Ingredients
- 1 ounce (30 g) dried wild mushrooms
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1/2cups (285 g) minced yellow onion
- Fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon dry sherry
- 2 cups (480 ml) whole milk
- 3 ounces (85 g) Brési or other air-dried beef, very thinly sliced and cut into ribbons 1/2 inch (12 mm) wide
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 4 large slices pain au levain or other hearty rustic bread, toasted
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Preheat your oven to its lowest setting and place four oven-safe plates on the racks to warm.
- In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 10 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt, then sift the flour into the pan and stir to combine with the onion. While whisking constantly, gradually add the sherry, followed by the milk. Bring to a simmer and continue to whisk until the mixture is smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, 8 to 10 minutes. Fold in the beef, thyme, and the chopped mushrooms and cook until the beef has softened, about 10 minutes longer. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, if needed.
- Remove the plates from the oven and place a slice of toast on each. Divide the chipped beef evenly among the plates, spooning it over the toast. Garnish with the parsley and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.
More from Jerky:
Reprinted with permission from Jerky, copyright 2018 by Toponia Miller and Taylor Boetticher. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
Jerky (Ten Speed Press, 2018) by Toponia Miller and Taylor Boetticher this beautifully photographed cookbook contains 40 easy-to-follow recipes for making and cooking with homemade jerky. These globally inspired recipes pull from Italian, French, Vietnamese, and Mexican culinary traditions, making this the perfect book for the modern meat enthusiast. This recipe gives a second life to chipped beef and toast.
Notorious for being slopped out in military chow halls and mess decks of yesteryear, creamed chipped beef on toast (aka sh*t on a shingle) gets a bad rap. But if prepared using commercially processed “chipped” or sliced beef and other unsavory ingredients, perhaps the rap is deserved. However, if you use delicate slices of brési and dried wild mushrooms and spoon it over slices of good bread, your chipped beef will be working on a whole other level. This is an excellent breakfast dish that’s equally good as a light lunch or dinner, with a green salad served alongside. You can spoon the creamed chipped beef over baked potatoes instead of bread, if you wish. The dried beef is best sliced on a meat slicer, but you can get reasonably thin slices using a mandoline.
