Recipe Background
SOS Casserole combines rich flavors with crispy bread for a comforting slice of home.
The first time I made SOS Casserole, I was moving into my first apartment after culinary school, with boxes still sprawled across the living room. As I surveyed the sparse cabinets, I spotted the essentials: ground beef, a loaf of slightly stale bread, and of course, a block of butter. My dad had always said there's nothing like a good casserole to make you feel settled, so I decided to improvise with what I had. Stoically melting butter in a big skillet, I could almost hear him saying, "Let the flour cook for just a minute, so you won't taste the rawness later." Those little chef secrets never left me.
Balancing on a chair to reach for the big baking dish, I whisked and stirred with purpose, knowing the magical thickening of milk and flour would soon yield a comforting blanket of gravy. As the casserole baked, the apartment filled with a warmth that transcended the sheer function of heating food. It became a signal of home, even when the address was new. I found such joy in tossing those butter-drenched cubes of bread over the bubbling concoction, watching them transform into rich, golden croutons as they baked. The entire process was the culinary equivalent of arranging your new space, both unique and familiarly personal.
When the oven timer dinged, I pulled out a masterpiece of simplicity—crispy bread perched atop savory, saucy beef. Letting it rest for five minutes made for perfect slices, and I savored the first forkful, seated on the floor amidst unopened boxes. It was a dish that promised the stability of the old within a framework of the exhilarating new, much like my life then and now.
Ingredients
For the gravy:
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper plus more to taste
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups milk divided
For the topping:
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 10 cups bread cubes thicker bread is preferred
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large skillet, add the beef and season to taste with the salt and the pepper; cook the beef while crumbling until the meat is no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes.
- Drain the excess grease from the skillet, pouring the meat into a colander.
- In the same skillet, melt 1/2 cup of the butter.
- Add the flour to the melted butter mixture, whisking for 1 minute.
- Add 2 cups of the milk to the butter mixture, cooking and whisking constantly until the mixture thickens, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the remaining milk, the cooked beef, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper to the butter mixture until it has almost reached your preferred thickness of gravy, about 5 minutes. The mixture will continue to thicken as it bakes.
- Pour the meat mixture into a 13x9-inch, 3-quart baking dish.
- In a large bowl, drizzle the remaining 1/2 of melted butter over the bread crumbs, gently tossing to combine.
- Arrange the butter-coated bread cubes over the casserole.
- Bake, uncovered, until the bread cubes are golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.
- Seve immediately.
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