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A WWII American Soldier's Meal

Print Recipe
Reconstructed from sources and soliders accounts of the era. War Department, Manual for Army Cooks, 1910 edition (earliest published SOS/chipped beef recipe)War Department, Army Recipes, Technical Manual TM 10-412, 1st Edition, August 1944. Stephen E. Ambrose, Band of Brothers (1992) — documents creamed chipped beef on toast as standard field fare for Easy CompanyAnastacia Marx de Salcedo, Combat-Ready Kitchen: How the U.S. Military Shapes the Way You Eat (2015) — covers WWII-era military food R&D, Spam, dehydrated ice cream mix, and postwar civilian spinoffs in depth.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the Spam and eggs:

  • 4 to 6 slices of Spam diced
  • 2 eggs
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the SOS on toast:

  • ½ lb ground beef or dried chipped beef
  • 4 tbsp flour
  • 1 cup evaporated milk
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 slices of toast

For serving:

  • 1 small can of peaches in syrup
  • A small handful of M&Ms
  • 1 cup of instant coffee prepared

Instructions

Make the Spam and eggs

  • Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the diced Spam and fry until browned and slightly crisp on the edges, about 4 to 5 minutes. Crack the eggs directly into the pan with the Spam. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggs are fully set to your preference. Remove from heat.

Make the SOS

  • In a separate pan, brown the ground beef or chipped beef over medium heat. If using ground beef, drain excess fat and reserve 2 tablespoons. Stir the flour into the beef and reserved fat to make a roux, cooking for about a minute without browning. Combine the evaporated milk and water and add gradually, whisking continuously to avoid lumps. Add the butter and cook, stirring, for 5 to 10 minutes until the sauce thickens to a gravy consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Toast the bread and spoon the creamed beef generously over the top.

Assemble and serve

  • Plate the Spam and eggs alongside the SOS on toast. Serve with a portion of canned peaches, a small handful of M&Ms and a cup of prepared instant coffee. Eat it the way a soldier would have, quickly, gratefully, and without too much concern for presentation.

Video

Notes

  • If using dried chipped beef rather than ground beef, soak it briefly in warm water to reduce excess saltiness before cooking, then proceed with the same roux and gravy method.
 
  • This meal is calorically dense by design. It was built to sustain extreme physical exertion under combat conditions and is not intended as a model for everyday nutrition. Context is everything with military ration food.
 
  • For the most historically accurate experience, drink the coffee black and unsweetened, exactly as it would have been issued in the field.