I know it gets
redundant reading recipes that start with “the best” or
“the ultimate” but these really are the best sloppy joes
I’ve ever had. Really. The best. To be honest, I never liked
sloppy joes until I tried these.
It was the dreaded meal
(that and Shepherd’s Pie) that my mom made growing up (sorry
mom!). I never even thought about making them for my family until I
came across this recipe a few years ago and decided to take a chance.
They were delicious and I’ve been making them ever since.
These are less
tomato-ey and more smokey and BBQ-ey than traditional sloppy joes.
Keep in mind that the roll makes all the difference — good
bread equals a fabulous sloppy joe! (I served these sloppy joes on my
french
bread rolls.) Quick, easy, classic and totally
delicious.
Heat the oil in a large skillet
over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they
start to turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the beef and cook,
stirring and breaking up the meat, until it is finely crumbled, the
liquid boils off and the meat begins to brown, about 10 minutes.
Drain the grease off the meat and onions. Stir in the tomato paste,
and keep stirring until the meat is coated. Add the BBQ sauce,
ketchup, Worcestershire, soy sauce, and pepper, and bring to a boil.
Cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. You can
make the sloppy joe meat up to 2 days in advance and reheat it over
low heat or in the microwave.
Wrap the rolls in aluminum foil
and warm in the oven for about 10 minutes. Serve the sloppy joes hot
with the warmed rolls.
Notes — Freezable Meals: The
leftover sloppy joes can be frozen. I store it in a freezer-safe
container and then thaw in the refrigerator prior to serving. I
reheat on medium-low heat in a saucepan on the stove.
Melanie Gunnell is a food-loving, chocolate-obsessed mom who has a desperate need to share
her favorite tried-and-true recipes with the world. In a past life she graduated from Brigham
Young University with a degree in public health, but for the past ten years, stay-at-home
motherhood has been her job along with blogging-from-home for the past five.
She resides in the brilliantly cold tundra of Northern Minnesota with her husband and their brood
of five children: four boys and one tiny, bossy girl. Dark chocolate (particularly the act of
shoving chocolate chips in her mouth whilst hiding in the pantry) is her coping skill of choice for
both the never-ending winters and the never-ending wrestling matches in her front room.