A Southern Grace: chip off the ol' block

January 11, 2011

chip off the ol' block

Yum

Lest you folks mistakenly think I'm on the diet train this new year (sacrificing frosting, and all...), I've prepared evidence proving otherwise.


So what have I prepared? In a word, gravy. In three more descriptive and delicious words, chipped beef gravy.

It's a simple concept--make a roux, add your oh-so-salty beef, spices, and seasonings--but the combination atop a warm and fluffy biscuit is one of my favorite things to eat. I know a lot of people cringe when they think about gravy, but it's not really all that bad. Sure, there's some butter involved, but let's be honest--butter is in everything. Everything worth eating, at least...

Definitely worth eating.

In college, my friends and I became addicted to chipped beef gravy. We ate ridiculous amounts of the stuff and even planned our schedules around the rare days that it was served in the cafeteria. Looking back, it's probably a good thing that chipped-beef-gravy days were so infrequent--I'm not kidding when I say we ate ridiculous amounts. Bowls full. So I guess in that sense, gravy can be a bad thing.

Moderation, my friends. Moderation.

Champion Chipped Beef Gravy
(makes 3 impressively-sized portions)

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
4 ounces dried beef lunch meat, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
the tiniest pinch of nutmeg
dash Worcestershire sauce or, even better, hot sauce (if you're feeling frisky)

Add the butter to a large saucepan set over medium heat. When melted, sprinkle in the flour. Whisk constantly until there are no lumps and the roux has slightly darkened.
Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Keep whisking until there are no lumps. Cook until the sauce thickens, just a couple minutes.
Add the nutmeg, a dash of some sort of flavorful sauce, and a crack of fresh black pepper. Stir well, and then add the dried beef. Cook for a couple minutes to warm the beef. Season the mixture with salt to taste, then dump onto biscuits or toast (or a shingle...) and devour.

82 comments:

shaz said...

I cannot believe I've never heard of chipped beef gravy but that is DEFINITELY worth having. I don't know if I could be moderate :)

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

Hehe so true, butter IS is everything worth eating :P

oneordinaryday said...

I remember my dad eating this, but I was never willing to try it!

Barbara said...

Well Grace, you've brought back some memories! I used to make this for my husband back in the 50's during his training in the Air Force. Ye Gods. I am getting old!

pam said...

I am like this with sausage gravy.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I do love good gravy on my Yorkshire Pudding, perhaps I need to try it as a meal in itself.

A Plum By Any Other Name said...

Dieting? Never. Didn't even cross my mind. ;)

Abby said...

I know, I know. I've been missing around these parts. So in that case, Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! There. All caught up.

But I HAD to stop at chipped beef gravy. Serve it over toast (no butter) and with a hard-boiled egg. On a summer morning at the beach. Made by my mama. And I'm your girl.

TKW said...

My dad loves that! Although he calls it Shit on a Shingle--but with affection, of course! :)

lisa is cooking said...

Gravy! That's what I need on a cold day. Piping hot gravy on a biscuit would definitely warm me up today.

FOODESSA said...

Ohhh...how I remember my quick metabolism in college. Insane amounts of junk foods were had between classes. Now, most of it has become an award type treat ;o)

Thanks for bringing me back to my youth ;o) HAHA

Gravy on mashed potato is what I could have right now.
Ciao,
Claudia

Sarah said...

I love gravy! Even though I spent 5 months in the South, I never got on to white gravy! In Canada our gravy is always brown!

Mel said...

I've never known anyone addicted to chipped beef gravy. I feel kind of famous. I'm in the camp that loves gravy in {most} every form and your version looks delish.

Gloria Baker said...

WOW! Grace look absolutely amazing! and delicious as well. gloria

kimberleyblue said...

Oh, that's not too much butter! I'm sure I eat more just on my toast!

I'm not used to seeing such a pale gravy - it looks amazing, salty and thick and heavenly. I could eat that by itself, with a spoon.

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

I have never heard of chipped beef gravy. That's so different than what I am used to make.

José Manuel said...

Fantastica propuesta, me encanta.

Saludos

Hungry Dog said...

I've never been good at making gravy and maybe it's because I've never looked at an actual recipe? This is great. Thanks, Grace!

Anonymous said...

I've been on a huge biscuit and gravy kick lately, but I'd totally forgotten about chipped beef gravy. Oh my. I may be in trouble now.

Mimi said...

Comfort food from childhood, Yum.
Mimi

kat said...

Oh man chip beef on toast is such a happy memory from my childhood!

Joanne said...

I don't think I could ever picture you on a diet Grace. You're too good of a baker for that! Mmm gravy. The good stuff in life.

Faith said...

I'm a little sad to say, I've never had chipped beef gravy! Looks so delicious and comforting, I need to remedy this ASAP. :)

La Bella Cooks said...

I needed friends like you in college who would have made me chipped beef gravy. Looks heavenly!

big bro said...

Go hang a salami. I'm a lasagna hog.

vanillasugarblog said...

now we're talking girl.
lets make some johnny cakes or buttermilk pancakes and slather this fabulous sauce on it. Mmmhhmm.

sweetlife said...

great line, butter is in everything..worth eating love it!

sweetlife

Kerstin said...

I'm actually not a gravy fan, but this may change my mind ;) And I am all about the biscuits!

scrambledhenfruit said...

This was one of my favorite breakfasts when I was a kid (many years ago). My dad had a special name for it that he learned in the army. :)

LilSis said...

Photos are awesome!! Brings back some great memories! I grew up on this stuff and a lot of times, it was dinner on toast and not even on biscuits!

tamilyn said...

Like TKW, we call it $hit on a Shingle :)

It was good and cheap and filling!

Catherine said...

Oooh Grace, I've always known gravy to be brown too, but I would definitely give this one a try! Definitely one for when you're feeling indulgent :D when I was at school, we used to go to the "nippy chippy" van that parked across the road from our school and served us deep fried half pizzas & chippy chips :o I'm surprised we weren't all obese!

Lisa-Marie said...

Dude, people who don't like things like gravy don't actually like food.

That looks immense!

LynnieBNC said...

Yep, it was sh*t on a shingle at our house, served on toast. YUMMM

Dana said...

I don't know if this is just a thing Canada doesn't do, or if maybe it's a smaller microcosm where this sort of gravy just hasn't come up in my life.

I'm only familiar with and really exposed to gravy that is made with meat drippings (ie you make a roast, or roast a chicken) not a white sauce with meat in it.

As a fellow gravy lover, I'm intrigued by the idea of being able to have gravy without roasting something (sometimes you just don't have the time), but do the two compare at all?

Silver Strands said...

Great evidence ... thanks for sharing Grace!
oxox
Denalee

doughmesstic said...

Yep, you are definitely a southern gal! I love gravy too, and it goes best on a biscuit...that's just the way it is. Your pics have me starving for it now!
BTW - you don't think of orange in desserts FIRST? You may be just a little crazy. Orange goes gerat with cookies, chocolate, pies, everything!! :)

Anonymous said...

Loved this as a kid. My mom would make the white sauce but with chunks of hard boiled eggs. Then we placed spoonfuls on buttered toast. Yummy!!

blackbookkitchendiaries said...

oh yeah.. let bring on the gravy!! yummy!

The Blonde Duck said...

Thank God! I've been curious about this for ages! Bless you, Grace!

marla said...

Nice & savory for a change - count me in on this greatness - with the beef of course! xo

marye said...

Used to eat this all the time! Wow... Trying to remember why in the world I haven't made it in so long...

Erica said...

I've never heard of chipped beef gravy, but I would love to try it!

Anonymous said...

I'm thrilled you posted this, Drew just asked me to make this gravy. It's a southern thing, and growing up in the north, well, ya know. Can't wait to make it for my fam,thanks Grace!

Unknown said...

My husband loves this stuff, but I've never been able to bring myself to try it. Something about lunch meat in gravy...just seems wrong.

Is it breakfast? Or dinner? I'm still kinda confused.

Lori said...

I love those dips with the chipped beef and the one with the chipped ham. Dippin bread and feeling really glutinous!

Pam said...

This is hands down my all time very favorite comfort food. I only eat it once a year when I visit my parents at their home. It truly makes my heart go pitter patter.

Emily said...

I love gravy. I think it should be celebrated every single day. :) Chipped beef gravy and biscuits is a meal we ate a lot when I was growing up. We always had it with frozen peas!

Anonymous said...

I haven't had this kind of gravy before, it looks wonderfully rich and delicious!

kelly said...

Ha! Yet another of my mother's magical creations. My dad called it s#it on a shingle and on quick nights, it was served on toast, not a biscuit. No, those occasions were saved for hamburger gravy. And it was made with bacon grease,not butter. Couldn't eat bowlfuls of that! Thanks for the memories : )

Elle said...

I've never had chipped beef gravy! But over those biscuits up there? Looks utterly amazing. I may have to give this a go...

Angie's Recipes said...

wow The gravy looks to die for! I wish some to spread on some rye bread!

Robin said...

I lost my breath over the first picture! Oh my word that looks so good. I was fondling a jar of chipped beef the other day but said naw, I am the only one who eats it, but now that I have a starving teen this may do the trick. I will have to try it with your suggestion of nutmeg too!
Thanks!

Marjie said...

When we go to Myrtle Beach, one of my favorite secret guilty pleasures is chipped beef in gravy for breakfast. Goes great with corned beef hash instead of biscuits, too.

Anonymous said...

I am thoroughly drooling here,...realy!

MMMMMMMMMM,..looks so tasty!
I just transferred my blog to wordpress.com
Could you pop over @ my blog & update your RSS?

Thanks, Grace! Hope to see you there: http://www.sophiesfoodiefiles.wordpress.com

Juliana said...

Never heard of chipped beef gravy...but it sure looks yummie, love the creamy taste of it :-)

The Teacher Cooks said...

Since I have been married my husband begs me to make this. I guess now that I have a great recipe thanks to you I will have to make this thing called chipped beef gravy. I does look delicious.,

~~louise~~ said...

I too have been among the missing so Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Now, bring on that sinful looking chipped beef pronto! Oh my heavens...there goes my diet:)

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Goodness, Graceness, I never knew gravy could be food porn!

Hornsfan said...

My dear Grace you may have converted me from gravy hater (white gravy at least) to gravy-liker :)

LyB said...

Thank goodness, Grace! I was so afraid your blog would become one of those low-fat-low-sugar-no-taste foodblogs! ;) In the words of Homer Simpson: Mmmmmmmm, gravy...

Valentine Recipes at Raspberry depot said...

To be honest I have never tried, nor heard of this before! I would like to try it though. The only gravy I every make is with the meat drippings, and the water from the veggies, and then thickened. Looks like I have been missing something...

Anonymous said...

This was the first recipe I remember cooking with my mother when I was about 5 years old. Thanks for the blast from the past!

Amanda said...

"Butter is in everything" HA! I could not agree more... love the recipe and the words behind it! :)

archana said...

You go girl, i am with you on it, we should never under estimate the magical powers of butter ! I loooove biscuits and gravy,must make this one, must make it. Thank you for the recipe.

MaryBeth said...

All i can say Miss Grace is OMG...drool. This is a real not on a diet winner to me...love it

tasteofbeirut said...

I was once friend of a man from Louisiana who told me all his stories of growing up in the swamps and eating biscuits and gravy and squirrels (they were dirt poor); that is what these biscuits reminded me of for some reason, but the for the butter in the gravy, I think that would mean times of luxury were back!

Lucie said...

This is a real discovery for me--hand over the bowl, please!

The Blonde Duck said...

Have a magical Monday!

Lyndas recipe box said...

This is a yummy "oldy but goodie", Grace-my Mother made this when I was a kid, and I used to make when my husaband and I were first married. Time to go buy the chipped beef!

Delishhh said...

WOW - i love your pics. This is NOT a diet food but looks really tasty.

Velva said...

I am pleased to know that you are not on a diet and are still enjoying wonderful, soul-satisfying food.

As always, awesome.

Velva

Julie M. said...

Mmmm... biscuits and gravy. I have a real weakness as well. Your chipped beef version looks to die for.

krissy @ thefoodaddicts.com said...

biscuits and gravy? oh my... that is so comforting! i love gravy!

Eileen said...

Wow, that looks absolutely delicious. There goes my January diet!

Leah Wolff-Pellingra said...

This is just not something we have up North, with sausage gravy making only an occasional appearance. I think the biscuits are probably mandatory accompaniment. I will figure those out first and then attempt the gravy :)

Nic said...

At first I thought it waas a cream sauce for a cake, looks interesting, not had it before.

Nutmeg Nanny said...

Mmmmmmmmm I love love love chipped beef :)

Ingrid_3Bs said...

I've never had it. I just learned how to make sausage gravy last year. Guess it's time to expand my gravy making skills.
~ingrid

Carolyn Jung said...

Dare I admit the last time I had this, it was probably a Swanson's boil-in-the-bag version? Still, as a kid it was pretty tasty. ;)

Anonymous said...

My mother made this for us many, many years ago, but she added hard-boiled eggs and served it on toast. YUM! :)

Unknown said...

Wow, My mama made this for us on Saturday mornings with popovers and poached eggs. You really brought back memories.