Dear Faldage: I managed to find a nautical glossary that had it, but part of a different topic.
"Dandyfunk:Biscuits pulverized with a belayin' pin (after being put in a canvas bag), the resultant mass being smeared with[redslush]/red] left over from the boiling of salt beef and baked in the galley oven (if permitted by the cook) in a cut down bully tin."

The tar Dana mentioned would have been from pine pitch,
and the cooking rat would make an emulsion for easier application of coating of desired thickness.