Homemade Sloppy Joe's Sandwiches

Photo: Chowkhound

Food is one of THE SAVVY SHOPPER'S topics because it takes a big bite out of a budget. No matter what, we have to eat every day! Today's feature makes an easy weekend dinner.

I never ate Sloppy Joe's as a child as my Mom never made it. To me it was a Hunt's TV spot called a Manwich.

According to Wikipedia, the sandwich was created in the 1930s in Sioux City, Iowa by a cook named Joe. Recently I obtained a 2020 calendar from my local Key Food Supermarket with the recipe, and decided to lighten it up a tad:

Homemade Sloppy Joe's

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter (omit)
1 teaspoon olive oil (omit)
1 pound lean ground beef
1/3 green (or red) bell pepper, minced
1 medium yellow onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon brown sugar (I reduce it to half a teaspoon of brown sugar. Sweet enough for me.)
1 teaspoon yellow mustard (I stock Dijon, or brown mustard.)
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (I use sea salt.)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
dash of hot sauce (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat butter and oil in large skillet over medium/medium-high heat. Add beef and brown, breaking apart into crumbles as it cooks, about 5 minutes. (Note: I omit the butter and olive oil to brown the meat since even lean ground beef has some fat, which is enough to brown the meat.)

2. Add onion and bell pepper to the same skillet and cook 2-3 minutes, until soft. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds or so, until fragrant. Add tomato paste. Stir well.

3. Add ketchup, water, brown sugar, mustard, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, salt, red pepper flakes and hot sauce (if using), and black pepper. Stir well to combine.

4. Cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, until mixture has thickened to your liking. Remove from heat and serve over toasted buns. (Another tweak: I toast 2 slices of grainy bread in lieu of buns. I also like to butter one side of the bread so it browns better and for taste.)

Unlike canned Sloppy Joe's sauce, you control what goes into the pan. Lean and relatively healthy, this homemade recipe is the perfect blend of savory, tangy, zesty and a hint of sweet. Enjoy!


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