Steamship round

The General Mess served steamship round of beef at NAS Kingsville, Texas, weekly during my tour from 1976 to 1978. In 1976, the roast was served on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day alongside roast tom turkey and baked Virginia ham. The roast was one of the signature dishes of the galley at the air station.

The cooks on the night watch placed the rounds in the large rotating oven early in the morning. According to U.S. Armed Forces Recipe Card No. L-4-1, a 60 to 75-pound steamship round took eight or more hours to roast at 300 degrees. When I worked the night watch, we set the oven temperature between 225 to 250 degrees. While the cooler oven temperature added two or three hours to roasting time, the crew was rewarded with a succulent slice of roast beef at meal time.

U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (Jan. 1, 2013) -- Culinary Specialist Seaman Teresa Arnold, from Hamilton, Texas, serves steamship round in the aft galley aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). John C. Stennis is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and support missions for Operation Enduring Freedom.

U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Daniel P. Schumache.