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S.O.S. (Creamy Hamburger Gravy) +Video

S.O.S. also known as Creamy Hamburger Gravy is an old-school meal. This is a classic, simple and tasty meal that is reminiscent of military cooking!

WHAT IS S.O.S.?

If you have a military background or a military family member, then you are probably very familiar with this meal. It was my Navy Dad’s specialty. Of course, I know military families from all the branches who know exactly what you are talking about when you say “S.O.S.”. We always knew when my Mom was working late because Dad would be cooking this dish. And luckily, my brother and I enjoyed it. It’s a very simple, completely unpretentious dish. And although most of us can make this while blindfolded with one arm tied behind our backs, I figured it needed to be shared here for posterity. 😉

a wooden spoon scooping hamburger gravy over three slices of toast.

HOW DO YOU MAKE HAMBURGER GRAVY?

So all we’re doing here is making a creamy hamburger gravy. This is very similar to the way I make my Homemade Sausage Gravy. The only difference between this and sausage gravy is we would substitute the ground beef with a spicy pork sausage. It’s also somewhat similar to Ground Beef Stroganoff.

WHAT DOES S.O.S. STAND FOR?

I grew up only ever eating this over toast. The acronym “S.O.S.” means “Sh** on a Shingle”. Yup. Really. So the “shingle” part is the toast. Some folks like it over biscuits but plain ole simple toast is how I like it best. In addition, some people also call Creamed Chipped Beef “S.O.S.” but this is how we make it and have for the last 80 plus years.

S.O.S. Creamy Hamburger Gravy recipe from The Country Cook shown closeup served over toast.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)

  • ground beef
  • milk
  • salted butter
  • all-purpose flour
  • salt and pepper
  • bread

HOW TO MAKE S.O.S.:

In a medium sauce pan over medium high heat, brown the ground beef. Season with a little salt and pepper. Drain excess grease and set aside. Melt butter in the same sauce pan. Add flour and stir until butter/flour mixture is bubbly. Add milk, salt, and pepper. Stir constantly until thick and bubbly. Add meat and stir.

hamburger gravy in a skillet.

Taste and adjust seasoning as needed (I usually like a bit more pepper). Serve over toast or biscuits.

creamed hamburger gravy with milk shown served over three pieces of toast.

Cook’s Note: this is the exact same recipe I use for sausage gravy. Instead of ground beef, I substitute with hot, ground breakfast sausage.

S.O.S. hamburger gravy over toast on a white plate.

CRAVING MORE?

S.O.S. Creamy Hamburger Gravy

S.O.S. (Creamy Hamburger Gravy) +Video

S.O.S. also known as Creamy Hamburger Gravy is an old-school meal. This is a classic, simple and tasty meal that is reminiscent of military cooking!
4.93 from 140 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 2 cups milk, 2% or higher
  • 4 Tablespoons salted butter
  • 4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 12 slices bread, toasted

Instructions

  • In a medium sauce pan over medium high heat, brown the ground beef. Season with a little salt and pepper. Drain excess grease and set aside.
  • Melt butter in the same sauce pan. Add flour and whisk until butter/flour mixture is bubbly.
  • Add milk, salt, and pepper. Whisk continuously until thick and bubbly. 
  • Add cooked ground beef back in and stir.
  • Taste and adjust seasoning as needed (I usually like a bit more pepper). If necessary, add a little more milk until it reaches your desired consistency.
  • Serve over toast.

Video

YouTube video

Notes

  • Note: this is the exact same recipe I use for sausage gravy. Instead of ground beef, I substitute with hot, ground breakfast sausage.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Calories: 478kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 27g | Sodium: 831mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g

Nutritional Disclaimer

“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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Recipe Rating




143 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    My Dad was in WW11 & was a cook on a destroyer in the Navy.
    He made this once a week & he taught me how to make it. It is one of my “favorite” meals.
    It is so easy to make & it is filling & does not cost a lot to make.
    Thank you Brandie for this recipe, it is the exact one that was used in the Navy!
    Whenever I make it I think of my Dad who was such a good cook & is no longer with us.

  2. 5 stars
    Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’m an AF brat and always enjoyed SOS when I was a kid. Still enjoy it now as well. This is exactly how my mom prepared it!

  3. 5 stars
    What fun that you put this recipe out there for posterity!! I love it! My mother cooked it when we were kids, but it was my Marine Corps dad that taught her to make it. When we were a young one income household in the late 60’s and 70’s, this was a super economical and easy to feed our family. My mom has since passed 11 years ago, but I will share this recipe with my dad. I’m sure he still knows how to make it at 79, but it might change it up for him a bit in his normal dinners. Thank you so much for sharing!!

  4. 5 stars
    This is easy to fix and easy to personalize each time it’s made. also, it tastes great and reminds me of home.

  5. My dad was in the army and was a cook. Your recipe is the exact recipe that he used and that I use to this day. He called it SOS and that’s what I call it. Love making it because it always reminds me of my dad and what a great cook he was. I’m so glad I have a lot of his recipes since he is no longer with us. It tastes good over biscuits and an over easy egg to the side. If you don’t have biscuits then over toast is great too.

  6. My daddy (WWII) and husband (Vietnam) said SOS was served everyday for breakfast. I serve it with butter biscuits, I like to put a couple slices tomato with mine. I’m southern from AL and like tomatoes with everything.

  7. 5 stars
    So glad I stumbled upon this, this recipe always reminds me of my dad. He would make it for breakfast when my mom worked in the mornings on the weekend. The only difference is he would put a lot of garlic in it. I knew he was making strictly by the smell.

  8. 5 stars
    Thank you for this recipe. Simple & good. Navy generally use dried beef because of availability on the ship.
    I have been using Nutra Thik (Hormel product) for a thickening agent instead of flour or cornstarch. Very easy to use.

  9. 5 stars
    I also grew up eating Stuff on a Shingle, as my Dad would call it! He was in the army, stationed in Bienna at the Palace of Justice. He would always kid about the ‘Stuff’, sometimes calling it the real name to shock us kids! He would add a little bit of garlic powder or salt which gave it a little extra flavor, and it was so good. I sure miss you Dad….I love you…

  10. 5 stars
    Used to eat this as a kid made with dry canned dried beef slices. Think it was a Hormel brand. It came in a small (2-4 oz) glass jar with a metal lid on it. Once used, you kept the jar because it could be used as a glass. Perfect for little hands is why my parents kept them as there were 6 of us kids. And, yes, it would be my Dad who made this. My Mom hated it.

  11. 5 stars
    Grew up on this as a breakfast staple since my Grandpa made it as a cook in the Army. My mom passed the recipe to my sister and I with these changes to the above: corn starch vs flour, add garlic salt, over SOURDOUGH bread.

  12. 5 stars
    Breakfast in the military was an awesome thing. I’d get the s.o.s. right over my 2 egg, cheese and mushroom omelette. Fuel for a busy day!
    Going to start whipping this up around here. I miss it, and it looks pretty easy to make.
    Thanks for the recipe!

  13. Glad to see finally someone knows what SOS really is, see a lot of recipes for SOS and it is really Creamed Chip Beef

    1. Hi Linda – the creamed chip beef was always a separate dish – but not S.O.S. Made the same way but with dried beef. I am learning that it probably depends on which branch of the armed forces you were in and what type of meat your canteen could procure. My grandfather was an old army cook and it was always ground beef but I am sure all of these recipes are special in their own right. 🙂

  14. 5 stars
    Excellent. This is the exact recipe my USMC Dad made for breakfast. I would rarely eat this as a kid, now I love it.
    He always called it S. O. S. or Sh** On A Shingle

  15. 5 stars
    The best hamburger gravy I’ve made in a long time I’ve been trying different recipes but this is been my favorite by far unless my mother makes her hamburger milk gravy some things you just can’t duplicate and that’s one that I haven’t been able to

    1. My mother’s milk or “cream” gravy was made by putting a stick of butter or margarine in a pan with a 12 ounce can of evaporated milk and a can of water and heating until a gentle simmer. Then she would mix together a few tablespoons of cornstarch and water and slowly, stirring constantly, stir it into the milk and butter. It thickens up very quickly. This was also my grandmothers’ recipe.

  16. 5 stars
    Thank for this recipe. My stepdad cooked this for us in the Philippines and enjoyed it very much. When I asked him what it’s called, I remember almost choking when I heard his answer.

  17. 5 stars
    Excellent recipe and a big hit at my house! I made one small change, which was adding one tablespoon of worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce would work, too) for added umami flavor. We like to put this gravy on mashed potatoes, but next time well do toast to change it up a bit!
    I’ll definitely be making this again!

  18. 5 stars
    This was just called Hamburger Gravy where I grew up in NC and we’d put it over mashed taters. SOS was made with Chipped Beef which we put on toasted white bread.

    1. 5 stars
      S.O.S. is hamburger gravy. Had that for breakfast every morning over a ham, cheese & mushroom omelet on toast, when I was in the Army. My mom used to make chipped beef gravy on toast also but never called SOS. I am also from NC.

    2. I grew up in the midwest and my dad and uncle served in World War II in Germany and the Philippines respectively and they both referred to SOS as chipped beef on toast because the chipped beef was dried rations and always available. Later, My late husband, and father-in-law, were in the Korean war where again SOS was chipped beef on toast. In the early 70’s, my current husband went to a prestigious private military school where again SOS was chipped beef on toast! The Gulf war years was still in the chipped beef on toast mode when my twin boys served their country. So actually Tina is correct, SOS is chipped beef over white toast.
      However, growing up on a farm, we ate a lot of ground beef and had what we called hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes or biscuits. SOS was strictly chipped beef over toast.
      Perhaps Bob and yourself are of the younger generation where the military did not have to use rationed food like chipped beef.
      Perhaps in the last 20 years, fresh ground beef was used at military installations…so that is why you believe the ground beef version rather than the chipped beef version. I am sure during the war, our guys were not eating ham and mushroom and egg omelets for breakfast as Bob (below) was so fortunate to have By the way, I am 76 years old.

      1. Nope – definitely NOT the younger generation – ha! My Grandfather was a cook in WWII and later the Korean War (God rest his soul) – both times – always with ground beef. He was a Midwest boy and they worked hard to get protein into their guys. He even has a story once of having to use goat meat in the Philippines during a troop transition period. Ick! My Grandfather actually taught my father how to make it (who served in Vietnam and the Gulf War.) We are a very strong military family (all the way back to the Revolutionary War.) My aunts, Grandmother and sister-in-laws have all served and I speak with personal experience as well. I suppose there are different versions of it and they can all be called S.O.S. – just because someone’s memories and recipes are different doesn’t mean they are wrong. We can enjoy it all no matter what it is called. 🙂

    3. That is the same memory that I have, made with hamburg my mother called it hamburger gravy and served it over mashed potatoes. But when made with chipped beef my Dad called it Sh** on a shingle and it was served on toast. My Mom also made “Cream Tuna”. It was made the same way, but used canned tuna and she added a small can of peas and served it over what ever bread product in the bread box, usually on a Friday night.

  19. 5 stars
    Just made this dish this morning. My wife, the picky eater of the family, loved it! I was brought back to fond memories of my service in the Army. Mostly fond anyway ????. I would recommend this to anyone that buys the boil in a bag sos. I plan on trying it with some chipped beef next. Thanks for sharing!!

  20. 5 stars
    This is my favorite childhood recipe. We always called it creamed beef on French toast, AKA SOS. Many people think SOS is chipped beef but it’s not. The way my Mom made it, and the way I make it now, is like the recipe above. The only difference is that I make it with French toast. Mix up eggs and milk and dip some bread in and fry in butter. Serve the beef mixture over the warm and soft French toast. I”m drooling just thinking about it!!!