Simply Sloppy Joes

By Addie

Just hearing the words "sloppy joe" from my mother used to send us kids into a tizzy. There was something wonderfully fun about getting to eat a burger/sandwich that was messy by design. I've been waiting to make this when my nephew was in town because sloppy joes really are a quintessential kid food. Well the kid is here, and after he explained to me that he didn't like tomatoes with his hamburger and he wanted his onions on top, and I explained to him that sloppy joes are made with the onions mixed in with the beef, and he eats spaghetti so what's wrong with tomatoes, anyway?, he relented. And when called to dinner he ate the whole thing (with high praise), even though he had been making and eating s'mores all day. (Wouldn't touch the coleslaw though. Kids. Lest you think we are the ones feeding him s'mores, he knows how to make them himself and sneaks into the kitchen when we aren't looking.)

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper)
• 1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium onion)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt
• 1 1/4 lb ground beef
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 cups tomato sauce (or 1 15-ounce can whole tomatoes, puréed)
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• Pinch ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 turns of freshly ground black pepper
• 4 hamburger buns

Preparation

Step 1

1. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add the chopped onion and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until onions are translucent, about 5 more minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 more seconds. Remove from heat. Remove vegetables from the pan to a medium sized bowl, set aside.

2. Using the same pan (or you can cook the meat at the same time as the vegetables in a separate pan to save time), generously salt the bottom of the pan (about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon). Heat the pan on high. Crumble the ground beef into the pan. You will likely need to do this in two batches, otherwise you will crowd the pan and the beef won't easily brown. Do not stir the ground beef, just let it cook until it is well browned on one side. Then flip the pieces over and brown the second side. Use a slotted spoon to remove the ground beef from the pan (can add to the set-aside vegetables), salt the pan again and repeat with the rest of the ground beef.

If you are using extra lean beef, you will likely not have any excess fat in the pan. If you are using 16% or higher, you may have excess fat. Strain off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat.

3. Return the cooked ground beef and vegetables to the pan. Add the ketchup, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and brown sugar to the pan. Stir to mix well. Add ground cloves, thyme, and cayenne pepper. Lower the heat to medium low and let simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Serve with toasted hamburger buns.

NOTE: The trick to this recipe is to brown the meat well, on high heat. Don't crowd the pan, work in batches, and don't stir the meat until it is well browned on one side. It helps to use a large cast iron pan, or an anodized aluminum pan, as these pans can handle the heat and are relatively stick-free.
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HOMEMADE BUNS FOR SLOPPY JOES:


1 cup warm water (100 to 110 F)
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 tablespoons minced dried Onions
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
3/4 teaspoon salt
3-3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


Place 1/4 cup warm water in large warm bowl. Sprinkle in yeast; stir until dissolved. Add remaining water, minced onions, sugar, butter, salt, and 1-1/2 cups flour; blend well. Stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4 to 6 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 45 to 60 minutes.


Punch dough down. Remove dough to lightly floured surface; divide into 8 equal pieces. Here you can go two ways. Make the dough into 8 sandwich buns and bake as directed or do the following:

Roll each piece to 5-inch circle. Place about 1/2 cup meat mixture in center of each. Pull up dough to enclose filling, and pinch at top to seal. Place, pinched sides up, on 2 greased baking sheets. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until almost doubled in size, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes or until done, switching positions of sheets halfway through baking time for even browning. Remove from sheets to wire racks. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers; reheat to serve. Yield: 8 buns

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REVIEWS:

What would you think about the idea that a Sloppy Joe just isn't a Sloppy Joe unless potato chips and dill pickles are tucked inside the buns, too? That was my favorite school lunch, still the only way to eat sloppy joes. No judging for taste, of course.

We love Sloppy Joes. I like to make a big batch and then freeze the sauce part. It freezes really well. I let it cool and than place it in a ziplock bag and freeze. I like to freeze it because it gives me an easy meal for a busy night.

Perfect timing! I was in great need of comfort food last night, and sloppy joes hit the spot...I ate two last night and a third for lunch today. The carrots are a great addition, although I backed off on the ketchup and brown sugar.

Wow. What an amazing recipe. I made it for lunch today and it was delicious. I made it with ground turkey we already had in the fridge. I added some olive oil to brown the meat, as it is lower in fat than beef, and it turned out fabulous! I served it with potato chips and yes, we used them to scoop up all the extra sloppiness! It's a keeper for sure.

Thanks for a great recipe Elise. I have been making sloppy joe's for my family for years but I think this recipe is the best! I love the technique of salting the pan and browning the meat without stirring...it seemed like it was super tender and extra flavorful. We will be making this often!

What a yummy recipe! Once or twice a year, I get a hankering for sloppy Joes. My husband rolls his eyes, as my usual offering is something 'witchy', if you catch my drift.
I don't know, my fondness for them has something to do with my childhood. I vaguely remember when the canned SJ sauce was introduced. Mom made them and I was hooked!
We've tried homemade recipes in the past and were always disappointed. This one's a keeper. I doubled the veggie amounts and left out the sugar, though. The ketchup added just enough sweetness for our 'mature' tastebuds.

We were in the mood for Sloppy Joe's and I remembered this recipe. We had just finished a day of hiking at one of our local state parks and so we needed something easy. I whipped up this in no time and it was the best version of Sloppy Joe's we have had. Thank you much for a great and simple recipe.

My husband loves Sloppy Joes from the can. But when you read the label you find out that it is filled with partially hydrogenated oil. Definitely not what he or I need clogging our veins and arteries... So I jumped at the chance to make my husband his favorite meal from scratch. This was Delicious! To watch our cholesterol, I used Sodium Free Ketchup. While I don't recommend it for French fries it was great in this recipe. Elise thanks for adding this. I love your recipes, as they are fun, practical, and yummy to eat. They beat anything that Rachel Ray makes!

I made these a few weeks ago and they were delicious! Just be cautious with the cloves - what a powerful spice. Delicious otherwise, but just a little clove-y, my pinch must have been too big. We ate these with "broccoli slaw" which is in a bag at the grocery store, coated it with a mix of ranch and italian dressing... delicious! Also made some spiced curly fries to go with it. Perfect rainy Sunday night dinner :)

I made this a few weeks ago and simply loved it! Just the right amount of tang that would otherwise be missing from those packet sloppy joes! Definately worth the while and keeps well. I have some recipe requests: A paella with alot of chicken thigh meat, chorizo, and seafood. I've made it a few times but the dish always has a hint of sourness from the tomatoes! All the best.

Just made this tonight, for my wife who is an avid Sloppy joe fan, and she claimed them to be 'better than the canned stuff'. While that isn't grounds for a James Beard award, I to agree they are quite good. You are correct that the key is to browning the beef. Thanks for sharing your recipes.

One word, delicious! With oven baked potato wedges on the side, that is now my favorite meal and the addition of carrots and celery was really nice. My brother who is a big veggi hater didn't even notice their existence and enjoyed the meal like me.

I just prepared this recipe for the first time this week and really enjoyed it - just the right amount of sauce to be suitably sloppy, and we really enjoyed the seasonings in the sauce. Thanks also for the tips on browning the beef.

My wife is working late tonight, so my 3 boys and I followed the recipe and devoured some awesome Sloppy Joes.

I made Sloppy Joes (from the recipe on this site) today for the first time in my life. My 15 yo helped herself to three Sloppies. When I just finished cooking and she grabbed the first spoon, I asked her if it was good and she said that I was fishing for a compliment. Well, I went out for few minutes and when I got back half of the pan was gone and she was licking her fingers. Without my saying anything she sad "This was sooo good" She is such a picky eater, that coming from her it was the highest praise ever.

I grew up where Sloppy Joes meant a can of Manwich .. and they were good, probably one of my favorite childhood meals. Over here in Australia though, they don't have Manwich, so when my daughter asked early yesterday if we could have Sloppy Joes for dinner, I headed here first. I was a bit dubious when I read the ingredients contained brown sugar and cloves, thinking it would be too sweet, but you've never let me down before, so I followed the recipe as written and they were delicious! So much better than a can of Manwich lol! I did add a good helping of Franks Red Hot to mine, but only cause I like mine with extra kick. Definitely a keeper though. I can't believe it's taken me this long to try them homemade. Thanks for another wonderful recipe!

I have made this several times now - it has become a family favorite. Sometimes using 7% fat turkey, sometimes without any sugar, sometimes with pureed tomatoes instead of tomato "sauce"... every time it's excellent. I have always used green pepper instead of carrot. Great way for kids to eat more veggies. GREAT with homemade sauerkraut or pickles.

I just wanted to let you know that your recipe for Sloppy Joes is the only one I've ever made, and my four-year-old daughter loves it. Every week when I sit down to plan out my meals and grocery shopping for the week, I ask her what she'd like for dinner, and she always says Sloppy Joes. She was particularly adamant about it last week, so I'll take this post popping up from the archives again as a sign to make it soon.

This is a fabulous recipe that both my husband and my 13 year old loved. I replaced the ketchup with half ketchup and half BBQ sauce, and did not add the brown sugar. We used the new flat multigrain buns. Yum!

Oh my gosh, this recipe is so good, and so filling! My boyfriend and I both loved it very much, and we for sure will make it again for friends! I only used half the amount of brown sugar and added a dash of hot sauce for a little burn, and they came out amazing! Definitely a new favorite.