Zippy Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

700g (1.5 lbs) good lean beef or pork mince (ground beef, ground pork)
1/2 a carrot (grated) 

1/2 an onion (diced)

1/2 any colour of bell pepper (diced)

1 ½ cups ketchup

6 Tablespoons water

3 Tablespoons light packed brown sugar

3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ Tablespoons malt vinegar (white vinegar is also fine)

3 teaspoons yellow American mustard

¾ teaspoon garlic powder or garlic granules

¾ teaspoon onion powder or onion granules

¾ teaspoon salt

Hamburger buns

I started making these a couple of years ago & have made them hundreds of times.  I wanted to learn to make them from scratch since we don’t have canned or packet Sloppy Joe mix here in Ireland.  On occasion, friends or relations would post or bring me the dry packet variety of mix, but I always felt it fell flat & lacked in zip & zing compared to the old canned Manwich variety.  I decided to make my own & started out by finding a recipe online that sounded very close to the type of Sloppy Joes I was looking for.  I played around with it the first few times, reducing & increasing the amount of certain ingredients & adding a few things of my own to give it the flavour I desired.  I guess I finally got it right, because friends & family alike all love these & always want seconds.  Kiddos really love it too, so it’s great for when you’re having a party or a sleepover, etc.  It’s also an easy & fun one for the kids to help make.  My 7 year old practically has the recipe memorized & always wants to help make them.

Method:

Grate about half a small carrot & place in a large non-stick pan.  *(This is an old cooks’ tip I learned years ago.  I put grated carrot in to soften before cooking mince for anything.  The juices from the carrot help to break down the meat & keep it velvety & loose, so you avoid those big stuck-together clumps. You still need to break it up initially, but it falls apart more easily & you don’t need to break & stir it as much. It’s also a great way of getting extra vegetables & colour in & it adds to the flavour & moistness.)  With the carrot, add the diced onion & pepper & a few tablespoons of water.  When these have all softened, add your mince & cook until browned.  Add all other ingredients & stir well.  Place a lid or plate loosely over the pan & allow mixture to simmer on a low heat for about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring periodically.  Serve on warm buns.

This amount will feed 3 people for 2 nights with a little left to freeze or eat for lunch, or you can feed about 6 people with it.  We like to serve ours with grated cheese, a touch of mayo & alfalfa sprouts & with a pickle & crisps on the side.  It’s the only time I allow crisps at dinner, so it’s a real treat!

Kids love to help with this one!

Almost ready...

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