Classic Sloppy Joes

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Classic Sloppy Joes are sandwiches consisting of ground beef, onions, tomato sauce or ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and other spices, served on a hamburger bun.

March 18th is National Sloppy Joes Day! You must celebrate by making the best classic sloppy joes recipe. Serve these for dinner, and your family will love you for making something so simple, delicious and nostalgic. You could always buy a can of Manwich (Sloppy Joe sauce), and make them that way. But I promise that making them homemade is so much better. You might find that you like Sloppy Joes better than panini or hoagies!

Be sure to follow my March Food Holidays page so you never miss a food holiday in the month of March!

“Then her life got messier than a Sloppy Joe eating contest.”

-K.M. Morgan

The History of Sloppy Joes:

Some people believe that the sloppy joe was first served in Havana Cuba at a café called “Sloppy Joe’s” in the early 1900’s.

The test kitchen at Heinz shared that their research suggests that the Sloppy Joe’s origins lie with the “loose meat sandwiches” sold in Sioux City, Iowa, in the 1930s and were the creation of a cook named Joe. Others say that the original sandwich was born at the iconic restaurant in Key West, Florida, Sloppy Joe’s Bar.

Early to mid 20th century cookbooks feature plenty of recipes for Sloppy Joes.

Companies began producing packaged sloppy joe, in cans with meat, or just the sauce, such as Manwich, by the 1960s. Home cooks could open a can of Sloppy Joe sauce, and make Sloppy Joes for dinner!

Ingredients needed (amounts are included in the recipe below):

• lean ground beef
• onion
• green bell pepper
• garlic
• ketchup
• apple cider vinegar
• light brown sugar
• hot sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• soy sauce
• cumin
• chili powder
• salt and pepper
• hamburger buns
• red onion slices or pickles, optional

How to make Classic Sloppy Joes:

The full, printable recipe is at the end of this post.

In a skillet, saute beef, onion, garlic and green bell pepper until the beef is browned and the vegetables are tender. Stir in ketchup, vinegar, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar and all of the spices. Simmer until thickened.

And then you have the best Sloppy Joe filling ready to use for making sandwiches. You will find that this filling is 100 times better than a can of Sloppy Joe sauce. Take the time to make it homemade!

You will need hamburger buns (warm them if you’d like), and that’s it. Red onion slices are optional. And sometimes I like to add pickles to my Sloppy Joes too.

Pile the filling onto a bun, and garnish your classic Sloppy Joes with whatever you’d like. Serve with oven baked sweet potato fries or potato salad. Enjoy!

Fun Facts About Sloppy Joes:

• Sloppy Joe’s were mentioned in several movies of the 1930’s, Citizen Kane and even It’s a Wonderful Life. 
• Sloppy Joe’s in Key West still serves tens of thousands of Sloppy Joes every year.
• Today, the Sloppy Joe is considered an inexpensive and kid-friendly meal.
• The Sloppy Joe goes by other names in different parts of the U.S. Sloppy Janes (Central Minnesota), Dynamites (Northern Rhode Island), Tavern Sandwiches (Iowa), and Slushburgers (Upper Midwest and North Dakota)
• Sloppy Joes have always been a popular item on school cafeteria menus.
• James Beard added a Sloppy Joe recipe to his 1972 James Beard’s American Cookery. In it he calls the sloppy joe a “product of the modern age, and though it is not a palate-tingling delight it has a large following”.
• Adam Sandler mentions Sloppy Joes in his SNL singing video spoof “Lunch Lady Land.”