In terms of food likes and dislikes, I was never so surprised as when I first heard of some folks’ disinclination towards such a yummy, easy, and family-friendly dish! The poor dears had been seriously deprived! Let’s just say, with Grammie’s Best Sloppy Joe’s, many palates have been pleasantly broadened.

Tried and True

Mind you, the ingredients and proportions listed with this recipe are important. There are quite a few recipes in Grammie’s Cottage Kitchen that are flexible, but this one is tried and true. For best results, you’ll want to follow the recipe with care.

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Years back, our family cut out red meat for a time and substituted ground turkey for all our ground beef recipes. Trust me, although that substitution worked well for some recipes, this one loses some of its greatness without the beef and pork combination.

Perfection

Seasoned to perfection, you’ll notice these Joe’s are not too sweet like many offerings that frequent local diners and pitch-ins by a similar name. These Joe’s are beefy, peppery, and robust with just the right sweetness to have you and your guests eyeing for seconds.

Given that little detail, I should warn you that these Joe’s have a way of disappearing. Just when I thought I had made enough ‘for the neighbors’ the other night, I soon found I was mistaken. I doubled the recipe to feed twelve and was hoping to squeeze a few leftovers out of the batch (’cause those are amazing too!). If you do the math, you’d think there’s plenty of meat poundage here to stretch. Yeah – no! It just doesn’t happen that way with this recipe.

Super Awesome Sloppy Joe’s

One final note Y’all might find helpful about Grammie’s Best Sloppy Joe’s. Around here, we eat them with a knife and fork. It’s the only sure way to get ’em down without a monumental mess. These Joe’s are man-sized, big and meaty, full of flavor – SLOPPY Joe’s! And they’re simply the best!

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Grammie's Best Sloppy Joe's

Seasoned to perfection, these Joe's are peppery, beefy, and robust with just the right amount of sweetness to have you and your guests eyeing for seconds.

Course Main Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

• 2 medium Yellow or Sweet Onion chopped medium
• 1 large Red or Yellow Sweet Pepper chopped medium
• 6-8 cloves Fresh Garlic minced
• 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoons Bacon Fat if you have it. It's optional, but most everything tastes better with a touch of bacon fat, don't you think?
• 1 pound Ground Pork
• 2 pounds Ground Beef good quality, 90/10 suggested.
• 1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
• 3 teaspoons Sea Salt divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
• 2 6 ounce cans Tomato Paste
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Dry Mustard
• 1 1/2 cups Water
• 1/4 cup Brown Sugar

Instructions

1. Gather and prepare ingredients (chop onions, peppers, and mince fresh garlic). In a large skillet on medium heat, add chopped onions, sweet pepper, and garlic along with olive oil and bacon fat (if using). Saute until onions are translucent and beginning to caramelize.
   
2. Add ground pork and 1 teaspoon of salt. Break up pork into small pieces and brown.
   
3. Spoon away excess fat allowing approximately 2 tablespoons to remain.
   
4. Add ground beef and break up into chunky pieces.
   
5. Season meat with remaining 2 teaspoons salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Mix in and brown the beef.
   
6. Continuing over medium-low heat, add in tomato paste and mix together. Allow tomato paste to caramelize a bit in the remaining fat.
   
7. Add in dry mustard and Worcestershire sauce.
   
8. Add in water and brown sugar and mix well together.
   
9. Simmer several minutes more to combine flavors. Turn off heat, cover, and set aside while preparing buns. Toast burger buns to a golden brown with the cut side up and placed under the broiler. Watch them closely, being careful not to burn.
   
10. Top the toasted buns generously with Sloppy Joe meat and serve immediately. Enjoy!
    

Recipe Notes

We serve ours with a side of cooked cut corn or fresh carrots and ranch dip.

 

The hardest working pan in all my kitchen, and my favorite for a single recipe of Sloppy Joe’s.

For a double recipe, you’re sure to need a pot something like this…