Sloppy Joes, The Reckoning

Er...

1. Cook a pound of ground beef & drain fat.

2. Add a can of Manwich sauce

3. Put on buns

Is that *really* so hard?

Now you've got me craving one. Thanks, bitch.

The childhood nostalgia is strong these days.

I'd make mine with Manwich sauce but use lean turkey instead of beef.

Brown one pound of 80/20 ground beef

Drain

Stir in a bottle of chili sauce

Enjoy

The Manwich version is pretty good, and there are tons of ways to doll it up if you desire (extra onions? grated cheddar? ground turkey, pork or fake meat? fancy buns?) Life is complicated enough!

If you don't want to use Manwich:

Cook ground beef of turkey, drain, set aside.

Saute diced onion and bell pepper. Add minced garlic.

Return beef to pan.

Add 1 can of diced tomatoes and 8oz can of tomato sauce. Throw in some paprika, basil, oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Spoon onto hamburger buns or club roll. Top each with a cheese slice.

R5, I’m not seeing any sweetness in your recipe. You know they’re supposed to be slightly sweet, right?

OP, I’m with you. They’re great. I haven’t had one in ages, but they were among my favorites when I was growing up in the 80s/90s. I always enjoyed Sloppy Joe day at the school cafeteria.

Just get a can of Manwich or similar.

salsa?

green salsa! ummm

Until a couple of weeks ago, wasn't there an Aunt Jemima Sloppy Joe Mix?

I actually made some yesterday, only because I found a can of Campbell's roasted red pepper cooking soup on clearance, and there was a recipe on the can for "Grown Up Sloppy Joes." I was intrigued, as I'd not had any in years. The recipe was 1 lb ground beef, the can of roasted red pepper cooking soup, and 1 cup of salsa. I left out the salsa and put a bit of stone ground mustard and a few dashes of hot sauce. They were amazing and had a nice kick to them.

R6, you bring up my big hesitancy: yeah, sloppy joes should be sweet, and recipes call for a huge amount of ketchup. How can I get around the heavily-sugared ketchup thing and still have a sloppy joe?

I think I liked sugar a lot more at age 12.

Slaw on top.

Manwich??

DL is telling me to buy canned Manwich??

You bitches better be right because I’ll do it, I will.

there are no sugar ketchups.

R11, use brown sugar to taste. Don’t put more in than you want. Second on the list of Manwich ingredients is high fructose corn syrup. Further down the list, there’s more sugar. So they’re definitely supposed to be sweet, but you can control that if you make your own.

I don’t think they should be completely un-sweet, as in two of the recipes shared so far. Go ahead and make a completely unsweetened sauce if you want, but don’t call it a Sloppy Joe.

I think if I had the right recipe I could open up a goldmine of a Sloppy Joe hut.

People forget, but people remember, and the memory is everything.

Too mushy.

R17 brings a good point: mush.

I like mush. A disintegrating hamburger roll, even better..

r13, Aldi sloppy joe sauce is more or less exactly as good as Manwich. I remember trying another brand once (either Hunt's or Walmart/Great Value), but it was definitely a step or two down from Manwich & Aldi's.

Honestly, if I did a double-blind test between Manwich and Aldi's, I don't think I could tell the difference.

is r19 glenn from aldi's?

This sounds like a job for...

DL LEGEND SIMPLY SARA!!!!!

I’m sitting here, I’m knocked out, This is OP.

DL is saying that a can of Manwich is the way to go? Listen, I’ll do it, I just don’t recall ever being steered toward a can here. Maybe you’re right but I have my suspicions.

Canned? Really?

R6 Who says they should be sweet?

When originally made they were not sweet. The sweet version came later as the US is addicted to sugar.

R22 Manwich is gross. Tomato frosting. Never use it.

And then there's the New Jersey Sloppy Joe.

10 servings per container, ha! What a creative way to reduce sodium, etc, r25.

Ten Servings?? Omg, hysterical.

That can has no less than two servings total.

Still here for the end-game, though.

Oh sorry, r27 responds to multiple canned Manwich suggestions.

R11, you can’t. Sloppy joes are supposed to be slightly sweet and also slightly sour, which is why most recipes call for ketchup. You can leave out the sweetness, but then it will be something else, not a sloppy joe.

You could substitute tomato sauce for the ketchup in a recipe, but the result will be bland and not taste anything like a sloppy joe unless you add a little brown sugar, some salt and a tablespoon of vinegar, in which case you might as well just use ketchup.

Sloppy joes are not healthy. Either reconcile yourself to violating your health principles for one meal or give up on the idea entirely.

Regarding sweetness, I remember my great aunt from Iowa had a recipe for Sloppy Joes that had grape jelly in it.

A Sloppy Joe was JFK, Jr.'s favorite sandwich. He would frequently ask his mother's longtime aide, Provi, to make him one.

Provi remained close to JFK, Jr. after Jackie died and even closer after he married Carolyn.

Her frozen daiquiries were said to be superb and she made them frequently for the Kennedys.

Your aunt was a cruel and vicious twat, r30.

R29 you are wrong.

The sloppy Joe was a deconstructed patty with sauce, it contained no sweet element for almost 40 years.

I eat sloppy joes every day from Saturday until Wednesday when I run out. Then I switch to grilled cheese. Yes I have baby taste, no I'm not fat, yes my arteries are probably clogged.

Check yourself for diabetes while you are filling your arteries.

Brown a pound of ground beef, drain, add McCormick's sloppy joe sauce mix, one can of tomato paste and 1/2 cup of water. Stir and simmer for a couple of minutes. place on a bun and enjoy.

It's maybe the one white trashy food I don't hate, and have been known to make.

For me the secret is a good quality onion roll very lightly toasted (not a big puffy hamburger bun.) Add a packet of one of those spice mixes to good ground beef and finely diced green bell pepper and garlic maybe adjust slightly with some additional seasoning.

Easy Vegan Sloppy Joes if you don't eat meat.

Sloppy Joe Recipe from 1938 lb ground beef, up to 1-1/2 lb 1⁄4 teaspoon salt 1 cup onion, chopped 1 cup green pepper, chopped 1 1⁄2 cups tomato sauce 2 1⁄2 tablespoons prepared mustard 1 tablespoon vinegar (white or cider) 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

No fucking sugar.

Check out the America’s Test Kitchen recipe. Amazing.

Quick show of hands, how many of you will be eating a sloppy joe this week?

Damn these threads make me hungry. I’m going with r40’s recipe tonight.

I like that they aren’t into overly sweet flavors.

Alao, who knew about adding baking soda to sautéed onion?

God I’m hungry.

Sloppy Joes have had sugar in them for decades. They’re supposed to be somewhat sweet. Please, no more arguing about this.

This is the most DL thread ever, and could be a source of contention at a DL convention special speaker series: "Should Sloppy Joes Be Sweet or Savoury?" And then have a tasting of several different recipes prepared by chefs, with a panel to guide the attendants in agreeing on a winner. There could be an amateur Sloppy Joe contest as well, after the mixer dance later that night.

R10 here and I'm eating leftover Sloppy Joes right this minute. (Some asshat in the neighbourhood is setting off fireworks at midnight each night, and last night did it again at 2AM.) My sleep schedule is way off anyway, so Sloppy Joes for breakfast it is!

R1, I think OP needs to frau it up for her recipe blog, along with a 10,000 word post about her family and anything and everything going on in her life right now.

R22, and OP Manwich is in a glass jar... It's not bad, but I add extra onion, paprika, red pepper, cayenne, a bit of ground clove, and garlic powder.

R36/R37 I'm going to try the McCormick, as I haven't noticed it before. I've attempted some homemade versions over the years, and find that spicier ketchups (Trader Joe's, or Brooks) give a better flavour. The chili sauce versions don't seem quite right to me.

A brand I have enjoyed from a tin before is "Not So Sloppy Joe".... It doesn't seem popular, as only a few stores carry it near me.

Only lunch day I hated at school. they would throw in the leftover green beans and corn into the mix. Not only child abuse, but a crime against nature.

This comes in a jar now, and noticed Manwich also is available in a tin can... Didn't notice this before.

I like any of these with a slice of raw onion, on a brioche bun.

Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes, OP. DO IT, fucker!

^^^^

Manwich is fucking delicious.

R43 yes for decades they have been nasty. Go back in time and have a good one.

This is good as well... also not available everywhere, yet Target has it... Not so sweet, less tomato heavy, with more of a Worcestershire flavour. Contains tamarind as well.

Has anyone tried Stonewall Kitchen's Sloppy Joe sauce? I've noticed a Prego Italian style Sloppy Joe sauce at the store as well... never tried it, yet curious.

I used to make it with leftover spaghetti sauce, adding more sautéed onions & peppers as well as soy sauce.

Use manwich sauce. Some things have been perfected and there's no reason to deny it. Use the morningstar farms vegetarian crumbles (meal starters I think) and you won't have to smell beef.

you fuckers. I JUST finished my obsession with raisins because of you all. now this.

R26 yes! I was wondering when someone would bring that up. The first time I ordered one, I was definitely NOT expecting that. But, it was really tasty.

Why not try the Iowa version, OP?

I was going to ask if this was the same thing as Roseanne's loose meat.

[quote]I just don’t recall ever being steered toward a can here.

Well, there was that time I ate a couple dozen bad oysters near Times Square.

Manwich is gross. I'm sure the ingredients have gone to hell since I was a kid and used to love the stuff. Look at its current ingredients. Sugar, high fructose corn syrup and regular corn syrup?! WTF!!

Search the internet for a homemade recipe, or use the McCormick Sloppy Joe spice envelope and add some diced green peppers, onions, etc. to suit you best.

It's the easiest dish to cook.

No, R58. No.

[quote]I just don’t recall ever being steered toward a can here.

I recommended the McCormick seasonings packet at R37. I think it's the only time I've used such a thing as an adult more than once, and am usually prone to making something properly, not the "dump cake" approach of throwing premixed things in a pot and...done! For me it's a rare thing to make but also a spur of the moment thing. It's not the dish I want to invest my time in to make it perfect, but the seasoning blend is a good start. I can adjust it to taste and it doesn't start badly as most such things do -- heavy on the salt and sugar and a bit of cayenne and clove and them mystery powdered stuff.

[quote]a slice of raw onion

r48, if you enter this in the "Foods you like that make other people retch," I'll WW you.

R62 Does McCormick leave out Clove, Cayenne, or Paprika? Simply curious if you're not keen on those spices in your "Joes"...

Yeah, Manwich is gross to me. Rachael Ray actually has a decent recipe.

R64: It does include those, but in a fairly balanced way, not as though they added dollops of brown sugar and molasses and sugar and pumpkin spice spices.

The recipe my grandmother and mother used: in a skillet brown 1/2 cup of chopped onion, brown 1 pound of ground beef, add 1 can of Chicken Gumbo soup, 2 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons of ketchup, 1 tablespoon of yellow mustard. simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve on toasted bun. Been making this for 50 fucking years.

P.S. Manwich is garbage.

We, the Democratic Socialists of America, have been made aware of the use of outdated, gendered language in this thread, and respectfully demand that you immediately cease the use of "the 'M' word" ("M**wich"), and label this thread with a trigger warning.

This is a prime example of toxic masculinity, hate speech, non-binary erasure, and literal violence. Gender non-conforming folx are dying by the millions every day because of this thread, and others like it. And Harry Potter.

In addition, we are instituting a worldwide boycott of ConAgra Foods/Hunt's until they change the name of this product. We suggest something along the lines of "Wxmxnzherzhimwich"

(Jazz hands)

I had a Manwich sloppy joe for the first time in decades sometime last year. And it wasn't that great. I realized that my tastebuds just can't do many foods with HFCS & other preservatives in it.

Cheers R66. As I mentioned before, I'll definitely be giving the McCormick a try... I'm surprised how great their Swedish Meatball sachet is.

R68 my new hero(ine)! LOL

Homemade is better. I like diced peppers and onions and mustard and brown sugar and vinegar. Piquant and just a little bit sweet. The canned stuff has too much. It’s not hard at all.

Making it a little sweet and sour is a pretty standard culinary thing.

The Manwich bold is better if you can find it, but it is just fattening beefy goodness.

I wouldn't use a canned sauce, but I would make my own sauce with canned whole tomatoes and tomato paste. After that it's about seasoning. If you haven't used no-salt tomatoes and tomato paste, you are stuck with other peoples' idea of seasoning.

Manwich is marketed to straight truck drivers.

Use ground chicken or turkey instead of beef.. Manwich or McCormick's Sloppy Joe Seasoning is great.

Easy peasy.

[quote]Manwich is marketed to straight truck drivers.

So is about 33.79% of the Datalounge.

Make these instead, dammit!

If you're using canned tomato paste, you've more or less neutralized almost every perceived reason to not use Manwich.

Could you do better? Probably. Is it worth the time, effort, and expense? Not really. Manwich isn't perfect, but the marginal cost OF "doing better" is probably way more than the time, effort, and expense is worth unless you're a total, die-hard "foodie".

[quote]unless you're a total, die-hard "foodie"

I find a certain satisfaction in thinking that foodies die hard.

FAT WHORES REJOICE!

Actually, I've made them with turkey and with the faux "I Can't Believe It's Not Hamburger" substitutes and honestly, as long as you use Manwich and/or the Manwich seasoning mix, it's all good.

meatloaf with the morningstar crumbles is fine.

What is a "morningstar crumble"?

Morningstar crumbles are vegetarian ground beef. They come in a green bag. Perfect for vegetarian sloppy joes.

r83 There is no such thing as vegetarian ground beef.

I've never had one but I'm getting an education. Three old recipes, the first from 1950:

Sloppy Joe mixture for the sandwiches is made ahead of time. Have lots of potato chips, hard-cooked eggs and marshmallows to toast over the coals of a bonfire...

[bold]Sloppy Joe Sandwich[/bold]

2 tablespoons shortening

1 1/2 pounds ground meat

2 large onions, chopped

1/2 cup diced celery

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/4 teaspoon monosodium glutamate

1 cup tomatoes

1/4 cup catsup

1 cup water

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca

Heat the shortening in a heavy pan. Add meat, chopped onions, diced celery, sliced mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes until meat is browned. Add tomatoes, catsup, chili powder, water and cook for 15 minutes. Season to taste. Add tapioca and cook until mixture is slighly thickened,. Soread up [spread on?] split buns. Eat potato chips with the sandwich to give crunchy texture.

[italic]Over the Back Fence[/italic], Naomi Deebel, Cedar Rapids Gazette, September 26, 1950 (p. 9)

1957:

Last week we discovered that graduation parties were still in full swing, both for the high school set and college grads. Sloppy Joe sandwiches was the recipe most frequently asked for by mothers and chairmen planning these parties...

[bold]Sloppy Joes[/bold]

1/4 cup sliced onions

1/2 cup green pepper

2 tablespoons fat

2 medium-sized tomatoes, peeled

3/4 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 pound ground beef

1 cup tomato juice

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika.

Method: Cook onions and green pepper in hot fat until lightly browned. Cut tomatoes in small wedges and add to vegetables. Cover and cook over very low heat 15 to 20 minutes. If desired, thicken sauce by sprinkling in a little flour and cooking until well blended. Serve over split toasted hamburger buns. Makes four to six servings.

[italic]Like a Sloppy Joe? Here's the Recipe[/italic], Marian Manners, Los Angeles Times, June 17, 1957 (p. A7)

R86, if Sloppy Joes were served at a graduation party these days, millennials would lose their shit. Those kids would be so triggered.

R56, did you eat another loaf of raisin bread?

1960:

[bold]Sloppy Joe Sandwich[/bold]

30 servings

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

2 pounds ground beef

2 onions, chopped

2 teaspoons garlic salt

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons dry mustard

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce

1 1/3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

2 no. 303 cans whole kernel corn, drained, or 2 pkgs. frozen corn

Melt butter in large kettle. Add meat onions, garlic salt, salt, pepper and dry mustard. Saute until meat is brown. Add vinegar, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Parmesan cheese and corn. Simmer 15-30 minutes. Serve on buttered buns over a slice of tomato.

[italic]Eating at Home to Please a Young, Ravenous Crowd[/italic], Chicago Defender, September 10, 1960 (p. 16)

no r88, I haven't had any raisin bread, but I did read the thread and eat a box of raisins. not the tiny one either

i'd do some good salsa instead of all that prep of onions and tomatoes.

They are called "loose meat" with sauce and yes I know they are not the same, but that is how they are sold now, so when you get "loose meat, you'll get sloppy joe with

"Not So Sloppy Joe" sauce by Hormel is even better than Manwich. But Manwich is good, too.

The recipe for the young and ravenous manages to wring 30 servings out of 2 lbs. of ground beef.

I'll stick to leftover spaghetti sauce. You guys are to attached to sugar.

Really, those homemade SJ are almost as bad a MW, why go to all the trouble, are you eating this daily?

What's the difference between a sloppy Joe and a loose-meat sandwich?

jefferson city, mo

Nostalgia is the draw for me here, so I want to make this as my mother did: Manwich sauce, served on seeded, buttered buns, with Ruffles potato chips. (Fries are too heavy.)

I'd rather save the home cooking labor for the zillion NYT recipes I have bookmarked but will never make.

Oh, and it helps to toast the buns to give some crunch.

Good. Grief! Just make a fucking burger and STFU already!

Sloppy Joes are definitely better than hamburgers.

Those 1950s recipes had MUSHROOMS and the one from '60 had corn. I vaguely remember corn in Sloppy Joe's when I was a little kid (in the '60s) but NEVER mushrooms.

ohh...succotash mixed in...

Op there are homemade sloppy joe sauce recipes online, but if you feel lazy, I support the Manwich option. Just use real cheese instead of that rubbery crap. Great, now I’m one of the many who will have sloppy joes sometime this week.

R30 your aunt is the worst person in the history of the world. She’s lucky she’s not in jail.

My mom used the I Hate to Cook Cookbook. (We all were) Heavy on canned soup and Velveeta...

I don't have time to cook. Fuck all of you, dammit!

I will be going to the grocery store in the morning to get the ingredients because you all made me hungry ...

It’s a Manwich, baby

Oooh, maybe hot dogs make her lose control too.

Manwich lasagne with cottage cheese exists solely to spite Datalounge.

I think you're on to something, R109.

This Manwich ad was inspired by a sneaky urinal peek.

they could not see each other's dicks because of their bellies.

My sweet Mom was the one who taught me to cook by taste. She had recipes, exchanged with other Ohio housewives, but her Sloppy Joes were made without a recipe. She'd brown a pound of ground beef, reserving all the water and fat, then add chopped onions and green peppers. Wait until the onions and peppers are thoroughly cooked, then drain the excess liquid. Keep stirring the meat on low heat, and begin seasoning: she'd add a big dollop of catsup (Brook's please, no substitutes), yellow mustard and Worcestershire sauce. She'd then sample it and (the great honor), she'd ask me to sample it too, and tell her what I thought it needed. She gave me fairly free reign to alter the ingredients to my taste (I was careful to experiment only with very small portions).

I would make up a batch right now, if my kitchen weren't in serious disarray.

*Never tried Manwich.

First off...corn, jelly and mushrooms??? 🤢

This is such a funny thread, one which I initially clicked on out of boredom but enjoyed reading. And R113 kinda choked me up!

r110 Now you've done it -- you've prompted the "cottage cheese in lasagna" trolls to take notice of this thread. You in danger, gurl!

Has anyone ever seen a sloppy joe on a restaurant menu anywhere? (Other than a school cafeteria, of course.) It's probably too messy for a fast food place, and too downscale for a sit down place (not to mention too retro/old-school for a trendy place.)

If you make it with taco seasoning mix instead of sloppy joe mix, does it become a Sloppy José?

What about Hamburger Helper Sloppy Joe mix? I haven't tried it, but it's an alternative to Manwich, the classic. IMO, a Sloppy Joe should be a little bit sweet. If I really wanted to kick it up, I'd add some spicy sausage, removed from the casing, and browned first.

The Hamburger Helper version includes a packet of pasta, which you're not going to use if you make a traditional SJ sandwich.

I make sloppy joes with ground turkey/Manwich sauce about 1x per month. I noticed, it always tastes better on day 2 (after sitting in the fridge and reheating). The meat has much more time to absorb the Manwich seasonings overnight.

R1 So is a manwich different from a lady witch?

I hate sloppy joes (Manwich to me was nasty) but I like BBQ sandwiches like we had at school.

If you use Ladywich, you end up with a Sloppy Josephine.

TVP with shredded vegetables, make it with the Joe spice mix, get good whole wheat rolls: FABUlous vegan joes.

This thread is literal GENOCIDE.

I use Manwich because that's what I had as a kid, so that's what a proper sloppy joe should be. But then I depart from tradition by using vegetarian "beef crumbles", which come in packages of slightly less than 16 ounces (10 or 12). Since the can of sauce calls for a pound of meat, I make up the difference by adding sauteed diced onions and sliced black olives. Served on a hamburger bun with a slice of Swiss cheese and potato chips on the side.

R126: That sounds good. I will give that a try next time!

I'm pretty sure they didn't have Manwich when I was a kid; my mother probably used a seasoning packet. I know she used to use one for tacos and for spaghetti sauce.

Disgusting looking. Delicious!

paradox?

R127, Manwich was introduced in 1969. More of that good home cooking from Conagra!

R131 Well, that was almost the last year I lived at home, so maybe we did have it then. (I graduated from HS in 1970.)

I like the Simply Organic seasoning mix

Manwich's banned ad campaign

I've never had Manwich. But a real easy recipe for Sloppy Joes is to brown up some ground beef or turkey. season with onion powder, garlic powder, salt & fresh ground pepper. When brown, add some Ketchup until it is as tomatoy as you want. Add a few squirts of Worcestershire sauce and cook for a couple of minutes. It's quick and tastes resonably good. I learned this when the boys had to take 2 weeks of Home Ec (and the girls took 2 weeks of shop) when i was in 7th grade.

Manwich is disgusting!

The recipe in r86 comes closer than anything else in this thread to what I always thought went into making this kind of Sloppy Joe (I'm from that part of NJ where it's a type of club sandwich). My aunt used to make them, and from the sounds of it, that's just the recipe she used.

[bold]No ketchup or sugar was ever used in the making of this sandwich filling.[/bold]

I wonder how you would make a "Sleepy" Joe. (Asking for a friend.)

R6 must've had a stroke after seeing those three recipes that don't have any added sugar.

The Stonewall Kitchen sauce will drive the "no sugar!" faction crazy: brown sugar, sugar (2x), molasses.

All to balance the salt and vinegar, etc., I suppose., and because Americans especially associate tomato sauce with the addition of sugar.

R87 : All you have to do is serve it up like sliders.

teens will eat anything.

hot cheetos would be a hit.

Who’s had a sloppy joe since the Tuesday thread? I’m gonna need pictures, too.

I'll concede Sloppy Joe's should be sweet so I won't offend the purists and call the following that , but here's my non-sweet recipe.

Equal portions ground beef and ground chuck

Chopped green pepper

Chopped onion

Add salt and pepper

Cook all together until meat is browned and onions a peppers are cooked.

Add salt and pepper

Don't drain fat. Retain fat.

Add Heinz Chili Sauce to consistency and taste you prefer.

It has to be Heinz Chili Sauce. Yes, it's costlier than other brands but, it's just better. I know. I've tried cheaper substitutes.

Oops. Don't add salt and pepper twice. I forgot to delete.

Old Dutch Potato Chips, too

Do any of you have a recipe for sloppy joes that uses barbecue sauce? Or maybe just pulled pork or pulled chicken with barbecue sauce.

!!! TRIGGER WARNING !!!

There's sweet, and then there's whatever the fuck this is:

[bold]HAWAIIAN SLOPPY JOES[/bold]

10 Hawaiian Sandwich Buns or regular hamburger buns

2 pounds lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

4-6 garlic cloves, minced

1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple (in 100% juice) NOT DRAINED

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup molasses

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 tsp EACH chili powder, salt

1/2 tsp EACH ground ginger, smoked paprika, pepper

Hot sauce to taste

Step 1: To make this easy saucy filling, brown you beef, onions and garlic then drain of excess grease.

Step 2: Next, stir in your pantry friendly Hawaiian BBQ Sauce ingredients of crushed pineapple, ketchup, molasses, brown sugar, soy sauce, mustard, cider vinegar and spices of chili powder, ginger, smoked paprika etc.

Step 3: Let the saucy beefy filling simmer together for 15 minutes to let the flavors meld as the the aroma tempts you for the longest 15 minutes of your life.

Step 4: Pile the Sloppy Joe filling on Hawaiian rolls or traditional hamburger buns and dig in!

No thanks, R149. We did used to make a Hawaiin-ish sandwich by grilling patties made of corned beef hash and slices of pineapple, then serving the fruit on top of the patty in a hamburger bun. I remember it as being pretty good -- but I don't eat meat anymore so I can't try it now to see whether my memory is reliable.

This post made me crave sloppy joe and I happened to have an Omaha Steak gift package in my freezer that needed to be used. I went with the recipe at R40 because I always trust America's Test Kitchen - these have got to be the best sloppy joes I've ever had! The perfect balance of sweet and tangy. The only change I made was to add green bell pepper like my mom used to when I was a kid. If this thread triggered a craving, this is the recipe to go with!

Has anyone tried Chef John's recipes(over at FoodWishes) for Sloppy Joes or Sloppy Toms(made with ground turkey)? Haven't tried them yet, maybe this weekend. Hopefully I can find some Martin's Potato Rolls to serve them on. He recommends tater-tots as a go-with, but I've got this bag of Utz Kettle Chips I've been dying to open.

A glass of milk and a brownie for dessert?

No, I haven't tried Chef John's recipe, R152. I like his videos, but one thing I hate is how he cuts into his food. He painstakingly prepares and plates something and then digs into it like a slob. Not wanting him to be twee and use tweezers, but it's disgusting. Why not slice into what you cooked so people can see a nice cross-section?

R151, that recipe caught my eye, too.

Tell me that you snapped a picture whilst spooning your sloppy joe across the bun. It’s a textural thing, not perverted. Thank you.

All I will guarantee is that there WILL be Sloppy Joe’s this week.

OP checking in.

Please post a pic or video of your most recent Sloppy Joe recipe.

Many of us are counting on you. This is no dress rehearsal, people.

Under no circumstance can you create a good sloppy joe without adding some sweetness, it’s the differential.

Think winter and add molasses instead of sugar, it’s a masked sweet and sultry flavor.

Molasses is always forgotten yet how perfect it is.

That America's Test Kitchen Sloppy Joe recipe is bizarre and a bit of an all day undertaking!

I just need it to be a Sloppy Joe! It's not really rocket science!

Bombay Sloppy Joe

R146/Della - Your recipe sounds great and easy to make, which is part of the point of sloppy joes. All these over-complicated recipes miss the point that it's supposed to be a quick, easy Saturday night sort of meal.

I hate to quibble, but HFCS is the 3rd listed ingredient in Heinz Chili Sauce (as it is in Heinz Tomato Ketchup), after tomatoes and vinegar. The sweetness is there; it's just hiding behind the spice.

BTW, for those who prefer to avoid HFCS, there's Simply Heinz, which is ketchup made with cane sugar. The ingredients are basically the same except for the use of sugar instead of corn syrup. I like Simply Heinz. I think it tastes more like the ketchup I grew up with. On the other hand, I'm not sure the sugar vs. HFCS thing matters in sloppy joes, which are so strongly flavored.

Great post, r160 and thanks for pointing out the HFCS in Heinz Chili Sauce and now I'll keep an eye out for Simply Heinz.

What a fun thread!

I'm definitely using the Americas Test Kitchen tip about breaking down onions quickly by adding a bit of baking soda the next time I make French onion soup. But I agree that this recipe is a bit too fussy for me, with too many steps and exacting measurements. And it's highly annoying that there's no written recipe at all, so you'd have to watch and pause, watch and pause as you tried to put the recipe together.

[R47], I presume you have sent this information in toto to Amnesty International? Forget child abuse, it's terrorism, plain and simple!

Make sure you add a few pickles slices on top. It really makes it pop. And a little brown mustard on one side of the bun.

Off topic, I know, but I found a package of real thick slice bacon in the freezer yesterday. It expired late October, 2019. Plan to make BLTs with it soon. Am I in danguh, gurl?

if it's not green or feezer burned you're fine. (obligatory) fat, but fine.

If it's been frozen since the expiration date, it's safe because dangerous decay can't occur in the freezer. Quality may suffer, so you might not like the texture and/or flavor, but you won't get sick.

Thanks, guys! ^

I found a can of Manwich in the pantry, and made it for lunch even though I don't have proper hamburger buns. I did schmear it on hot dogs, with extra cheese, bread 'n butter chips, and chopped onion, side of chips. Delish!

For what it's worth, we're going to see a HUGE surge in products quietly switching back to HFCS instead of sugar over the next year. The REAL reason why so many products went back to using sugar had very little to do with anti-HFCS sentiment, and quite a bit to do with demand for ethanol driving up the price of corn to the point where cane sugar was either cheap enough to justify the extra cost for the sake of advertising it as a feature, or (at one point) LITERALLY cheaper (per unit of equivalent sweetening power) than HFCS.

Now that demand for gas has temporarily fallen though the floor, there's a literal shit-ton of corn futures whose owners are going to be desperately looking for anyone to buy it. Companies that manufacture HFCS are going to go crazy buying it up at fire-sale prices, because once the corn is manufactured into HFCS, it becomes effectively nonperishable and can be stored for literally YEARS. They're going to be shoveling HFCS out the door to buyers capable of stockpiling large quantities, then filling their own warehouses with the remainder. Long after demand for gas (and ethanol) returns, HFCS is going to be very, very EXTRAORDINARILY cheap compared to sugar.

Next year, you'll probably still be able to buy overpriced tiny bottles of Heinz ketchup and Pepsi from Whole Foods, but you can absolutely FORGET about finding real cane sugar in ANYTHING remotely cheap or commodity-like at Walmart. Even if the price of cane sugar itself falls, the price of HFCS will be"almost free, plus whatever it costs to package, transport, and store." NOTHING can compete with "almost-free", especially when you're talking about companies that are desperate to prove to shareholders that they can salvage (or boost) their year's profits during Q3 and Q4.

Do consumers say they prefer sugar over HFCS? Sure. When it comes time to vote with their wallets, and either pay $3.99 for a tiny 14.75oz bottle of Heinz with cane sugar at Whole Foods, or buy two 40oz squeeze bottles of Heinz made with HFCS for the same $3.99 at Walmart, the HFCS variant wins, hands down. Let me repeat... the days of seeing large, cheap bottles of things like ketchup made with cane sugar for almost the same price as the HFCS variant are OVER, and won't be back for many years.

I made sloppy joes today, bitches.

Chef John over at Foodwishes once posted a recipe for home made ketchup, with a disclaimer that it's really not worth all the effort. I've always felt the same about sloppy joe's. They're not high brow food - Manwich is perfect for them imo. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Re R170's comment: A 31-oz bottle of Simply Heinz ketchup (cane sugar) is currently $3.99 at Wegmans. A 38-oz bottle of regular Heinz ketchup (HFCS) is $2.99, so there's already a substantial price difference. So far, it doesn't seem to deter shoppers; the Simply Heinz is often nearly sold out, but there's always plenty of regular Heinz.

In my area, Wegmans is the fancy, expensive supermarket. If you really care about prices, you probably shop at Aldi or Walmart rather Weg's, so the situation might be different there. Does WF even sell Heinz ketchup?

R167, in my experience, bacon keeps very well in the freezer. I think the high fat content helps preserve the texture. It's easy to thaw, too. Just microwave on low power until the slices can be separated, then cook. If the slices are still somewhat frozen, it doesn't matter. If the slices cook slightly in the microwave, it doesn't matter.

Bacon is very forgiving and works miracles in flavor. If bacon were a person, it would have been canonized long ago.

r173, companies like Kraft are still working through their existing stockpiles and inventory. The tidal wave of cheap HFCS is still a few months away. But mark my words, starting around October or November, you're going to see proclamations that a product is "HFCS-free" quietly disappear from labels almost overnight. If you really value HFCS-free foods that have long shelf lives, stockpile them NOW, because they're going to be GONE (or at least, harder to get, and a lot more expensive) by next Spring.

Well, thank you, R174. Very reassuring.

- R167

R175, I don't value them that much. What with stockpiling TP, paper towels, hand sanitizer, flour, disinfectant, masks, gloves, meat, and canned beans, I can live with HFCS-sweetened ketchup. After all, I did for years before Simply Heinz came along.

Now, if you tell me there's going to be a shortage of ketchup and mayo, all kinds and brands ... THEN I'll go out and rent a storage unit for cases of my beloved condiments. 😉

I'll be making sloppy joes one evening this weekend. What carb-laden side dish should I serve? If I can get good corn on the cob, I'll go with that. Otherwise ... suggestions? I'd like something cold and summery rather than French fries or similar, but I've had potato salad and macaroni salad recently. What will all you SJ-makers be eating w/ your sweet/not-sweet/slightly sweet Joes this weekend?

coleslaw r178. or 3 bean salad. mmmmm

Dammit, rescue chick. You stole my answer.

I half-heartedly submit macaroni salad. 1

Considering the huge groundswell of interest in this topic, should we change the 'R' in this thread's title to a 'B'?

Thank you, rescue chick and R180. Cole slaw would be great as a veggie side, but I want something carby, too. I don't like green beans, but rc's suggestion of 3-bean salad reminded me of a Mediterranean white bean salad I haven't made in a while. So good!

It's a can of cannellini (or any bean), plus coarsely chopped tomatoes and chopped red (or any other kind of) onion, in a vinaigrette of your choosing, with added parsley. I like to season it with Herbes de Provence, but you could use an Italian herb mix, or just oregano. It's really good and very simple. And cold. And starchy. Perfect as a side w/ Joe along with cole slaw or cucumber salad on a hot summer day.

[Quote]It's quick and tastes resonably good.

Its the end of DL.

I think two good accompaniments inofar as salads are concerned could be either baby wilted spinach and red onion, with a warm bacon grease vinaigrette, or sliced tomatoes topped with chopped sweet onion.

Corn on the cob, so long as it's not RoundUp ready, and chock-full of glyphosate, sounds really good as well.

Come to think longer on it, the Italian-American salad of tomatoes, fresh green beans, and onions in a vinaigrette would do well also.

This afternoon I masked up and went shopping for Sloppy Joe fixings. Three large grocery stores completely out of Manwich and Sloppy Joe mix! So much for the easy way out - I'm going to try the America's Test Kitchen recipe.

R174, when I have bacon I usually just have two slices. When I open a new package, I roll up the slices and keep them in a freezer bag. That way, I just have to take out as many as I need. And it doesn't take long to defrost them.

R162 they have the written recipe in the link provided. You don't need to watch the video to prepare them, I didn't. Those of you who think the AMTK recipe is fussy, trust me, if doesn't take any longer than any other joe recipe yet is MUCH tastier

Yesterday I went to the supermarket and got ground beef, Manwich sauce, Brioche style hamburger buns, bagged chopped cabbage, cole slaw dressing, and frozen lemonade. A short time later I had a great summertime meal!

I don't really consider this *cooking.* I would call putting all of these previously prepared items together to be a great example of *bachelor food.*

"This afternoon I masked up and went shopping for Sloppy Joe fixings. Three large grocery stores completely out of Manwich and Sloppy Joe mix! So much for the easy way out - I'm going to try the America's Test Kitchen recipe."

This is full on frau on this site.

Had sloppy joes for lunch using the McCormick seasoning mix, bitches! Definitely toast the buns.

Add a slice of cheese to your Joe. Makes it that much better.

I hate to buy a whole package of buns (and I have no room in my freezer.) How would Sloppy Joe be over pasta? Or rice?

R192, Sloppy Joe "sauce" would be good over pasta or rice. If you have regular bread (not hamburger buns), you could just toast that and scoop of Sloppy Joe sauce over that.

You can also do it open-faced over one piece of toast.

R187, the written recipe link is paywalled as far as I can tell. The recipe below turned up with a google search. Is the same? I'm a little put off by the baking soda and cornstarch, but it sounds OK.

Smoosh it together and do meatloaf with rice.

R67, I thought my mom was the only one who used Chicken Gumbo soup to make sloppy Joes.

[quote] I hate to buy a whole package of buns (and I have no room in my freezer.) How would Sloppy Joe be over pasta? Or rice?

I use toast, if my Sloppy Joe outlasts my bun supply. It is good.

I use leftovers for tacos.

1 pound lean ground beef 1 cup sweet onion, diced 1 cup green bell pepper, diced 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1 cup tomato sauce 1 teaspoon chile powder 1 teaspoon pickled jalapeno peppers, minced 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 tablespoon prepared mustard 2 tablespoons tomato paste 3 tablespoons brown sugar 1 pinch of red pepper flakes 1 cup water 1 tablespoon hot sauce 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

In my house it was always served with mashed potatoes and never with buns.

Is anyone else amazed that a thread on Sloppy Joes made it to 200 replies?

This is the most revolting thread evah. Even the prolapsed anus thread was more tasteful.

R202, I’m the OP and I’m flabbergasted with all these replies.

Also, r203 is my syphilitic mother, you’ll have to excuse her.

OP here, I’m reposting my previous image of the Manwich nutritional facts.

They’re saying that one can equals 10 servings. I’m just (big fat) belly laughing over here.

But by all means, let’s together split a pot into 10 servings and see how many wigs will fly.

Let's just start calling them what they are - sloppy karen's

I've stopped buying any bread products except English muffins. That's what I toasted and had open-faced Sloppy Joes on...the bread gets a little moist and you can mop up the Joe sauce with it. (Now I'm disgusting myself.) I long ago learned that I can't eat a whole loaf of bread or a pack of buns by myself, nor do I want to do so. I like the texture of English muffins and they're very versatile...just like me.

R201 Try it on a baked potato. It’s heavenly.

Not sloppy joes but making my meatballs for the 4th and I use Heinz Chili Sauce and Ocean Spray jellied Cranberry sauce. We used to have a lot of potlucks at my old job and people would ask for my meatballs, they are really simple to make. In my crock pot I combine the sauces until they are smooth then add the meatballs and cook for a few hours.

R209 Not that I wish to derail Joe's thread for Sloppy Balls, but what do you put in the meatballs? What type of meat, and seasonings?

R207 I had the same problem, so I started keeping my bread in the refrigerator which keeps it from spoiling much much longer. I wish I could figure out something with milk. Even a quart ends up spoiling before I use it all - I'm just not a huge mile drinker - but a pint is never enough. I wish there was an in-between size. I have found keeping it at the very back of the shelf with as little light as possible touching it helps prolong the shelf life alightly. A friend suggested buying an opaque metal container so the milk isn't exposed to light at all when not in use. I'll have to try that

R211 I have a friend who freezes his milk he has no problems I would do the same if I didn't use much milk. I would pour it into ice cube trays and freeze it.

R211, if you only use milk for baking or cooking, rather than drinking or on cereal, canned evaporated milk works fine (NOT sweetened condensed milk). It can be found on sale for $1 per 12 oz can and keeps forever until the can is opened. Then you can pour any part isn't used into a jar and freeze forever. To reconstitute it as whole milk, add an equal amount of water -- without the water, it's the texture of cream and I use it instead of that in recipes.

r211 I have trouble even finding milk in quarts -- many places only sell half gallons. But a suggestion for longer-term storage-- buy Lactaid or another lactose-free product. They're usually have a "sell by" date that's at least a month longer than regular milk.

r210 I just buy them in the frozen food section all you have to do is unthaw them, the sauce adds the flavor. I buy the Armour frozen meatballs.

r210 I just buy regular, not Italian style because the sauce will give them flavor

R211, transfer your milk to used water bottles and freeze. Thaw as needed. You're welcome.

I never drink milk, and I don't like the taste. I buy almond milk (unsweetened vanilla) to use on cereal; it's much lower in calories (30 cal/cup vs. 80/cal cup for SKIM milk). But occasionally I need real milk for a recipe. I like the suggestion to freeze the milk in bottles. Now I just need to make room in my (always full) freezer!

there's also small containers of shelf stable milk. I get it all the time for cereal

The comments re milk and bread remind me how annoyed I am with myself that I didn't buy the small chest freezer I'd been thinking about buying for years. It's perfect for storing bread products because it's not self-defrosting. (Bread thaws very quickly and tends to thaw out slightly during the defrost process, which diminishes the quality). I could freeze milk, keep extra frozen vegetables and frozen ground beef and chicken breasts for emergencies. That was always my plan, but we never had emergencies, so I wasn't motivated. Then ... the emergency came, and small freezers have been sold out since March.

Sorry for rant. First post-pandemic purchase, if I survive: a 3.5 or 5.0 cu. ft. freezer. I'll put it in my bedroom if I have to!

R219/rescue-chick, most convenience stores sell one-pint containers of milk. Those can be frozen to keep milk on hand while taking up less space in the freezer. I don't know if it's necessary to pour off a bit to prevent the bottle from bursting in the freezer.

Back to Sloppy Joes for a moment: I bought the McCormick spice pack today, which I think I'll use. What do SJ aficionados think of substituting Ro-Tel diced tomatoes and green chilis for the (to me, excessive amount of) water in the recipe? I'd still use the 6 oz. of tomato paste. I like a thick Joe (don't we all?), and I'm thinking I could use the Ro-Tel and add tomato sauce if the result seems too thick. What do you think?

Try it, r222. Report back. I think it sounds good. If it needs water, you can add some at the end.

moisture till it comes together. drain the 'maters.

r221, I have 2 chest freezers (one in kitchen, one in office) so I could definitely do that if need be, thank you for the suggestion. I do tend to order literally everything on line for delivery under the best of circumstances and even more so now and can order shelf stable milk from Amazon etc. I do throw out milk when I buy it from a store but am thinking now about freezing small amounts instead!

Milk freezes very well. I did it several times in March/April ... it may look a little yellowish when frozen - it’s the milk fat. Doesnt hurt the milk. I found that post-freezing, shaking the milk in a glass jar helps to re-emulsify it

R22, the McCormack is the only thing I have ever used and, like all their packaged sauce mixes, it has some kind of thickener that turns that water into sauce. But I like the tomato sauce idea!

I am going to try the America’s Test Kitchen version tomorrow, myself. 😊

R227, will you send us a photo of your sloppy joes tomorrow? And anybody else that’s going to make some, too.

I've used the McCormick spice package a few times and find it underwhelming. The Bold Manwich is rather tasty.

If you find your sloppy Joe meat too be watery, just use cornstarch to thicken it.

I finished all my sloppy joes, it's time to move on to some other summer dishes. I'm thinking about maybe BLTs with fresh tomatoes.

Sloppy joes, cucumber salad and caprese salad - my 3 favorite summertime foods.

That annoying lady from Food Network, Ree Drummond, has a simple and surprisingly delicious recipe. I doubled the recipe and had it on hand in a Crock Pot for my July 4th pool party. I lightly toasted mini Hawaiian slider buns and had butter pickles and potato chips on hand for garnish. My sister brought a delicious Mexican street corn salad that was also a hit. Simple and satisfying!

I wouldn’t mind a side of both corn salad and cucumber salad with the sloppy joes.

This is OP and I still haven’t made the sloppy joes, it’s too damn hot here to be near a stove.

But r231, when you make your blt, add avocado and a splooge of wasabi to the mayo, for a good kick. Partner and I met a local in Key West who made them for us. Along with ice cold cocktails and his pool, the combo was great.

tourist threesome?

Yes indeed, r235. Helluva trip.

R231, a BLT is the world's best sandwich. You can also make a BLT salad: iceberg lettuce (because that's the kind that's usually put in the sandwich), chopped tomatoes, crumbled crisp bacon (or soy "bacon"), with a creamy white dressing that resembles mayonnaise (such as ranch or green goddess) -- add toast croutons or serve toast on the side. You can add avocado balls or cubes to make a BLAT, and diced onions to make a BLOAT.

OK, you guys talked me into it. I don't think I've eaten a Sloppy Joe since the '70s, but I just bought a can of Manwich, some ground beef, and some brioche buns.

Chees R216... I'm not above eating a frozen meatball, though I prefer to make my own. What I do like about those is that they're similar in flavour to Salisbury Steaks.

I was at a party years ago where a friend served some in a crock-pot (had never tried them previously) I had asked her what her sauce was, and to my surprise it was cream of mushroom soup, and beef gravy packets. They were awfullly good, and such an easy nibble to put out for guests.

My aunt's recipe:

1lb ground beef

1 c. chopped onion

1/2 c. ketchup

1T vinegar

2T sugar

2T worchestershire sauce

1T yellow mustard

--it's delicious.

Two things - thanks for the milk suggestions. I genuinely never thought to freeze the excess and use as needed. I'm going to start doing that as I only use it for cereal and occasionally coffee. Also, like many of you, this thread had me craving sloppy Joes. I hadn't had them since I was a teenager living with my parents. I used the America's Test kitchen Recipe found above and they were so mother fucking delicious. I was so happy I made them. The only changes I made was to add shredded cheese right after taking the finished product off the stove and I also added green bell with the onion. I can't tell you enough how good they were! I don't know what the point of the baking soda and red wine vinegar was, but whatever it is I'm sold because those were the best SJs I've ever had!

Oh for crying out loud, this thread has claimed another victim.

I’ll be cooking up some sloppy joes’s today, r241 roped me in but good.

I also didn’t know I could freeze milk. Can I also freeze goat cheese?

Re: the ATK recipe, what can I substitute for corn starch? Flour?

Also, what do you think of substituting fish sauce for worcestershire?

Here’s the America’s Test Kitchen recipe again, originally posted at r40.

r243 If you want to substitute flour for cornstarch, you'll need twice as much. Spoon for spoon the later has double the thickening power of the former.

My mom gave me her BBQ recipe and it has Chicken Gumbo soup in it. Do they still make that?

Nevermind I see Campbells does

What is it about chicken gumbo soup that makes it good for sloppy joes or bbq sauce? Okra?

Thanks r245, I’ll do it.

I also read that fish sauce is a good substitute for Worcestershire, in a 1:1 ratio. Just ease up on any other salt you’d otherwise use in the recipe.

- r243

Between the baking soda and tomato paste you can leave out the cornstarch and the recipe is just fine. It's simply there to thicken the sauce and make it less sloppy, but it's really not needed. The sauce is still thick without it. It won't be dripping out of the bun or running all over the front of your shirt without it. The sauce is plenty thick without the cornstarch.

Speaking of freezing milk: I accidentally froze some almond milk and it ended up being a mess. Even after shaking it up vigorously, it remains broken down into little bits of something and water. Maybe I should put it in the blender.

I did it! Finally I did it (it took me long enough.) The results are superb.

I got up at 5am to beat the kitchen heat and get cooking. It was so worth it.

Thanks for your help, DL. It has a magnificent tang, too. I’m going to let it sit til late tonight or tomorrow to let those flavors meld.

[quote]Even after shaking it up vigorously, it remains broken down into little bits of something and water.

Those little bits are little bits of almond, right?

R242, you can freeze any kind of cheese. Texture will be affected, more for some kinds than others. It's never bothered me, but try a chunk of whatever kind and see how you like the results. Wrap it well in something like Saran to keep the air out, thaw in the refrigerator still wrapped.

Hard cheeses freeze well I keep grated parmesan and romano cheese in the freezer.

R243, why do you need a substitute for Worcestershire? And how does it happen that you have fish sauce at the ready but not Worcestershire?

not r243. i have fish sauce, no worcestershire. Everbody’s pantry is different.

Astonishing! Who knew that SLOPPY Joes could become so complicated?

on a website filled with self professed 'better than thou' gay men? I, for one, knew.

r254 I don't think you can freeze things like cottage cheese or fresh mozzarella. Cream cheese freezes well, however.

I have frozen feta cheese before. It works, not exactly the same texture, but reasonable.

I freeze fresh mozzarella, regular mozzarella and feta all the time. I buy enormous amounts from webstaurant along with provolone, parmesan and gruyere. all freeze great for cooking with and the feta and regular mozzarella are fine for both cooking and in salads etc. ricotta freezes really well too.

R256, I substituted fish sauce because I ran out of worcestershire and didn’t want to go to the store.

The fish sauce worked well, but next time I’ll go full worcestershire.

Did you know that worcestershire contains molasses? Molasses is one of those odd ingredients I never have around but should, maybe I’d use it more often.

This recipe is for a sloppy joe, Indian style and it’s fantastic.

The pistachios are genius, and if you don’t like currants/raisins, just leave them out.

I just noticed that next Saturday's episode of Pioneer Woman features "Sloppy Joe Sliders."

And Valerie Bertinelli already did a recipe for them (in the slow cooker.)

R265, I wonder how the SJ tastes without the beef being browned.

It'll cook in the slow cooker, but it won't brown unless you use the browning feature (which Bertinelli doesn't mention). To me, if you're going to the extra trouble of browning the meat, you might as well cook something as simple as Sloppy Joes in the normal way. The whole point of a slow cooker is to be able to dump and go, so to speak. Anyway, I wonder how this recipe comes out. Maybe all the spices cover up the lack of flavor from "graying" rather than browning the beef.

I bought ground beef and Manwich today. I’m so excited!

The primary key is the bun.

Sure, you could use a toasted English muffin and it will taste (yawn,) good.

But pair it with a light airy hamburger bun??

Je no regret, rien.

I like the on a poppy seed kaiser roll

I just got some "everything" brioche buns (from Aldi!). Might be good with those.

R210, it's usually prepared frozen meatballs for this type of recipe. Years ago, Heinz used to have a recipe like this that used grape jelly in place of the cranberry sauce.

My version of Sloppy Joes consists of ground meat, chopped onion, green peps, mushrooms, 7 herb spaghetti sauce, shredded Italian cheese blend and served on brioche buns.

R271 Funnily enough there was a thread recently where some of us had discussed the grape jelly in BBQ/Sweet & Sour meatballs! It's in more than a few old Jewish recipes too, for meatballs, Brisket, and Cholent. I think when an acid, and ketchup or chili sauce is used, it doesn't afffect the final flavour so much whether the sweet component is grape or currant jelly, cranberry in your case, or honey or brown sugar really. Somewhat related, I'm curious about the "Atlanta BBQ Brisket" which uses Coca-Cola. Same idea I'm thinking: One can of coke, one bottle Heinz Chili Sauce, and an envelope of Lipton Onion Soup Mix.

I'm thinking many of these ideas could adapt or lend themselves to Sloppy Joes too.

Hello, I wrote you a song about sloppy joes, sung to the tune of “Bali Ha’i,” from South Pacific.

Sloppy joes may call you,

Any night, any day,

In your heart, you'll hear it call you:

"Come away... Come away."

Sloppy joes will whisper

In the wind of the sea:

"Here am I, your special sandwich,

Come to me, come to me!"

Your own special sauce,

Your own recipe,

Will you go without ketchup?

Will you go without sweet?

If you try, you'll find me

Where the bun meets the meat.

"Here am I your special sandwich

Come to me, Come to me."

Sloppy Joe,

Sloppy Joe,

Sloppy Joe.

Since meatballs have been brought up ... I was watching "Girl Meets Farm" and she made something that I'd never even thought of, but in retrospect seems obvious -- meatballs stuffed inside biscuits. She made the meatballs but used canned biscuit dough. They sounded delicious.

That’s great, r275! But can you put it to music?

My mom used to make Weight Watchers chicken and the sauce was ketchup and Diet Coke. Sounds gross but it was really good.

Bob's Burger or Sand Witch?

You heard it here first, (though you shouldn’t have,)

National Sloppy Joe Day is March 18th, and has been so since you were born, probably.

Did you, as a child, have a Sloppy Joe Tree on March 18th? Did you gather ‘round the night before with loved ones for Sloppy Joe Eve?

If so, what did your Sloppy Joe Tree look like?

Ours had dangling tendrils of mini-buns dripping with meat, a holiday tradition. Our tinsel was cheddar.

[quote]National Sloppy Joe Day is March 18th, and has been so since you were born, probably.

You're on the wrong site, boo.

I made the America's Test Kitchen recipe tonight. I thought it was rather bland and lacked taste. And it wasn't sloppy. They use corn starch to thicken it, so it isn't sloppy, which kind of defeats the whole purpose.

In honor of Sloppy Joe Day on March 18th, I will be having Manwiches tonight, July 26th!

Who doesn't love loose meat?

Happy Sloppy Joe Day, r282, just eight months early. I’m looking forward to your Manwich review asap. I used the America’s Test Kitchen recipe and it was just ok (too much ketchup.)

Follow the wise direction of r245 and don’t thicken it with cornstarch or flour, keep it sloppy, papi.

I've gained several pounds trying different recipes from this thread, and will need to draw a line for myself. I won't make another batch unless/until my brother is planning a visit (he's a big eater). Anyway, I found I like them best when I use a LOT of chopped onions and bell peppers, as well as a little bit of allspice, which I always add to ground beef dishes.

Yeah, green pepper and onion is key. I’d double the amount of green pepper from the ATK recipe. Allspice sounds great. Damn, now I have to make it again. It’s gotta be better with ground beef. I use ground turkey, which can’t have the same oomph.

There’s oomph and then there’s Oomph, turkey won’t get you there.

I couldn't agree more, R287.

If you get a Sloppy Joe for carryout, is it a Walkaway Joe?

R284 here - I browned some chopped meat with salt and pepper, added a can of Manwich and served it on a brioche bun. As a side I had some tater tots.

Honestly the whole thing was one big salt lick and I ended up tossing 90% in the trash. It was a good lesson for food to avoid in the future but as a dinner it was a waste of time.

Has "Manwich" been canceled yet?

Hungry Man dinners are languishing on the shelves.

The first time I heard of loose meat sandwiches was on the show Roseanne

I made Sloppy Joes two days ago. Hours later I got acid reflex really bad. I used Del Monte SJ sauce to go with the brown and leaned ground beef.

Forget it, I am crossing that off my future menus.

R294 That's a drag. Do many tomato base dishes give it to you? I find that as I've gotten on it can be a trigger for me.

Did you like the falvour of Del Monte? I recall liking that it wasn't nearly as sweet as so many of the others.

but r294, other than the acid reflux, how did it taste? We aren’t mind readers, you know. Someone’s dinner depends on this.

Attention, attention, all DLers.

Tomorrow is National Sloppy Joe Day.

Yes, it’s a real thing: March 18th.

Our Brit and Aussie friends are already chowing down, so don’t miss your chance, Americans.

Happy National Sloppy Joe Day!

I’ve been waiting seven or eight months for this.

Will there be a parade?

R40 has a pretty good recipe from America’s Test Kitchen, just lighten up on the sugar. I made some good SJ from this thread.

NO MANWICH

Utz potato chips on the side and some cole slaw. Happy SJ Day (obligatory)

People are so down on Manwich. I like it, what’s the big whoop. It’s easy, it tastes good. I think you’re a bunch of malodorous malcontents.

OP, beef IS gross, that’s why you don’t want to smell it. Rotting, decaying flesh. Use Beyond crumbles instead!

My mom used to make her own sloppy joe "sauce" probably with Contedina tomato sauce and paste. Never used Manwich. Her secret? Relish. Fucking gross. I used to weep at the table and begged her to set aside some of the mixture before she put the relish in. To this day relish makes me gag just looking at it.

Try allspice in the browning, it transcends.

R305 are you Sybil?

Hold your water, Hold your water young lady 🎶🎶🎶

Picking a good bun is annoying. I don’t want a dozen buns like they sell them. I’d be happy with one or two soft rolls like hamburger buns, the sloppier the better. Yeah, Sloppy Joe, make me work for it.

God I’m hungry now. I curse you, DL.

R308, If you don't want to buy a pack of hamburger buns and freeze the ones you don't use, just buy brioche rolls (ideal) or Kaiser rolls in the quantity you want. Slice the buns in half horizontally. If the top half is too thick, just slice a little off. You can toast the buns in the toaster oven (too thick for most toasters), which makes them even more delicious.

This advice works for buns for hamburgers as well, by the way.

I’m a vegetarian of 20 years I make vegetarian sloppy joe a few times a year.

What about mock pizzas? They were a staple in my elementary school cafeteria, and are in the sloppy Joe family: you put the sloppy Joe-type stuff on an English muffin and broil it with cheese on top, or something.

311 replies???? CLASSIC DL faties!

a Nebraska sloppy joe that is called Yum Yum on Bun

Yum Yum’s Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef 1/4 tsp coarse black pepper 1/4 cup chopped onion 1 can chicken gumbo soup 1 cup ketchup or 1 can tomato sauce 1/2 tablespoon mustard 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Optional: 1 can chopped green chilies 1-2 drops red pepper sauce

1. Add your (defrosted) ground beef to a skillet on medium heat. I’m using 1-1/2 pounds. Continue to stir and move it around in the skillet so it can brown evenly. I’ll take my steak medium rare – but we don’t want to see any pink in the ground beef! While you’re doing this, grind some fresh pepper over the meat to taste.

At this risk of inciting a riot, I suggest that you make the pound of ground beef like you do for Cincinnati chili, i.e., you boil it in water while stirring. This makes a fine, cooked ground beef instead of chunky bits of fried ground beef. It is also easier to drain the fat.

I do this, then put in a packet of McCormick Sloppy Joe mix, a 6 oz. can of tomato paste, and a half cup of water. Heat to a boil and let it simmer for a few minutes.

Sometimes I add a few pickled jalapeño pepper slices or a slice of American cheese. Truly a throwback to my childhood. And, yes, my mom always added sugar to her sloppy joes (and her marinara sauce).

I prefer using English muffins for hamburgers, but they don't really work for Sloppy Joe's.

R314 Native Nebraskan here and I've never heard of a "Yum Yum"....what part of the state is that from?

My version of sloppy Joe sauce has green and/or red pepper, lots of onion, tomato paste, mustard and brown sugar. It’s zesty and a little sweet.