Sloppy Joes
In a food chopper or processor chop:
1-2 carrots(you want to end up with about 1/2 cup)
1-2 stalks of celery(same end as the carrot)
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
(I also put in roasted red peppers if I have them)
In a large skillet heat some olive oil and saute the veggies starting with the carrots and ending with the peppers, and continue for 5 minutes or so, til soft and then remove from pan to a bowl.
In the same skillet over medium high heat brown:
1 1/2lbs ground meat of your choice.
Venison, if you can get it, is especially good. Make friends with a hunter if you aren't one yourself! I imagine for you vegans out there that crumbled extra firm tofu would work quite well also.
*when browning ground meat remember DON'T KEEP STIRRING IT AROUND! Just crumble it evenly in the pan, salt it and watch it. When it is caramelized(not burnt) on the bottom, flip it and repeat the process minus the salt.*
Drain the excess fat if there is any and add the vegetables back in.
Stir in:
1/2 cup ketchup
1 14-15 oz can tomatoes crushed or 2 cups plain tomato sauce(it's a texture thing so use what you like)
1tbsp Worcestershire sauce(soy sauce would be an acceptable substitute here)
1tbsp red wine vinegar
1-2 tbsp brown sugar
pinch of ground cloves(try it!)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
fresh black pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne(can be omitted)
Simmer for 10 minutes or so and serve on a good roll.
Delicious!
18 comments:
I bet I only eat sloppy joes once every 5 years, but I do love them.
I think it is funny that if you tell people carrots, celery and onion they will follow directions blindly. Say 2 cups of mirepoix and they look like a deer stuck in the headlights.
So what's up with not stirring the beef? I've never heard that before.
HD- So you know mirepoix but not properly browning ground beef? Say it isn't so! It's just like pan frying or grilling almost anything, moving it around disturbs the caramelizing of the sugars in the meat, thereby reducing the delicious flavors that would otherwise be obtained when you leave it alone.
Yes, it is so. But I've never had a problem browning my meat. Interesting. I use a lot of heat and a steel pan, maybe that makes a difference?
I made beef stroganoff last night. Didn't have any ground beef handy so I took a chuck roast, trimmed all the fat and ran it through the meat grinder. Probably better than anything bought at the grocery.
I'm printing this off now. The food processor thing is awesome...it's the texture of carrots and celery I can't get past. I was just talking to someone at work about pureeing my veggies, so I'll eat them. (hehehehehe)
Great recipe, and a picture...what more can a girl ask for???
(Matches your eyes is right!!!!)
WV: calms
HD-Don't you remember your mom's ground beef, just gray and rather unappetizing to look at before she added it to whatever she was making? Assuming your Mom did hers the same way mine did of course. I know that you know that most people are afraid to use high heat, which is something we aren't afraid of. Most of my meals are cooked over medium high heat now that I think about it.
Nej-I use my mini chopper to "grate" cheese, chop eggs, for guacamole-it is a wonderful tool. Plus it's an awesome way to sneak veggies in lots of recipes. I do the same thing when I'm making meatloaf and spaghetti sauce. Let me know what you think!
HD-how can you go wrong grinding your own meat? It is simply not possible!
Dunno. Now I don't constantly stir it though. Maybe what I do is closer to breaking up lumps and we are doing the same thing? I cooked on full throttle high until I bought my super skillet a few years ago. It transfers heat so well I had to back off to about 2/3.
Nej, without a doubt, fine dice is the way to go if you don't like something. I don't like celery but I have learned as an almost-professional cook that celery really does add flavor to what you are cooking. I use two approaches with celery and bell peppers, neither of which I like cooked, either a very fine dice so that I don't recognize them or huge pieces that are easy to pick out.
HD-I think so-breaking up the meat, yep-which is definitely not stirring. The right pan/skillet makes a huge difference doesn't it? I love my big 14" heavy bottom steel skillet. I use it almost every day too.
@ Brook and HD - my inlaws got us a food processor for xmas. A huge professional type one actually. So, I was trying to figure out where I could use it. Then I got to thinking about how picky I am about textures of things, but how I love the flavors (onion, peppers, etc - love the flavor, hate the texture). So I think I'm going to start mashing them up in the new toy. Then I'll get the flavor, and the nutrition from eating them.
Hubby does well cutting things into large pieces so I can easily pick out...but I'd like to not be as "picky" about eating dinner.
Hopefully the food processor thing will do the trick. :-) :-)
@Nej (I'm learning this whole internet thing slowly) once you have a food processor you will wonder how you ever lived without one! If Brook doesn't have one yet, I'll have to get her one.
Second to that is a stand mixer.
@ HD - I can't wait to start using it and see where it takes me. I'm not a cook, not because I don't know how....but because I don't have a love of doing it. Thinking that cooking things that are healthy and taste good, that I'll eat might spawn an interest. :-)
Same in-laws got us a Kitchenaid stand mixer for our 5 year anniversary. LOVE it!!!!!!! :-)
In the past 5 years got a Kitchen Aid standing mixer and Food Processor. I use both all the time now. Love them. I agree brook -when you let the meat get kinda dark and a little crunchy-the flavor really intensifies. Thanks for the recipe-the only sloppy Joes I have made-I used that canned stuff-they were just ok. This sounds delish.
Amy this is worth the little extra time and effort. I love my KA mixer, one day I'll move up from the mini chopper to a full on processor. In the mean time I'll keep doing small batches.
Wow, I love your hair (and I love sloppy joe's, too. And I get it about mirepoix (or sofrito, or.. what's the other one called?), and I will definitely try your recipe..] but, seriously, I LOVE YOUR HAIR!!
Victoria-Thank you!!!! I am still loving it. The Cajuns call their mix of onions, peppers, and (is it?) garlic the "holy trinity". But I think there's is another one aside from that. This is super delicious.
Cajun "Holy Trinity" is onion, celery and green bell pepper. It came to me in the middle of the night as I lay wide awake wishing I was asleep.
I enjoy (because I'm such a nerd) that there is such a thing in almost every culture - cooking wise. Just three or four ingredients that one can assume will usually start things off. Ah, garlic and onions sautee-ing in a little olive oil = something's cookin')..
Victoria-my feelings exactly. I am such a nerd that I look for the commonalities between cultures just for the sake of knowing it.
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