Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast or: What to do with Leftover Corned Beef

Still have some corned beef leftover from last weekend? This is a great way to make it into a new meal.

In fact, the main reason I even bothered to make corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day MAY have been for the sole purpose of having leftovers which I could then smother with white sauce and serve on a piece of toast. I am a HUGE fan of biscuits and gravy, after all, and this is a pretty similar dish.

My co-workers shared with me their not-so-fond memories of the original version of this dish. It goes by the endearing name "S.O.S", or "Sh*t on a shingle", from when it used to be served in the Army during World War II. Luckily, unlike the old versions, you won't find any condensed soup or canned chipped beef in this recipe.

By the way, the other thing in the background is a bowl of kale chips we made to have with it, because I have virtually no food-pairing skills whatsoever so that's what I came up with. Kale chips are awesome though. I used this recipe.

Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast
adapted from Cook's Country - February/March 2012 issue
serves 4-6 (can easily cut this in half if you don't have much leftover beef)

Notes: I made their recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage, and reserved some of the cooking liquid for this recipe. It adds a lot of flavor, but you could also use chicken or beef broth if you didn't save any of the cooking liquid.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups half-n-half
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup reserved corned beef cooking liquid
2 cups chopped cooked corned beef
Pinch nutmeg
Pepper
6 slices hearty white sandwich bread, toasted
3 tablespoons minced fresh chives

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 1 minute, or until softened slightly. Add the flour, mustard, thyme, and cayenne and stir to combine. Cook for about 1 minute so it becomes fragrant. Slowly add the half-n-half, milk, and corned beef cooking liquid, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a simmer and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring every now and then, until thickened.

Add the chopped beef and nutmeg and stir to combine. Cook for a couple of minutes to let the beef heat through. Season with pepper to taste, and a little salt if it needs it. Spoon over the toasted bread, and top with the minced chives. Serve immediately.