Something put the thought of a sloppy joe sandwich in my mind. I can’t remember the last time I had one, but the memory is positive. I’ve never seen a restaurant in these parts that offers them, so I’ll have to make one myself.

There are lots of YouTube how-to-make videos. Here’s a decent one, about 4 minutes. But I might skip the brown sugar.

https://youtu.be/odK2BCXOv5s

Sloppy Joes bring back childhood memories. I need to check the family recipe cookbook that Mom hand wrote for me before she passed away.

EDIT:
Not in the recipe book so gone forever.

I saw all of the posts about Manwich and it brought back a memory. Mom's friends thought she was nuts for making sloppy Joe's from scratch and talked her into trying Manwich. It wasn't even close to the way Mom's tasted (way too sweet), nobody in the family liked it, and Manwich never made it into our pantry again.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tatortodd, July 29, 2023 01:06 PM

Well there's always Manwich, but that's never quite the same as Mom's.

Manwich isn't bad if you use it as a base and spiff it up a bit. A little finely chopped onion, celery, and peppers makes it more better - also some hot sauce and a ton of garlic.

Man Wichita BOLD ain't bad.

https://www.manwich.com/sloppy-joe-sauce/bold

Like Shugart, I add onion, celery and green peppers, which I sauté a bit to soften up. I brown the ground beef, drain the fat and use those seasoning packets with a can on tomato paste and water and add the veggies. I Simmer for a bit longer than the packet instructions call for. It’s the way my mom taught me decades ago. I’ve never tried/used Manwich. My mom usually had cottage cheese as a side dish. We had many meals like that growing up.

Can't recall when I last enjoyed Sloppy Joe's, but, I know it was all that long ago. Certainly w/in the last ten years or so.

Can't stand Manwich. Way too much sugar. My recipe is ground beef, salt, pepper, Cavender's Greek Seasoning, and Gates Sweet and Mild BBQ Sauce (which is no where near as sweet as something like Sweet Baby Ray's or KC Masterpiece).

https://www.thekansascitybbqst...tes-sweet-mild-18-oz

Trader Joe's brand 'Pulled Jackfruit in smokey BBQ sauce'. This is really delicious, spicy/tangy and you would never know it is a vegy/fruit type meat product.

Highly recommend. Give it a try.

quote:

Originally posted by DanH:
Can't stand Manwich. Way too much sugar.

That's always been my dislike about Sloppy Joes. Seems like they're always sweet. No thanks.

I grew up eating the homemade version which is not too sweet, more vinegary/Worcestershire/cumin flavors. Also had a lot of “BBQ beef” growing up which is similar to Sloppy Joe but more BBQ-y.

Fun fact, if you go to northern New Jersey and ask for a Sloppy Joe, THIS is what you’ll get:



It’s a triple decker cold sandwich, similar to what would be referred to elsewhere in the country as a “corned beef special”. Usually made with two different meats, like corned beef and turkey or roast beef and turkey, coleslaw, Russian dressing, Swiss cheese, etc. Not sure how this came about up there but it’s very unique to the very northern counties of NJ. Go to South Jersey and ask for a Sloppy Joe and you’ll get the hot saucy ground beef version.

Both are equally delicious to me!

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by DanH:
Can't stand Manwich. Way too much sugar.

That's always been my dislike about Sloppy Joes. Seems like they're always sweet. No thanks.

Not if you make ’em yourself. In my OP I said, “But I might skip the brown sugar.” But I really meant, “I will skip the brown sugar.”

Funny timing. Just a couple days ago my wife mentioned having sloppy joe's as a child.

We used to have them in my house too... It has been decades since I have had one, probably 28-20 years. My kids have never had one...

Gonna have to rectify that.

quote:

Originally posted by urbanwarrior238:
Trader Joe's brand 'Pulled Jackfruit in smokey BBQ sauce'. This is really delicious, spicy/tangy and you would never know it is a vegy/fruit type meat product.

Highly recommend. Give it a try.

One of the BBQ restaurants near me, Char Bar, smokes jackfruit and it is quite delicious. It's my favorite type of vegan food that doesn't pretend to be something else. It's just tasty full stop.

Made "sloppy joes" last night. More savory less sweet. For me, they are to use whatever you have on hand like onions and mushrooms ( throwing food away is my pet peeve). Garlic, red chili powder, salt and pepper and your most convenient BBQ sauce (not a lot). I would also add that Joes are made for Sourdough.

We got the lunch lady version of those in the elementary school cafeteria.

There is a famous sandwich that is an extremely cousin utilizing loose hamburger that I grew up with in the midwest.
It is the Maid-Rite and was originated in my hometown of Muscatine, Iowa.
It isn't sloppy but rather a dry loose meat sandwich that is spectacular as I recall.
Of course it's been over 40 years since I had an original but I have made the recipe on occasion at home.
It brings back great memories and I still crave from time to time.

As a little elementary student, the cafeteria featured a"Maidrite" sandwiche once a week. Barely okay as I recall, no one ever sought seconds, either. Greasy and truly messy.

My Grandmother and my Mother could both make a sloppyjoe that was wonderful-sadly I never got the recipe from either of them. And it's many years too late.

Manwich is, IMO, terrible.

Bob

The loose meat sandwiches were a thing on Roseanne as I recall.

What makes that different from sloppy Joe’s? The texture or the seasoning or both?