack on with the steps listed below to make the most scrumptious poop on a toast dish.

It can serve four to six persons at a time while the preparation time is only five to ten minutes. The cooking time will take your 20 minutes. You can vary your ingredients if you want to and can also alter the seasoning. The original recipe is designed to keep things simple and thus includes only salt and black pepper.

Sauce ingredients

Cooking directions for Shit on a Shingle

For Toast

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For Sauce

Nutritional facts of Shit on a Shingle

If you are not too concerned about your calories, then you can either use white or brown bread without any hesitation. You can also opt for making the sauce a lot runnier by adding water. In that case, you will only need 1/3 cup of milk which is about 75ml. For some people, the dish is already salty enough with the beef, and you don’t require additional salt into it. For the diet and weight conscious people, the following details about calories per serving will be very instructing.

Beef chuck, pot roast, (2.50 oz) = 210 calories

Butter, salted, (0.75 tbsp) = 77 calories

Bread, mixed-grain (1 slice) = 69 calories

Milk (0.50 cup) = 69 calories

Peas, frozen, (0.50 cup) = 55 calories

Cooked bacon, mushroom, sausage (0.5 medium slices) = 22 calories

Flour, white, (0.02 cup) = 9 calories

Raw onion (1 slice, medium 1/8″ thick) = 5 calories

What variation can you do?

The latest versions of Shit on a Shingle include some additional ingredients such as mushrooms and sausages, and you can also go for any seasoning that you like including parsley, basil, thyme or oregano if you want. You can feel free to try anything to acquire your acquainted taste.

You can also add Worcestershire sauce or oyster sauce if you like them. A little Pecorino Romano sprinkled over the top, in the end, can also add a twist to your dish. Furthermore, coconut and lime can also add flavoring to it. You don’t want to get too much carried away with the experimenting but who cares as long as it tastes good.

Interesting facts

The dish was served to the members of US Armed forces and is considered to be emblematic to the military experience. Shit on a shingle was also known as SOS commonly referred to as ‘Save Our Stomachs‘ in the American military slang. Other names include ‘Stew on a Shingle,’ ‘Same Old Stuff‘ and ‘Something on a Shingle.’

For the people who don’t want to use a curse word to name a dish, you can call it creamed or chipped beef on a toast. The terms become famous during World War II, and it has featured in US army cookbooks for over 100 years.

Shit on a Shingle is an army dish that first made its appearance in the year 1910, the Manual of Army Cooks. The 1944 Cook Book of United States Navy also refers to the same recipe but this recipe also features tomato juice or puree, and the sailors refer to it as ‘Red SOS.’

The original dish was served to feed the First Battalion of 50^th Infantry in the Mess Hall before the First World War but become highly popular during the Second Great War. However, there is no standard or official recipe of this dish if you don’t consider the method given in 1969 Armed Forces Recipe Service and right from the beginning different versions of this comfort food has exited.

Final Word

There is no official recipe that you have to follow when it comes to preparing Shit on a Shingle. Moreover, you don’t need to be an expert chef to cook it and can do plenty of experimenting as well. Just mix a few ingredients and get ready to munch on the food that was once served to the troops in US Armed forces.