Sloppy Joes

How should sloppy joes be made?

  • Who cares, I don't like them anyway.

    Votes: 11 28.2%

  • Ground beef, tomato paste and packaged sloppy joe seasoning mix

    Votes: 6 15.4%

  • Same as above but with tomato sauce

    Votes: 1 2.6%

  • Ground beef and catsup

    Votes: 2 5.1%

  • It's called "ketchup" you idiot, where did you grow up, the Ozarks?

    Votes: 5 12.8%

  • Ground beef, tomato paste or sauce, and home made spice blend

    Votes: 6 15.4%

  • Let's get fancy, let's use Heinz 57 sauce instead of ketchup.

    Votes: 1 2.6%

  • It comes in a can, and you just heat and serve.

    Votes: 2 5.1%

  • Why the hell would you waste ground beef on sloppy joes? Put it on a pizza, man.

    Votes: 3 7.7%

  • It's not just a sandwich, let's make it a Manwich (tm).

    Votes: 7 17.9%
  • Total voters
    39
Sac Arrow

Sac Arrow

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Dinner was sloppy joes last night. It occurred to me it can probably be made in different manners. Hence the poll.
 
I don't have them that often but they're tasty when prepared the right way. Ground beef, tomato sauce and the manwhich seasoning is how we make them.
 
Yuck. Think I had too many during my childhood. :D
 
Ryanb said:
I don't have them that often but they're tasty when prepared the right way. Ground beef, tomato sauce and the manwhich seasoning is how we make them.
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I agree. When I was growing up though, it was just ground beef and ketchup. Yuk.
 
Sac Arrow said:
I agree. When I was growing up though, it was just ground beef and ketchup. Yuk.
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Add a little brown sugar to the above and they're awesome. Had them yesterday. I think there are leftovers...may go have another now!
 
Nothing about the proper bun?
 
Kinda of a "why the hell would you waste ground beef on sloppy Joe?"

Make a killer meatloaf instead. One good hot dinner as meatloaf, and then several days of the KING of leftovers, the oft coveted meatloaf sandwich. Damn, I love a good meatloaf sandwich.
 
I like a good meatloaf, depending on how it's made. But speaking of buns, I don't eat them so I'm either eating them with a fork with a side of cole slaw, or over a salad. They don't play nice with lettuce wrap.
 
Sac Arrow said:
I like a good meatloaf, depending on how it's made. But speaking of buns, I don't eat them so I'm either eating them with a fork with a side of cole slaw, or over a salad. They don't play nice with lettuce wrap.
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That makes it rather a different dish, I think. You're eating seasoned beef with a side dish rather than a sandwich.

As far as the sloppy joe goes, it's a sandwich that's too messy for its intended audience (children) and the less said the better.

EDIT: One last thing: The best and highest use of ground beef is to make a hamburger, or in Sac's case, a hamburger steak. It's too bland to put on a pizza. You can also use it to make a meatloaf. Tacos are better with shredded beef or chicken.
 
Add dark kidney beans and diced jalapenos to the McCormick Sloppy Joe, mix into the meat, slightly toasted buns, cover with cheese and there ya go...
 
FormerHangie said:
That makes it rather a different dish, I think. You're eating seasoned beef with a side dish rather than a sandwich.

As far as the sloppy joe goes, it's a sandwich that's too messy for its intended audience (children) and the less said the better.

EDIT: One last thing: The best and highest use of ground beef is to make a hamburger, or in Sac's case, a hamburger steak. It's too bland to put on a pizza. You can also use it to make a meatloaf. Tacos are better with shredded beef or chicken.
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I can go with you on the highest and best use of ground beef is to make a hamburger - specifically what I was talking about is crumbled fried ground beef.

There was a time when I used to eat pizza, and even make it. It started with a very thick, deep dish crust made from scratch, then next was a layer of sliced mozzerella covering the whole thing, then the hamburger (about a pound per pizza), then the mushrooms and pepperoni, and then cover everything with lots of pizza sauce. The end product would be about an inch and a half thick, and the hamburger would pick up the flavor of the sauce and pepperoni.

I suppose if you went sauce, cheese, toppings, then indeed, the hamburger would be flavorless.
 
Peter Alway's (Yes, that Peter Alway) Lazy Oaf Sloppy Joe Recipe.

Ingredients:
Something like ¾ lb to 1 lb of ground cow. I usually get ground round because it rhymes. I guess ground chuck is OK, but it reminds me of those old Chuck Wagon dog food commercials where this dog chased this animated miniature Conestoga wagon around the kitchen and as crude as my taste is, and as fond as I am of animation, I don't want to eat dog food. "Hamburger" scares me (I think that has all the weird anatomical bits) and I avoid it.
3 really big squirts of Ketchup. Catsup will do in a pinch, though it sounds too much like cat food. I guess you might as well use catsup if you are using ground chuck.
Hamburger Buns. Actually hot dog buns work, too.

Throw the dead cow into a frying pan, and turn on the stove. Keep mixing it up and breaking it down with a fork as you go, because you want the smallest possible particle size. The goal is to have meat that's processed beyond recognition so you can hardly tell what it is. Particles should be no more than ¼" (6 mm). I guess that means I should give the quantity of cow in metric units – about 400 grams. Eventually it turns an appetizing shade of grey – I never got the bit about eating food with blood in it – and is swimming in a pool of grease. Drain off the grease in to some container so it doesn't clog the drain. I bet you could use it for candles or bird suet to attract woodpeckers if you weren't so lazy that you used this recipe for Sloppy Joes.

Heat up the pan again, and you get lots of sizzling. Once you are sure that all the meat is thoroughly grey, squirt in a blast of ketchup. How much? Maybe enough for a pool of ketchup 3-4 inches (75 – 100 mm) in diameter in the middle of the pan. Mix it up. Once it starts sizzling again, add another squirt. Repeat until you get the sense that it's a sauce of ketchup with meat in it, rather than meat with some ketchup in it. Keep mixing and cooking until it smells like cooking ketchup. MMM…ketchup…

Pile the Sloppy Joe onto a bun. Serve with Pringles potato chips; the crunch will cover up any cow texture that survived the grinding and stirring. Single-serving applesauce will give the illusion of fruit for a balanced meal. You should get about half a dozen meals out of it (I'm assuming nobody else will touch it), which by some amazing coincidence is just how many single serving applesauces come in a package.

When you're sick of all food, why not try Lazy Oaf's Sloppy Joes for a week instead?​
 
Sure, meatloaf sandwiches are ok, I guess. But -fried- meatloaf sandwiches.... now those are sandwiches.


(Also, it's hard to fry sloppy joes.)
 
There is something about eating sloppy joes in tortilla wrappers (e.g. burritos) or taco shells. The taste is off. Maybe because it is more salty than the seasoned ground beef one might otherwise put in a tortilla or taco shell.
 
Iowa loose meat sandwich

Iowa%20Loosemeat%20Sandwich%20sq.jpg
 
Sac Arrow said:
I like a good meatloaf, depending on how it's made. But speaking of buns, I don't eat them so I'm either eating them with a fork with a side of cole slaw, or over a salad. They don't play nice with lettuce wrap.
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Shouldn't be much worse, i.e. messy, than with a bun. Just make sure you make the sauce thick, boil out more water if necessary. Then let it cool a little, which will thicken the sauce even more, so it doesn't wilt the lettuce on contact. Should be go-to-go.
 
I have as many recipes as I have meals that use ground beef. The one I like best uses ground beef, crushed tomatoes, olive oil, the same spices I would generally use for tomato sauce (salt, pepper, basil, oregano, and rosemary), red wine, onions, garlic, and sliced bell peppers. But there are many variations possible.

Speaking of tomatoes, chalk this picture up to truth in labeling.

CsFWFEoWcAAnf36.jpg


Rich
 
My high school cafeteria served "Sloppy Joes" about every week. Strange very finely ground beef with a sloppy Joe seasoning, but relatively dry so as not to be too slopppy, I suppose. They weren't too bad. An extra one cost $0.10...almost 40 year ago.
 
Sac Arrow said:
I can go with you on the highest and best use of ground beef is to make a hamburger - specifically what I was talking about is crumbled fried ground beef.

There was a time when I used to eat pizza, and even make it. It started with a very thick, deep dish crust made from scratch, then next was a layer of sliced mozzerella covering the whole thing, then the hamburger (about a pound per pizza), then the mushrooms and pepperoni, and then cover everything with lots of pizza sauce. The end product would be about an inch and a half thick, and the hamburger would pick up the flavor of the sauce and pepperoni.

I suppose if you went sauce, cheese, toppings, then indeed, the hamburger would be flavorless.
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I'm always looking for things I can reheat for lunch. To that end, I take a pound of ground chuck or round, saute it, then add a can of diced tomatoes, and either two cans of diced white potatoes or the amount of rice you get when you cook a cup of dry rice. If I use plain diced tomatoes, I like to add a few shakes of Franks Red Hot sauce to the bowl when I'm about to eat it. You can get seasoned diced tomatoes, some with green chilies, some with garlic and onion, and a few other varieties as well. Ro-tel tomatoes are a little too spicy for my tastes. If you're going to use hot sauce, I favor Frank's as it has a nice garlic and vinegar tang but not much heat. An equal amount of Cholula or similar would set my mouth on fire. Whether you'd prefer a large or small can of tomatoes depends on your taste and which starch you added. Rice will soak up whatever tomato liquid you add much more than will potatoes, so if you're going the spud route, I'd drain the tomatoes slightly, and the potatoes entirely. This is good for three lunches in my experience.

I've also made this with bulk Italian sausage I can get at the grocery store. Made with sausage, no other seasoning is needed. Sliced andouille sausage is good too, depending on your tolerance for spice.
 
I like the packet made with tomato paste, and served with a slice of Swiss cheese.
 
Brown 1 to 1 1/2 # ground meat in 1T* of olive oil with ¼ cup brown sugar and 1.5t to 2t** Montreal Steak Seasoning (depending on amount of meat).

Add 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped Bell pepper, 1T red wine vinegar and 1T (or 2T)Worcestershire Sauce. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup catsup, 1 cup tomato sauce, and 2T*** mustard. Simmer another 5 minutes.

Scoop onto hamburger buns and enjoy!

* I use 2T of olive oil when browning venison burger since it has so little fat of its own.

** original recipe calls for 1t of Montreal Seasoning…but I like it a bit spicier.

*** original recipe calls for 1T…but I like Mutts Turd!!!!!
 
a proper sloppy joe has onion, ketchup,mustard,relish, and garlic in it. none of that canned pre-mix crap.......

bob
 
A slice of Kraft American cheese on my sloppy joe (yummy).

Or plain Lays potato chips on the sandwich (mmmm, mmmm, mmmm).
 
I think grated cheese works best on sloppy joes. Coarse grate is better than fine grate.
 
I use proper barbecue rather than sloppy joes.

I have been known to have a meat loaf sandwich when we have leftovers. My favorite condiment for this is Salsa Lizano.
 
I'm confused. I thought it was ground beef and BBQ sauce. I'm picky though - not too much sauce. I'm the same way w/pulled pork. Just enough sauce to flavor it.
 
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