Sloppy Joes

The sauce for these Joes creeps up on your taste buds so you experience the sweet, sour and salty in waves at first with a big punch at the end. In the picture, I have made the Joes with large bakery fresh white “baps” but I generally just use large soft hamburger buns.

Ingredients

• 1c/240ml ketchup
• 1 TBSP soft brown sugar
• 1 heaped tsp English mustard powder
• 1 tsp Worcestershire OR soy sauce
• 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp dry oregano
• 4oz/120ml water
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 large green bell pepper, cut into a 1/2″ (12mm) dice
• 1 small red onion, cut into a 1/2″ (12mm) dice
• 1 garlic clove, crushed or grated
• 1 heaped TBSP tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp chili powder (optional)
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. To make the sauce mixture, combine the ketchup, sugar, mustard, Worcester, vinegar, garlic, oregano and water in a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside till needed.

2. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat, add the beef and fry just until it has lost all its pinkness. Break the beef up as you cook it, the smaller the better. Once the beef is just cooked, remove it and all of the pan juices to a colander to drain.

3. Put the pan back on medium high heat and add the olive oil, onion, garlic and bell pepper. Sauté gently for a few minutes until the vegetables are soft.

4. Stir the cooked beef, tomato paste and chili powder (if using) into the softened vegetables. Once they are well incorporated, stir in the sauce mixture.

5. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. After 30 minutes, taste and season with salt & pepper.

Serve on your favorite rolls or buns – Makes 6 to 8 Sandwiches

The smiling faces in the pictures are McCain’s Potato Smiles. I like to serve them with sloppy joes. They are sort of like a baked fry outside with a smooth mashed potato inside. They are easy to come by in the UK but not so much in the USA. On the west coast (California & Vegas) I’ve found them in several big chain grocery stores. Most of whom for some odd reason put them in the special diet section with the frozen foods.