Sloppy Joe: Florida

By

This recipe is about as close to the "Original Sloppy Joe" sandwich as you can get down in Key West. My husband ate 3 sandwhich's in one sitting, keiser roll and all. Make sure you serve this with keiser rolls, it really makes the difference. It is very important to brown the meat well, so do it in batches because if you overcrowd the meat it won't carmalize. I used a cast iron skillet and it worked beautifully.

View complete recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup minced carrots or bell pepper
  • 1 small green pepper, diced
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • kosher salt
  • 2 pounds ground chuck or beef
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 2 cups crushed tomatoes (1 15oz can whole tomatoes, pureed)
  • 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • pinch of ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Heat olive oil in skillet on medium high heat. Add green peppers, onion, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally until onions are translucent, about 5 more minutes or so. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Remove all the vegetables from the pan and set aside in a bowl.

Using the same pan, generously salt the bottom of the pan about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Raise heat to high. Crumble the ground chuck or beef into the pan, do not stir, let it cook until it is well browned to one side. Then flip over and brown the second side and wait before you flip again. You may do this a couple of times until all the meat is thoroughly cooked. Use a slotted spoon and remove meat. Salt the pan again and cook the second batch the same way until you are all done cooking all the meat.

Return all the meat and vegetables to the pan. Add 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 low and let simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.

View complete recipe