Old Fashioned Sloppy Joes
One of those old-fashioned sandwiches, that should permanently be reinstated into the American diet. It’s name gives you free license to dig in and take the biggest bite you can - no worries about being “Sloppy!”
“Yahoo, Sloppy Joe’s, I’m not too neat for Sloppy Joes!” Don’t you love them? I don’t mean the kind from a can or the freezer section of your store. I refer to the good old fashioned kind, ground beef fried up with onions (maybe green peppers - unless the kids see them), then Ketchup and seasonings added. They’re almost as easy as opening a can!
You “can” do it, without the can! As long as you’re going through the motions, why not make them as tasty as possible? We must all have a favorite memory where a Sloppy Joe was present or was even the center of that memory - either a warm memory or real sloppy one!
Old Fashioned Sloppy Joes
1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil 1 lb 85% (15% fat) ground beef 1 small onion, chopped fine 1 medium green pepper, diced 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder (or salt if you prefer, but decrease the amount of table salt used) 2 finely minced fresh garlic cloves will do as well. pinch of ground cumin salt and black pepper, to taste 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon brown sugar ½ cup ketchup 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
-Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat, then add onions and pepper and saute for about 5 minutes, until vegetables begin to soften.
-Add the ground beef to the skillet. Break the meat apart and stir with onions and peppers, then turn heat up to medium-high heat. Brown the beef, stirring frequently and breaking chunks of meat apart.
-Season beef with cumin, garlic powder (salt), salt and pepper then drain any extra fat off of the meat.
-Reduce heat to medium-low and add ketchup, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce and sugar. Cook 2-3 minutes until flavors are melded. Serve on burger buns, brioche buns or potato rolls. Makes 6 larger sandwiches and 8 - 10 slider size sandwiches.
Prepare ingredients by chopping onion, green peppers, and fresh garlic, if used.
Saute meat and vegetables in frying pan then add ketchup, mustard, seasonings and other ingredients, then simmer.
Spoon the meat mixture onto the buns or rolls of your choice, toasted or not, as you prefer.
And don’t worry about it’s sloppy presentation or the sloppy way you eat it. That’s how it’s supposed to be and the reason for it’s name!
A champ of a recipe for casual family gatherings or cookouts!
You gotta love a good ole-fashioned Sloppy Joe. Don’t forget the napkins!
PERSNICKETY NOTES:
*I prefer a Sloppy Joe with nothing extra added, however you could make a Fixin’s Bar to include grated cheese, chopped onions, olives, hot peppers, bacon, crispy fried onion rings, ranch dressing, mayonnaise, BBQ sauce, etc.
*A simple addition to the basic recipe, that makes Sloppy Joes as I remember them from my childhood, is to add about 1/3 cup sour cream at the very end. Stir it into the Sloppy Joe mixture then heat another minute or too before serving on the rolls. The sour cream, makes a silky creamy sauce with just a bit of added tang, slightly reminiscent of Stroganoff.
*Toasting the bun or not is a personal preference. We like our buns buttered and toasted.
