The Sloppy Joe it is one of the most loved sandwiches in the United States of America, often prepared on the occasion of American football games or as a tasty lunch. The original recipe includes many ingredients, including sugar, mustard Dijon, spicy jalapeño, vinegar and canned tomatoes and it’s a real calorie bomb! It looks like a rather greasy sandwich and a bit difficult to eat: the name itself, “sloppy”, it really means “sloppy, messy” due to the fact that by eating it it is easy for the filling to come out almost completely from the bread. This peculiarity, however, makes Sloppy Joe the perfect sandwich for those days when you need some comfort food! We offer you a simplified but equally good recipe for Sloppy Joe, to be made with very few ingredients and in about half an hour, accompanied by your favorite side dish, such as fries or fried onion rings. If you want to combine it with other dishes of American cuisine, go and prepare California Bakery’s fried chicken and New York Cheesecake too!

Preparation

1

In a large frying pan with high edges, preferably non-stick, pour the ground beef and bring it to the stove.

2

Brown the meat over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.

3

While the meat browns, peel the onion. Try to use a rather large onion, if you only have small onions, use two. Cut it into cubes, even coarse, according to your taste.

4

Remove the fat and the cooking water formed by the meat by draining it from the pan, using a ladle. Alternatively you can help yourself with the pan lid.

5

When the meat has browned evenly, add the salt and the chopped onion. Stir again to mix well and simmer for 10 minutes.

6

Add the ketchup covering the meat completely. Also add the teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce.

7

Mix and continue cooking for another 15-20 minutes, to let the liquids dry. Make sure the meat doesn’t dry out too much.

8

While you wait for the meat to cook, divide the sandwiches. We recommend using a serrated bread knife, as hamburger buns are particularly soft and break easily.

9

Toast the sandwiches on a very hot griddle or non-stick pan. The buns should be toasted very lightly to a golden brown, being careful not to burn them. Keep a medium-low heat and place them on the plate only when it is boiling.

10

Transfer the bottom part of the sandwich to the serving plate and fill it generously with the filling of meat and sauces.

11

Also overlap the second half of the sandwich.

12

Serve Sloppy Joe immediately with your favorite side dish.

Advice and tips

You can replace the ketchup with tomato puree, or make half doses of both.

To make your Sloppy Joe even tastier you can add cheese: to stay in the American tradition we advise you to use cheddar, but you can use any type of cheese you prefer, semi-hard.

It is important that the meat does not dry out too much: the Sloppy Joe is a sandwich that is characterized precisely by its humidity and softness. If you see that too much liquid dries up during cooking, add 1 tablespoon of hot water.

If you can’t find hamburger buns you can make them at home following our recipe or you can use normal rosette buns.

storage

We advise you to eat the Sloppy Joe right away. You can store the filling in the refrigerator for 2 days maximuminside an airtight container. Heat it in the microwave or in a pan with 2 tablespoons of hot water before filling the sandwich.

If you only used fresh ingredients, you can freeze the Sloppy Joe filling for up to 1 month.