I consider Sloppy Joe to be legendary. Everyone knows about it, just about everyone seems to love it in some form and, as far as I can tell, there’s no consensus on an official recipe. It just might be the Bigfoot of American cuisine.

At it’s most basic, Sloppy Joe is ground beef cooked loose and flavored with some type of a tomato based sauce, which is then generally served on bread or a bun as a sandwich. That’s about where the common part ends. My version is totally my own, crafted with the tast preferences of myself and my family. I use plain tomato sauce as the base, sweetened with molasses and seasoned with a handful of herbs and spices. This recipe is definitely one of our family favorites.

Yield: 6-8 sandwiches

Total Cook Time:

Recipe Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• ¹⁄₂ tablespoon dried chili powder
• ¹⁄₂ tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried marjoram
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon garlic, granulated
• ¹⁄₂ small onion, chopped
• Oil for sauteing

Recipe Directions

Browning and Sauteing

1. Brown 1 pound of ground beef in a medium skillet
2. Once it has been cooked thoroughly, remove it from the skillet and drain the excess fat in a collander
3. Chop ¹⁄₂ of a small onion
4. Add the chopped onion and a small amount of oil to the skillet used for browning the ground beef
5. Saute the chopped onions until tender

Making the Sauce

1. Reduce the heat under the skillet to very low flame
2. Add 1 cup of tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of molasses to the skillet with the onions
3. Stir together until combined
4. Add ¹⁄₂ tablespoon of dried chili powder, ¹⁄₂ tablespoon of prepared yellow mustard, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon of dried marjoram, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon of ground black pepper, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon of granulated garlic and ¹⁄₂ teaspoon of salt to the skillet
5. Stir all of the ingredients together and heat the sauce until hot all the way through

Finish the Sloppy Joes

1. Add the cooked ground beef to the sauce in the skillet
2. Heat until everything is thoroughly hot

Notes

If marjoram isn’t available, oregano can be used in a pinch. Another excellent alternative to marjoram is tarragon.

This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled, made ahead of time and then reheated in a slow cooker for pot luck luncheons.

Revision: 5/15/2020