It seems only appropriate that I start with sloppy joe's as my first post (and a nod to Adam Sandler). Sloppy joe's is one of the first "meals" I remember cooking for myself. And it was my favorite meal. I would go to my grandmother's on Saturday night and she'd let me cook. After dinner I'd stay up much too late to watch Carol Burnett. It was wonderful.
The meal would start by my grabbing a potato and cubing it. I'd then fry it up. In another pan, I'd brown the ground beef and add bbq sauce straight from the jar. It was pure heaven. For 30+ years, this is how I have made sloppy joe's. Of course, Hunt's Manwhich came out and I tried that for awhile, but I like my sloppy joe's to be a true BBQ beef.
When I met my husband, I found he also loved sloppy joes as just ground beef and bbq sauce. If I added onions or peppers, he would tolerate it, but he truly preferred the purity. I've used from the jar as well as homemade BBQ sauce, but always stayed simple. And since Lucy adores BBQsauce on pretty much everything, she was actually tricked into eat beef on occassion.
When I saw this recipe for sloppy joes on Pioneer Woman, I knew I had to try it. It had a number of interesting flavors that called out to me. Last night, I pulled it out and gave it a shot. She did something I've never done before, cooked the ground beef in butter. I think it actually made the beef "less dry" but that could be my imagination.
Using her recipe as a starting point, I cut the the beef down and doubled the brown sugar. I like my BBQ sweet. Our consistency came out about the same, but that's because I left out the water. And when I finish typing this, I'm pulling it out as leftovers for lunch! Yum
Sloppy Joe's based on Ree Drummond's Sloppy Joe's
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 pounds Ground Beef (I love the prepackaged 1 pound Organic beef from Costco)
½ whole Large Onion, Diced
1 whole Large Red Bell Pepper, Diced
5 cloves Garlic, Minced (I cheat and use the garlic from Trader Joe's)
1-½ cup Ketchup
4 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Chili Powder
1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
½ teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
Add butter to a large skillet over medium heat and melt. Add onions, red peppesr, and garlic to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes, just to soften the veggies. Add ground beef and cook until brown. (If you like salt/pepper on your meat, add it here) Pour the browned beef into a paper towel lined strainer over a dish to remove the fat. Return the beef to the large skillet.
Add ketchup, brown sugar, chili pepper, dry mustard, crushed red pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Serve on hamburger buns in whatever fashion strikes you. We toast ours and then add grated cheddar cheese on top of the sloppy joes
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