Simple Sloppy Joe Recipe – A Traditional Recipe Handed Down the Generations
If you grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, you ate an awful lot of simple “Sloppy Joes” for dinner. Moms everywhere loved how easy it was to brown some ground beef, add in a few simple condiments, and dinner was on the table!
If you grew up in Pittsburgh, you also ate a lot of “Chipped Ham BBQ” sandwiches made with Isaly’s chipped ham and a delicious homemade BBQ sauce of ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar. Sometimes yellow mustard was thrown in the BBQ sauce for a little kick, but that was the basic simple sauce recipe.
The same homemade, ketchup-based BBQ sauce is also used for these scrumptious sloppy joes! Enjoy!
Simple Meal of Simple Sloppy That Families have Enjoyed for Generations.
- 1-1/2 lbs. ground beef
- 1 small onion, minced
- 1-1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 6 hamburger buns
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In a large skillet, cook beef and onions over medium heat until no longer pink. Sprinkle beef with salt, pepper and all of the brown sugar while it cooks.
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Stir in the ketchup, water, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar.
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Bring mixture to a light boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
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Serve on buns and sprinkle with cheese (if desired).
What to Serve with Sloppy Joes –
Sometimes we change up the way we prepare our Simple Sloppy Joes and serve them on crispy Texas toast sprinkled with cheddar cheese… pure yum!
Fresh fruit cups makes a nice side dish for this sandwich.
You can also serve these delicious sandwiches with a simple coleslaw with fresh cabbage –
Simple Coleslaw
3/4 c. mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. celery seed
salt & pepper
1/2 small head green cabbage, grated or thinly sliced, lightly salt & peppered
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
In a medium bowl, Whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, sugar, and celery seed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add cabbage and carrots and mix to thoroughly combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
