How to Make a Great Sloppy Joe Sandwich

I purchased some grass-fed, organic ground beef from Whole Foods and was going to grill some hamburgers for dinner when my wife said she was in the mood for comfort food and asked if I would make Sloppy Joe's instead. I haven't made Sloppy Joe's in years, so I did a little research online, found I had the ingredients I needed in the pantry, and voila, this Sloppy Joe recipe.

A Sloppy Joe is a type of sandwich consisting of ground beef (or sometimes other meats) cooked with onions and usually bell peppers and simmered in a tangy, tomato-based sauce. The mixture is then served on a hamburger bun. The sauce typically includes ketchup, tomato, Worcestershire, and various seasonings. The overall result is a savory, slightly sweet, and messy sandwich.

Sloppy Joe History

The exact origin of the Sloppy Joe is a bit murky, but several stories and theories trace its development:

Sioux City, Iowa: One popular story attributes the creation of the Sloppy Joe to a cook named Joe at a cafe in Sioux City, Iowa, in the 1930s. Joe supposedly added tomato sauce to loose meat sandwiches, creating what would eventually be known as a Sloppy Joe.

Cuba and Havana’s Sloppy Joe’s Bar: Another theory connects the Sloppy Joe to Sloppy Joe's Bar in Havana, Cuba. The bar was a famous hangout for American tourists and celebrities during Prohibition. José García ran it, and it is said that the bar's name might have inspired the sandwich’s moniker, though the bar itself served a variety of cocktails and casual foods rather than a specific sloppy meat sandwich.

Sloppy Joe’s Bar in Key West, Florida: Sloppy Joe’s Bar in Key West, originally opened by Joe Russell in 1933, is another potential source of the name. Ernest Hemingway, a frequent patron, was known to enjoy both the bar and the food served there. However, like the Cuban bar, this establishment did not specifically create the sandwich but might have influenced its naming.

General Development: The Sloppy Joe is also seen as part of the broader trend of American cuisine in the early 20th century, where quick, easy-to-prepare, and inexpensive meals became popular. This coincided with the rise of mass-produced, canned tomato products and condiments, which made creating a saucy meat mixture convenient.

My memories of Sloppy Joe's take me back to the 1970s when my mom would brown ground beef, add a can of Hunt's Sandwich Sloppy Joe sauce, and serve it to us on a bun. We thought it was the greatest meal ever.

Evolution and Variations

Over time, the Sloppy Joe has evolved and taken on regional variations. Some versions use different types of meat such as turkey or pork, and others might incorporate additional vegetables or spices. Vegetarian and vegan versions using plant-based proteins have also become popular.

The Sloppy Joe remains a staple in American comfort food cuisine, especially beloved for its simplicity and nostalgic value. It is commonly found in school cafeterias, home kitchens, and casual dining establishments across the United States.

What Do You Serve a Sloppy Joe On?

A Sloppy Joe is typically served on a hamburger bun. The buns are often toasted lightly to add texture and help prevent them from becoming too soggy from the saucy meat mixture. The classic presentation includes the following elements:

Ground beef mixture: Cooked with onions and often bell peppers, then simmered in a tangy tomato-based sauce.

Hamburger bun: Soft and slightly toasted, sometimes buttered before toasting for extra flavor.

The bun's simplicity allows the flavorful meat mixture to shine, and its soft texture complements the saucy filling, making the sandwich easy to eat despite its inherent messiness.

While the hamburger bun is the most common choice, variations can include:

Slider buns: For smaller, snack-sized Sloppy Joes.

Hoagie rolls: For a more substantial sandwich.

Brioche buns: For a richer, slightly sweet taste.

Open-faced: Some versions are served with the meat mixture piled high on a slice of bread or bun half.

No matter the choice of bread, the key feature of a Sloppy Joe is its hearty, flavorful filling that pairs well with a soft and accommodating bun.

Loose Meat Sandwich

While researching Sloppy Joe ingredients, I came across what may be the predecessor of the Sloppy Joe: a loose-meat sandwich, a favorite in the Midwest. A loose-meat sandwich, also known as a "loosemeat" or "tavern sandwich," is a type of sandwich that features seasoned ground beef cooked loose rather than formed into a patty.

The meat is typically seasoned with simple ingredients such as onions, salt, and pepper, and sometimes a small amount of broth or Worcestershire sauce is added for extra flavor. The cooked meat is served on a hamburger bun, often with mustard, pickles, and sometimes cheese.

The loose meat sandwich became popular in the 19th century as a way to stretch a buck by adding fillers like bread crumbs, rice, cheese, and ketchup to ground beef and spooning this mixture on a hamburger bun for a tasty, fulfilling meal.

In 1926, butcher Fred Angell combined "just the right combination of a special cut and grind of meat and a selected blend of spices. When a deliveryman tasted Fred's new creation, he said, "This sandwich is made right," and that was the beginning of the Maid-Rite family of franchises serving loose meat sandwiches throughout Iowa.

Differences

Sauce

The meat mixture is not saucy in a loose meat sandwich. It’s simply seasoned ground beef, which retains its loose, crumbly texture.

The meat mixture in a sloppy joe is cooked in a tomato-based sauce, which makes it much wetter and saucier than a loose meat sandwich.

Flavor Profile

Loose Meat Sandwich has a more straightforward beef flavor, enhanced by basic seasonings like salt, pepper, and onions.

Sloppy Joe has a more complex flavor due to the tomato sauce, which often includes ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, and various spices. This results in a tangy and slightly sweet taste.

Texture:

The meat in the Loose Meat Sandwich remains loose and crumbly, similar to taco filling but without the spices. The meat mixture in the Sloppy Joe is more cohesive and saucy, making the sandwich inherently messier.

Serving Style:

Loose Meat Sandwich is often served with simple toppings like mustard, pickles, and cheese. It’s less messy and easier to eat compared to a Sloppy Joe.

A Sloppy Joe is usually served plain or with minimal toppings because the sauce provides much of the flavor and moisture. It’s called “sloppy” because it is messy when eating.

Thousands Of Sloppy Joe Sandwich Recipes

There are literally thousands of recipes on the Internet for making Sloppy Joes. The two most important ingredients are ground beef and ketchup.

What vegetables, spices, or other ingredients you add are up to you, so be as creative as you like. I have noticed that most of the recipes include a dash of Worcestershire sauce, but not all of them.

I'm using onion, bell pepper, and garlic, but you can substitute or add carrots, mushrooms, celery, or other vegetables in your refrigerator. Just keep the ratio of veggies to ground beef close to what I have here.

Below is my basic recipe for Sloppy Joe sandwiches, which we like in our house. Please play around with the ingredients to create a sandwich that you and your family will enjoy.

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