# What's your favorite sloppy joe recipe?



## austin_ (Jun 17, 2006)

Here's mine. When it comes to think of it, I honestly can't get enough sloppy joes. What's your favorite way of making sloppy joes at home? I'm pretty traditional, I suppose, but I'm always interested in gourmet sloppy joe ideas/responses as well. Thanks for replying! I'm interested to hear your responses.

The Ultimate Sloppy Joes

1 pound of ground chuck
1 large onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, mashed and minced
2 roasted red peppers, chopped fine
¼ cup of brown sugar 
Salt and ground black pepper
2 cups of marinara sauce (or equal parts of marinara and BBQ sauce for a smoky kick)
½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon of Worchester sauce
Lightly toasted and buttered Kaiser rolls, to serve
Slices of dill pickle, to serve
Slices of sweet onion, to serve

Cook chuck, onion, garlic, roasted red peppers, brown sugar, salt, and ground black pepper on medium-heat for about 5 minutes, until meat begins to brown. Add marinara sauce, and crushed red pepper as well as Worchester sauce. Cook for about 10 more minutes on low heat until flavors combine. Place on a lightly toasted and buttered Kaiser roll with dill pickle and sweet onion. Serve hot.


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Hmmm ... usually I use turkey - I'm not a big meat eater - but whether it's turkey or beef I just look around at what's in the fridge and go from there. BBQ sauce, habanero ketchup, hot sauce of one sort or another, veggies, maybe add rice or beans, fire roasted tomatoes - it's really a free-form thing here.

Shel


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## cwshields (Jan 21, 2007)

Our family like their sloppy joe kinda sweet so here's what we like.

1 pound ground beef (85% lean) or turkey
1 med onion diced
3 cloves garlic diced
1 med carrot diced
1 stalk celery diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 teaspoons of brown sugar (reserve 1 teaspoon)
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
1 cup ketchup
1 can (12 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 can of beer(mostly for the cook)
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
pinch of red pepper flakes

Start by dicing onions, carrot & celery. Heat pan over med heat and add the olive oil, once oil is shimmering add onions, carrot, and celery adding and pinch of salt and pepper and stir to coat veggies with the oil. Adjust heat so that the veggies are not cooking too fast, don't wanna burn them. Next finely chop garlic (or use garlic press), then add garlic, chili powder, and red pepper to pan once the veggies are translucent. Add meat, tomato paste, and two teaspoons of brown sugar a minute or so after the garlic and cook until meat is done. At this point I open the beer and pour about 1/4 of the beer into the pan to deglaze pan and the remainder of the beer to refresh the cook. After beer is cooked off taste the mix and add salt and pepper to taste. Now add the ketchup, worcestershire, and the crushed tomato, let sauce simmer for about 10 minutes then add the last teaspoon of brown sugar. Continue simmering until sauce has thickened.

I like mine on a large toasted hamberger bun with cheese and mustard, and dill pickle on the side with potato chips or roasted potato wedges.


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## bubbamom (Jan 30, 2002)

Just made this last weekend:

2# ground beef
Onion (medium size, chopped)
celery (2 ribs, chopped)
green pepper (1 medium size, chopped)
3/4 bottle of ketchup (about 1 1/2 C +/-)
1 can tomato sauce (8 oz can)
1 T brown sugar
1 T vinegar
1 T dry mustard

Brown the ground beef and drain off grease and return meat to pan. To the meat, add the remaining ingredients, cover and simmer over low heat for 2-3 hours stirring occasionally.


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## austin_ (Jun 17, 2006)

Great suggestions, everybody. I think next week maybe I'll replace the ground beef with a little bit of bulk chorizo if I have it around.


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## greenawalt87 (Jul 26, 2004)

Ground chuck,onions, brown then add woreshire sauce,hienz57,A-1 sauce and some ketsup to bind. This is from our olf family recipe from the 40`s


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## austin_ (Jun 17, 2006)

mmmmm.....sounds good. I like the idea of using steak sauce in a sloppy joe, and the fact that it's simple yet so seemingly flavorful and delicious as well. Basically, it sounds like how every sloppy joe should be- simple food that just tastes awesome and flavorful. What kind of bread was called for in the recipe? I've seen plenty of sloppy joes made with white bread. My family just uses a plain Kaiser roll.


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

One week, back in January I believe, both Michael Chiarrelo and Rachel Ray made their version of Sloppy Joes. Chiarello's recipe was called _Sloppy Giuseppes_ Rachel Ray's was called _Messy Giuseppes_. Both, I think, are worth looking for by doing a search on the FN web site.

Shel


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Results of Food Network Search for Sloppy Joes

Shel


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## austin_ (Jun 17, 2006)

Thanks again!  All these recipes sound so good. :roll:


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## muskyhopeful (Jun 16, 2006)

Give this one a try. 

4 lbs. browned and drained ground chuck
1 cup ketchup
3 Tbsp. Molasses
1.5 cups tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
.5 Teaspoon garlic powder
1 Tbsp. Paprika
2 Teaspoons oregano
2 Teaspoons Penzy's Chicago Steak seasoning.
4 Tbsp. Worcestershire
4 Tbsp. Yellow Mustard
4 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp. Cider Vinegar
1.5 Large onions diced.
1 Green Pepper diced.
3 Celery Stalks diced.
1 or 2 Jalapenos diced. (Optional, my daughter won't eat it spicy, so sweet it is in our house)
2-3 cups beef broth.
Salt & Pepper to taste

Brown the chuck in a large pot or Dutch Oven, drain and remove. Soften the onions, pepper, and celery in the pot in a little olive oil. Add the beef and other ingredients. Simmer for several hours until you have the desired consistency. We like it on soft bakery buns so the meat almost soaks in when you eat the sandwiches. If they're chewy too much meat slides out the sides. I like a slice of cheddar cheese, the wife goes no cheese. This makes quite a bit, but the leftovers go quickly. If you're family is patient, (they won't be because they smell too good) they are actually better after a night in the frig.

Eat with Ruffles or that type of chip. Scoop up what does fall out of the sandwich with chips. That's a man's dip.  

Kevin

Smokey's First Annual Pre-Opener BBQ. 5/4/07. Feeding hungry musky anglers.


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## austin_ (Jun 17, 2006)

That sounds awesome. I love how there's so many ingredients that are in the back of my pantry/fridge right now - I might replace the jalapenos for chiptoles in adobo- I can't get enough of the stuff, maybe stir in a few teaspoons of the sauce as well. Anyway, I never thought of using mustard and beef broth in sloppy joes but it sounds awfully good. Thanks for the recipe/ideas. I'll keep that in mind.


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

Forgive my Antipodean ignorance  - what on earth is a Sloppy Joe?? Sounds messy!!  

(I take it that its ground beef in a sauce inside some form of bread with various accoutrements.....)


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

That pretty much covers it, although one needn't use beef - turkey or other meat or poultry can be used, but finely chopped or ground beef is probably most common. There are also vegan or vegetarian versions made with TVP which are quite good depending on the sauce/spice mixture.And, as I'm sure you gathered from the recipes and techniques posted, a sauce of sorts is created for the meat or poultry that gives the final result a relatively loose texture. The whole darned thing is put over bread like a hamburger bun, but it could be other types of bread that will support the mixture. It's a bit of a mess when you try to eat it, hence the name, "sloppy joe."

The recipe, as you can see, can be most anything that strikes your fancy just so long as there's a certain "looseness" to the mixture. 

The sloppy joe has a foggy history, but it seems to have arisen during the Depression as a way to stretch ground beef during hard times. Several sources place its creation in a small cafe in Sioux City, Iowa, where it was called a "loosemeat" sandwich. No one knows if there was an original Joe, but they sure are sloppy! 

Shel


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

Thanks Shel for the explanation - sounds like a recipe for bibs and stacks of napkins! Maybe the original cook was called Joe...


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## austin_ (Jun 17, 2006)

It's also great for meat sauces, too. Great over pasta with some fresh basil and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Mmmmm....mmm!


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## devilnuts (Mar 5, 2007)

I enjoy my sloppy joes with cheese on them, usually colby jack or mozerella


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

I saw a SJ recipe today based in chili sauce. I can see that being a bit more flavor than ketchup would provide.

Phil


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## austin_ (Jun 17, 2006)

phatch, I agree. Chili sauce probably would add a better flavor. Then I'll have leftover ketchup to dip my fries in. xD And I have a whole bottle of chili sauce in my fridge right now- I heard that Taco bell uses chili sauce in their beef tacoes- but I bet this'll be better.  Thanks for the idea. And devil, thanks for the idea as well.


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## allie (Jul 21, 2006)

I make sloppy joes occasionally. My method is simple and similar to others here. Brown ground beef and onions. Drain off any grease and add some ketchup, yellow mustard, worcestershire sauce, garlic powder (unless I threw in minced garlic earlier), brown sugar and let it cook until it all thickens up some. Serve on a bun with swiss cheese.


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## greenawalt87 (Jul 26, 2004)

add some sausa to it and use it as chili for top of hot dogs, I like mine on a roll with cheese


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

What's "sausa?" Couldn't find it with a Google search ...

Shel


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## greenawalt87 (Jul 26, 2004)

sorry I can be brain dead at times salsa


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## austin_ (Jun 17, 2006)

That sounds like a pretty good idea. Add some fire-roasted salsa to the sloppy joes, maybe pile it over some bratwurts in a sesame bun, layer over some pepperoncini peppers, caramelized onions, ketchup, and dill pickle as well as some pepper jack, cheddar, or maybe even queso cheese. . Pop under the broiler until the cheese is nice and melted.  Top each hot dog with a few slices of crumbled crispy bacon and serve. Maybe I could call it the Joe's Sloppy Monster Dog.


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