For such an iconic retro dish, the Sloppy Joe is very misunderstood. While most people assume the name comes from the sandwich's loose meat, it's actually the name of the bar in Key West, FL where it was invented.That's right, after extensive research (I checked Wikipedia), I've determined that this ground beef masterpiece was created at Sloppy Joe's Bar, which was probably named for some guy named Joe, who would get a little too loose after a few cocktails.
So, despite the name, the secret to a great Sloppy Joe is a thick, rich, almost dry consistency, which allows it to be eaten two-fisted, sans fork, as God intended.I believe over the years the idea that the name was a description of the optimum texture helped this evolve into its usually much runnier form. As you'll see in the video, I like to start with lots of liquid and slowly simmer it down into a fine, thick, tender paste.
Spice it up, toss it onto some soft sesame seed hamburger buns, and make sure there are lots of Tater Tots within reach. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4-6 servings:
1 1/2 pound extra lean ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 diced green bell pepper
3/4 cup ketchup
dash of Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
cayenne to taste
63 comments:
YEEEEEAH!
I'M SO GONNA MAKE THIS TONIGHT
I love retro dishes, especially sloppy joes. out of a can has so many extra junk you just don't need. thanks for the recipe-
I always thought sloppy joe filling was a thicker form of bolognese sauce but then again I have absolutely no frame of reference beyond what Ive seen on tv. Extra lean ground beef thats not used in a stirfry. Whodda thunk?
I always thought sloppy joe filling was a thicker form of bolognese sauce but then again I have absolutely no frame of reference beyond what Ive seen on tv. Extra lean ground beef thats not used in a stirfry. Whodda thunk?
Would you believe I was sitting in my kitchen thinking "what can I make with ground beef?". Ended up eating week old pasta...today is lost, but tomorrow...IS SLOPPY JOE DAY!!
Thanks Chef!!
I'm sitting here drooling. It's time for my midnight snack. Will somebody please bring one of these for me? ...No? Well, then I will just have to make it myself!
Thanks for the tantalizing video and recipe!
Ooooh, yes. I want that with sliced dill pickle and red onions on the side, maybe with a schmear of hot mustard. And a beer!
Chef John, I need your help. I will be attending my first Easter experience at a church, and I would love to bring the Easter bread. Whole Foods doesn't carry Anise extract, and if they don't have it, I don't know who would (do you?). Do you think using an Anise liqueur of some kind would suffice?
The weather will be gorgeous here tomorrow so we'll be grilling Salmon with chimichurri sauce! I can't wait to taste it.
Thanks for all that you do, Chef.
surprised about whole foods since I've always just gotten it at any grocery store. Safeway, Wegmans, etc.
chef, can i omit the Worcestershire sauce and the mustard? never like the taste. would that effect the taste of the joes?
thanks for the recipe.
i sure hope it effects it, otherwise ive been putting it in for nothing! You can leave it out, but it's so little you really won't know its in there.
I assume the tater tots were home made? May we have your recipe please?
Hey Chef, I fell in love with your videos! You're awesome! Btw, could you please make a video on how to make easy TENDER pan fried chicken breast? I don't have a grill at home. Thanks so much! ..... ^___^
do a search for Chicken Breast, we have a few pan fried recipes. Chicken marsala etc.
home made tater tots?? Never! Only use the frozen ones.
we love sloppy joe's! we have some tater tots in the freezer, and some dill pickles. all we need are some buns, and we're good to go! thanks for this awesome recipe. hubby wants me to make this ASAP!
btw, don't forget a good bottle (or 2) of beer to go with that.
My tater tot question has already been answered... how lovely.
I don't know why, but around my house we called them Sloppy Jones'... sure does bring back memories :) Can't wait for the cookbook, Chef!
thanks! I believe the real question is, a 100 years from now, what will be known as the "Average Betty?" And, will it have a stick in it?
Made these last night. They were excellent. Great flavors, Chef.
Awesome! I just made sloppy joes and tater tots last week, thinking, "When was the last time I had sloppy joes and tater tots?"
We like to serve them on toasted onion rolls. It's kind of like putting lipstick on a pig, but hey - if you like pigs, why not make 'em purdy?
You know what else is good? Jalapeno ketchup on your tots. Yes!
Made these last night but forgot to buy green pepper at the store... Definitely was missing something. I felt like it needed a little acid, maybe citrus? Something tangy.. Awesome texture though... and wonderful sweetness.
Made these last night but forgot to buy green pepper at the store... Definitely was missing something. I felt like it needed a little acid, maybe citrus? Something tangy.. Awesome texture though... and wonderful sweetness.
Introducing my kids and their friends here in Spain to the sloppy joe experience was so cool. They LOVED it! They couldnt believe that I used to eat this stuff in school. They dont exist here. Neither do Tater Tots. I made them myself though and they came out just about perfect.
Hi Chef John!
I made this last night, exactly as written, except for the cayenne, and it was fabulous. You have cured me of my aversion to mustard and Worcestshire! My boyfriend said it was amazing!
@rosemary
If you must make your own tater tots (sacrilege). Search for Chef Johns Potato pancake recipe and just form them into "tots" as they were. I assume they are just nugget sized hash browns. Cheers!
Chef John,
Can you substitute tomato sauce for the water or a combination of, or add tomato paste to the water to give the dish a more acidic/tomato flavor and balance out the sweet? Or would that mess up the evaporation process?
You can, and many do!
I tried out this recipe today! It came out a little sweeter than I had expected. So I tossed in some garlic powder and crushed red peppers.... mmmmm!
Chef, I made this recipe tonight for the second time, and I found that smoked chipotle pepper makes for a wonderful substitute for cayenne if you don't have it. But then again, what self respecting chef has smoked chipotle in their cupboard but not cayenne? Anywho, the smokiness and spicyness of the chipotle works wonders to counter the sweetness of the ketchup and brown sugar. As always, thank you so much for all your hard work coordinating this food blog. I have watched nearly every single video on here (mainly because I'm an aspiring culinary arts graduate) and I have learned so very much from watching your videos. As soon as I get around to having some extra money, I'm definitely donating to you to pay you back for all of your hard work. Thanks again!
Hello Chef John,
I made this dish last week and instead of cayenne pepper I used a finely chopped jalapeno pepper, but the spicyness was undetectable. Would cayenne come through better, or should I use a habanero pepper?
cayenne is much hotter than jalp ...why not use both? hab good, but very hot.
Hi Chef!
I've never had sloppy joe's until now. OMG!!! It was so freakin' good. Very flavorful. My husband loved it too. He went back for 2nd and 3rd. My 1 yr old enjoyed it too. Thank you so much!!!
Chef John,
These were the best sloppy joes I've ever made. Thank you. My mom's recipe isn't much different from yours, except for the water at the end. That made allll the difference.
Thanks again. You're the best. <3
I strongly recommend you toast your buns a bit. So much better when they're a bit hot and crispy, but not too much!
I made this recipe last Christmas. I ate 2 and half (had to share)sandwiches and couldn't get enough. Had to redo it for New Year's Eve, so I did.
I was so skeptical when my mom found this recipe on YouTube and invited me to dinner. I've never been a sloppy Joe fan but I have been converted to a sloppy Joe lover! I had TWO sandwiches, they where so good. You are now my "go to" guy for everything. So far have made three other recipes and all have turned out just like you said. I'm going to try the pulled pork next and the no stir yeast rolls. Yum. Thank you so much for the recipes.
Dear CJ,
I wish you would show us how to make tater tots...we don't have them over here :(((
As for the Sloppy Joe recipe, it turned out great! Thanks so much!!!
Chef John!! I made this last night! Another successful meal!! High five myself....I am getting way more comfortable in the kitchen!
I've been meaning to make this recipe for a few months now. Finally got to make it! It's so simple and amazing! I used only 1 cup of water though. Still delicious - LOVE ITTTTT!!!! Thanks John! :)
is it against the law to add some extra sharp cabot white cheddar aged 3 years to the top of that steamy mound of deliciousness? (you don't have to really answer that. I know you will say "SURE") hehehehe
I tried the recipe, as a bit of a sloppy joe afficianado. My wife thought it was the best I've made in a long time. For me, I prefer another way to get the initial beef cook and crumble. I put it in hot simmering water. It seems to fall apart into finer little 'crumbs' better, and without getting dryed out. I guess this way doesn't really brown the meat as well, but overall I prefer it. Second, I would use 50% more ketchup, to better differentiate this from a 'loosemeat' type recipe, and use somewhat less sugar. Next time, that's what I'll do...
Just out of curiousity, do you fry your tater tots or put them in the oven? they look so nicely browned.
oven!
I will never buy sloppy joe mix in a packet or can again! Fantastic recipe! Thank you for teaching me how to actually cook!
I just made a half batch of these and I was disappointed by the lack of sauce (I love extra saucy sloppy joes), but one bite took away any doubt I had. These are the best sloppy joes I have ever had. Thanks for another delicious recipe Chef John. I can't wait to make them again.
By the way I must object; sesame seed buns pale in comparison to a kaiser roll cut in half, buttered, sprinkled with cheddar and fried in a pan.
I and my husband love this recipe for sloppy joes. I have been using this recipe for a few months now and it always comes out wonderful.Cooking time takes a while but good things come to those that wait. Thanks Chef John !
i really love this recipe and i can't wait to make it.
thanks chef john!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I made this today. I added red bell peppers, diced carrots and accidentally added 2 tbsp of yellow mustard. It was still really good though! thanks chef :)
Delicious!!! Any suggestions on making it a little "saucier?" My guys said they loved these, but missed the extra sauce. Another winner from you, Chef John!! Gracias!!!
the only problem with this recipe is that my 7 year old son would eat the whole recipe if I let him, so there's not enough for me ;-;
Made this for the first time yesterday. Will be making it again!
I left out the brown sugar (paleo-friendly version), and added a good squirt of tomato paste with the water.
As a condiment, try a little creamy horseradish. OMFG!!! Delicious!
Made this 2 days ago. They were fantastic. Had left overs today, they were also fantastic. This is joining my Chef John File. It would take too much time to list your recipes that we love but covers most of the meals we eat..
Thank you very much for posting.
As usual, with your recipes, I didn't change a thing.
These are so by far the best sloppy joes I've ever made or tasted. I've sent this link to so many people and they've all been bowled over by how easy and good it is. Can't wait to try more of your recipes!
Thank you!
p.s. I've made them several time and one night I had some leftover gazpacho I made in my Vitamix and threw it into the mix. It tasted great.
I made this and my family loved it! While eating, my kids said they wanted Sloppy Joe's for their birthday dinner.
Thanks for the great recipe!
I made your sloppy joes but i put them in the middle of biscuits and baked them in the oven... They are still cooking so i dont know how they will turn out, but i am feeling pretty confident they will be delicious.
Once again I seem to find myself out of step with most of the western world; I just finshed making this recipe and I found it much too sweet. And that was AFTER halving the recommended amount of brown sugar and backing off a bit on the ketchup.
However, this is an easily corrected problem for next time, and otherwise this stuff really is delicious.
My whole family is of the same persuasion. We've travelled around the world and eaten the fine cuisine of many parts of the globe, and after all that, we all find that the typical cooking of common anglo-saxon folks (not to mention a few others) pretty much makes us sick to our stomachs. Chef John usually gets things right, but now and then he throws a bone to the common people, who are, after all, rather numerous =)
My god..how pretentious...
Just made these tonight for the hubby.... Doubled the recipe so he could have it at work..... DAMNNNNNNN!!!! Never made sloppy's from scratch,,, will never deviate from this recipe!!! More comfort food Sir John!!!! That's right, you are a knight of the chef realm!!!
We made this! It is so good! Only we used 1.5 cups of regular Coca-cola in place of the water, and omitted the brown sugar. Add a little cinnamon for a Cincinnati chili 3-way over pasta with cheese or a 4 way with onions and cheese.
Why extra lean beef?
Delish! Changed a few things. The only grass-fed beef available is probably 20-80. Used way more veg. Subbed tom paste for ketchup. Added a teaspoon of molasses instead of brown sugar and used Old Bay for my S&P. Today I will use the bonus fat to roast some tiny potatoes. I served the sj’s on buns from the gas station. Delightful! No Tater Tots, though. Just beer.
Can I substitute for turkey?
Next up: BELL BEEFERS!
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