Homemade Sloppy Joe’s

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Yes, that’s right folks. It’s time! Behold and bear witness to the mightiest of mighty recipes. That is, of course – Homemade Sloppy Joe’s! This world famous, yet uniquely American dish absolutely fascinates us more than any other. Growing up outside of the US but being exposed to US TV, we were well aware of what a Sloppy Joe is, but never had any exposure to actually trying one

So that’s now all changed. This staple dish of many a high school cafeteria in the 80’s and 90’s is something we were somewhat hesitant to try, but glad we did. Our Homemade Sloppy Joe’s are an exceptional use of leftovers from our Traditional Spaghetti Bolognese recipe, and are so simple to create. Just batch cook a large quantity of the meat sauce and chances are you’ve got leftovers. What better way to eat those leftovers than to slap the largest quantity possible that you can fit in between a burger bun then devour it!

What is not to love about Homemade Sloppy Joe’s?

What we love most about this dish is its simplicity. It literally is a big slab of slow cooked meat wedged between two pieces of bread. It’s simple and loved by kids all over the world. Provided you’ve created a very good meat sauce, then your Sloppy Joe is going to be super tasty. While simple, if you elevate the flavors enough in the meat sauce you’ll be eating a very tasty Burger

When creating Sloppy Joe’s from our Bolognese sauce leftovers we debated the idea of adding additional ingredients but decided against it in the end. I could see a ‘cheffy’ version of these Homemade Sloppy Joe’s by adding some fancy ingredients such as Bacon, perhaps some baked Camembert, maybe a Fried Egg, or even some fancy greens and herbs. However, that’s not really a Sloppy Joe at the end of the day! So, we kept this super simple: Meat & Bun!

If you haven’t made our Bolognese Sauce that’s ok, as the below recipe has a simplified overview of how to make this. We would recommend heading over to this link to follow the full recipe, however the below will give you more than enough information to make a delicious meat sauce

The secrets to making perfect Homemade Sloppy Joe’s every time

There are a few tips and tricks we’ve got which will guarantee the most flavorsome Sloppy Joe’s. The elements of a Sloppy Joe are just 2 things: Meat, and Bun. For a recipe as simple as this, you need to ensure that both elements are made the right way, and the right ingredients are used. So, here’s our tips for the perfect Homemade Sloppy Joe’s

Use the right Bun

We’ll start with the easy one, the bun. Not all buns are created equal, and nothing truer could be said when talking about Sloppy Joe’s. The pure nature of a Sloppy Joe is that, yep, it’s going to be sloppy. It’s totally ok for the ground meat filling of a Sloppy Joe to pour out everywhere once you start eating it. That’s kind of the whole point

However, the structural integrity of the bun must be upheld at all times. You want to be able to easily hold the sandwich from the first bite, through to the last without the bun disintegrating. For this reason, there are a few buns that we simply say no to

Steer clear of Brioche Buns at all times. I honestly don’t know how they’ve established themselves as a viable bread for Hamburgers. Sure, it tastes nice, but the structural integrity is questionable at best. The cakey texture of a Brioche Bun will fall apart after the second or third bite, so not suitable

The Buns we like to go for are a classic Potato Bun. Our preferred brand, Martin’s Potato Rolls of course! The buns are perfect for hamburgers and sandwiches. They maintain their structure extremely well, and have an amazing taste

Our other preferred bun is a classic Sesame Seed Hamburger Bun made with Wheat Flour. What you want however are the buns that have a crunchy exterior. Like they’ve been baked just to the point of being overdone. These buns will hold up to even the harshest punishment that a Sloppy Joe can dish out. The added crunchy texture of the bun is a great addition to the sandwich too

Making the Perfect Sloppy Joe filling

There’s a reason we’re sending traffic here from our famous Spaghetti Bolognese recipe. The quality of the meat sauce is what makes a great Sloppy Joe. Here are a few of our secrets to making the best meat sauce

Use a combination of 80/20 Ground Pork and Beef

80/20 stands for the ratio of meat to fat in ground meat. The higher the percentage of fat, the more flavor you’ll get. Of course, it’s a little unhealthier for you than the lower fat content, but when it comes to Sloppy Joe’s it is always about flavor first. We go for the 80/20, which means that 20% of the ground meat content is fat. It tastes so good

Also use a combination of Ground Pork and Ground Beef. The combination of flavors adds a lovely depth to the dish. If you like you can substitute the ground pork for Spicy Sausage, that also works exceptionally well

If you can, add some Red Wine to the Sauce

The best Bolognese Sauces always contain Red Wine. So, we highly recommend adding some Red Wine and then reducing it as you’re preparing the Sauce. As a general rule of thumb, we always recommend using Red Wine that you would be happy to drink yourself. It doesn’t need to be super expensive, but don’t use the cheap $2 stuff. If you won’t like the taste of it when drinking it, you’re not going to like the taste of it in your cooking

Now if you are preparing Sloppy Joe’s for kids, then don’t add Red Wine. You can substitute it by adding a little bit of Sugar. You won’t achieve the same depth of flavor, but a reduced Red Wine does add sweetness to the dish. So, Sugar can work as a good substitute

Patience

The final trick is patience. Don’t crank the heat on your Meat Sauce to cook it as quickly as possible. You need to allow the flavors in the sauce to develop, and this does take time. There are some Bolognese Sauce recipes that require an entire day to cook down! We’re not suggesting you take that long, however the lower the heat, and longer the cook, the better the flavor

This is why using Bolognese Sauce the next day in Homemade Sloppy Joe’s is a great way to utilize leftovers. The leftover sauce will only concentrate in flavor in the refrigerator overnight. Have you ever noticed that leftover Bolognese sauce always tastes better the next day? This is why!

Homemade Sloppy Joe’s Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cup leftover Bolognese meat sauce
• 4 Burger Buns
  
  

If making the meat sauce from scratch

• ½ lb. Ground Pork (recommend 80/20)
• ½ lb. Ground Beef (recommend 80/20)
• ½ large Brown Onion, Diced
• 2 Garlic Cloves, chopped
• ½ cup of Button Mushrooms, sliced
• 1 Carrots, finely diced
• 1 Celery Sticks, finely diced
• ¼ cup Red Wine (optional to remove if you are making the dish for children)
• 2 tbsp. Tomato Paste
• 1 can of Crushed Tomatoes (400 ml / 18 oz.)
• 2 Sprigs of Thyme
• 2 Sprigs of Rosemary
• ¼ Cup Fresh Parsley or Basil, chopped
• 1 tbsp. Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper
  
  

Instructions

To make the Meat Sauce

1. Heat Olive Oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add the Onion, Celery, Mushroom and Carrots
2. Cook for 10 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for a further 1 minute, then add the Ground Beef and Ground Pork. Cook until the meat has browned, between 5 – 10 minutes
3. Add the Red Wine and cook until it has reduced by half, then add the Tomatoes, Tomato Paste, Rosemary, Thyme, and 1 tsp. of Salt and Pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer
4. Simmer for 40 – 50 minutes until the mixture has reduced and the sauce thickens. Once at the desired consistency, remove from heat and set aside to cool. Remove the Thyme and Rosemary stalks. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary
   
   

To assemble the Homemade Sloppy Joe’s

5. The key here is to see how much meat sauce you can fit into a bun without it going everywhere. Grab a large spoonful of sauce and place it onto the bottom of your bun. Heap on more if it will fit
6. Finish by placing the top of the bun on top, and serving with a side of chips
   
   

This is no doubt one of the messiest dishes you can possibly eat. There are a few recommendations for eating. We highly suggest eating while standing up, leaning over a plate. The meat filling will definitely pour out everywhere, so have a good system to capture what drips out!

Secondly, lots of napkins! Especially if you’re feeding these Homemade Sloppy Joe’s to your children. They’re going to make even more mess! So plenty of napkins are a mandatory for this dish. Happy Cooking!