Posted on 06/28/2019 4:27:11 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
Recently, by a circuitous route, I became interested in submarines and submariners – especially the human aspect of the ‘culture’. What kind of man volunteers for this sort of duty, and how do the Navy, and individuals themselves, compensate for and cope with the extremely unnatural conditions, cramped living and limited resources?
It quickly became apparent that FOOD is very important on a submarine, in terms of morale and having something nice to look forward to; and while the job of cook there seems daunting, the submarine force is known for offering the best food of all the services. Submarine cooks have sometimes been sent to study at the Culinary Institute, as well as with famous chefs and restaurants.
‘Submarine Cuisine’ is a very interesting book published by the Submarine Research Center in Washington State in 2004, and contains many recipes from submarine cooks as well as lots of information about the ‘food–life’ and life in general on subs. It advertises itself as “The secrets of the submarine cooks who, during the past fifty years, have served the best food in the world”:
Another book, ‘Dolphin Dishes’, published in 1952, is actually a book of recipes from submariners’ wives and families, but also includes some that were favorites on particular boats, such as this Lobster Newburg served on the USS Nautilus (SSN571), the world’s first nuclear-powered sub:
Lobster Newburg Ala Nautilus
[This isn’t verbatim from the book, because the instructions were a little vague; but all the ingredients are there.]
2 live lobsters
1-1/2 cups butter
1 cup sherry wine
1 tsp. Salt
dash of black pepper
¼ tsp. Paprika
dash of nutmeg
6 egg yolks, beaten
2 cups light cream
Boil lobster for 15 minutes. Remove from shell and dice meat into small pieces. Melt butter in a double boiler, blend in sherry and seasonings and add lobster. Combine egg yolks and cream.
Add egg mixture to lobster mixture slowly, stirring constantly. Cook until thick. Serve on hot toast or in patty shells.
A pdf of ‘Dolphin Dishes’ is available from the Hathi Trust (takes a while to load):
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31822037855665&view=1up&seq=12
I didn’t think this would be complete without a recipe for S.O.S. - or ‘Shit on a Shingle.’ I’ve been told that the denigrating name isn’t really because people didn’t like it, but because of its ubiquity in military fare. It’s one of my favorites, and while it’s not exactly inexpensive to make from scratch these days, that’s superior to the frozen stuff:
Cream Chipped Beef
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1- 1/2 cups milk 1 (8 ounce) jar dried beef, diced
Black pepper to taste.
Melt butter over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Slowly add the milk, whisking. Keep whisking until the mixture thickens, then add black pepper to taste, and the dried beef. Serve over toast or biscuits.
For a history of the Dolphin Insignia at top, go here:
https://www.hrb-ussvi.org/single-post/2018/05/25/History-of-the-Dolphin-Insignia
And here is a discussion on Quora of submarine food, with comments from former submariners:
https://www.quora.com/How-is-the-food-on-US-navy-submarines
-JT
This month: Cooking Under the Sea!
(If you would like to be on or off of this monthly cooking-thread ping list, please send a private message.)
-JT
Did you find any submarine recipes that called for cabbage and lots of beans?
I heard about ‘shit on a shingle’ from mother, an army wife in the fifties. Unimpressed, she was, but she was a farm girl during the depression. She and Grammaw both turned out fine chow for this growing boy...
Navy beans are good but the confined space could be a lingering problem.
LOL! I did see a list of canned foods that were not very popular - but apparently the traditional Navy Bean Soup remains popular despite....repercussions.
(Someone has told me that baking cinnamon buns on a submarine has a very positive effect on morale ;-)
I’ve heard that the polite term is ‘Same Old Stuff’.
Geez, we didn’t have any of that cuisine in the Army.
We always like to visit military museums , ships etc. Here is a you tube of a submarine. Talk about close quarters everywhere! The kitchen was very small, but extremely well organized.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOPeD1N4MbM
If you haven’t seen it yet. Das Boot has some interesting shots of all the food they had on board and how they stored it. A friends son was for a few years on a nuclear sub several years ago. Under the floor was solid food.
One thing I read seemed to indicate that Navy Bean Soup was popular for midrats.
They stuff food wherever they can. The first few weeks are the best eats, before the fresh stuff is gone.
I tried to post that link. But it’s not working when I link on FR.
I found it over at reddit on the first posting on that site.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/3nun7d/us_submarine_cuisine_pdf_inside/
I tried that, too; but I still get a ‘failed to load’ error.
It may be my system; thanks for posting it.
Our ex submarine friend always likes to make this easy recipe from his days under the sea.
Chicken a la ‘Spago of the Deep’
This recipe from the USS Los Angeles was formulated for 100 servings, which is the typical cooking task facing the submarine’s mess specialists. It has been reduced in size for home cooking.
CHINESE FIVE-SPICE CHICKEN
6-1/2 pounds chicken pieces
1-1/3 cups soy sauce
2/3 cup chopped onions
3 minced garlic cloves
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Rinse and drain chicken pieces. Combine soy sauce with onions, garlic and ginger; mix well. Pour over chicken and marinate 30 minutes, turning frequently. Drain. Place chicken on lightly greased sheet pans, skin side up.
Combine cinnamon, cloves and pepper. Sprinkle over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until cooked through. Serves 10.
Approximate nutritional analysis per serving (chicken breast with skin): 435 calories, 22 g total fat, 6 g saturated fat, 150 mg cholesterol, greater than 2,000 mg sodium*.
After a couple months out, you want to kiss the guy that grew radishes in the bilge, after 2 weeks the fresh veg is gone.
that is what CAMS is for, Central Atmospheric Monitoring System.
Seems to me it would be an ideal place to grow mushrooms, too:
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.