Growing up just 40 minutes away from Sioux City Iowa where the sandwich was originated (supposedly) by a cook in the 1930's named Joe at Ye Olde Taverne Inn. I knew exactly what a sloppy joe was as it was a regular meal in my household and there were variations in each household and even my grandparents. While my mother used a quick and easy mix of ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, onion and Campbells gumbo soup (no water added). I loved the version my grandparents made and it was the same locally by the local VFD and Jaycee's at the summer baseball games. I always looked forward to summer baseball games and those sloppy joe/BBQ sandwich. Later in life Manwich came out that I thought was really gross and still cannot pallet that to this day. While I don't really care for bread anymore, I can tolerate Sara Lee Hawaiian sliders (maybe 1) but I can enjoy the mince with a pickle as well and is also decent in a Bibb/Butter Lettuce leaf as a wrap. My wife loves either but she never grew up eating such a thing or even bread that much. I get my protein in Anyway, here goes.
Ingredients-
1 TBSP olive oil (extra virgin)
1/2 cup green bell pepper (diced) or Celery (I either dice it real fine, my grandmother used celery others like my aunt used bell pepper, I rarely buy any celery so I typically used Bell Pepper amount can be adjusted to personal taste)
1 small yellow onion (or white onion, diced)
1 lb ground beef (I use 80/20 ground chuck or Pork)
8 oz tomato sauce (1 8 ounce can) (If you want it chunky opt for 8oz can fine diced tomatoes and add 1-2 TBSP tomato paste to thicken you may also drop ketchup from the recipe but you'll want 1 Tbsp of vinegar if you do)
1/4 cup ketchup
2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1/2 TBSP yellow mustard (I don't often have this on hand so I will use Dry instead)
1 TBSP light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, more to taste) (I now like to use Palm sugar since it is 50/50 Sucrose/Fructose and less likely to trigger dumping syndrome and taste different is not noticeable) You can also use the Splenda/Brown Sugar Mix or just straight up splenda 1:1 ratio.
1/2 tsp black pepper (freshly ground)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
6 hamburger buns (or a dozen King Hawaiian sliders, Sara Lee Hawaiian rolls)
If you want a little kick to it, add 1TBSP of Tony Chachere Creole seasoning or a dash of Cayenne Pepper not part of the original recipe but still good
Instructions
1. Preheat a large skillet, non-stick frying pan, or Dutch oven with a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced green bell peppers and onions. Saute until tender.
2.Add the ground beef stirring like crazy to break down into a fine mince (a little pink is OK as the beef will continue to cook in the sauce). Drain off excess fat.
- Add the tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, yellow mustard, brown sugar, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder. Simmer for 3-5 minutes or until the meat is cooked and the sauce is warmed through and thickened.
- Portion the sloppy joes out for 6 servings on buns, toasted or not. Serve with a slice of cheese and/or dill pickle/Bread and Butter slice on the sandwich.
Nutrition:
Calories: 387kcal (19%)
Carbohydrates: 35g (12%)
Protein: 19g (38%)
Fat: 19g (29%)
Saturated Fat: 7g (44%)
Cholesterol: 54mg (18%)
Sodium: 630mg (27%)
Potassium: 550mg (16%)
Fiber: 2g (8%)
Sugar: 12g (13%)
Vitamin A: 266IU (5%)
Vitamin C: 18mg (22%)
Calcium: 110mg (11%)
Iron: 4mg (22%)
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