Sloppy Joe’s

Meat

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into small dice
  • 2 medium yellow onions, small dice
  • 4 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup tomato paste
  • 2 pounds lean ground beef
  • ½ tsp cayenne
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
  • 28-ounce can of tomato sauce
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
  • ½ tsp xatan gum (optional)
  • 6 to 8 hamburger buns

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the peppers, onion, and garlic, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 6 minutes.
  2. Add the tomato paste, stir to combine, and cook until the raw flavor has cooked out, about 1 minute.
  3. Increase the heat to medium high, add the ground beef, and cook, breaking the meat into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon, until it’s just cooked through and no longer pink, about 4 minutes.
  4. Add the cayenne, paprika, cumin, and measured salt, stir to coat the meat and vegetables, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  5. Add the tomato sauce, water, vinegar, Worcestershire, and brown sugar, stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors meld and the mixture thickens, about 30 minutes. If mixture hasn’t thickened enough after 30 minutes powder Xatan gum can be added as needed (about ½ to 1 tsp).
  6. Serve warm on fluffy hamburger buns.

Adapted from Chow. Photo by Casey Bisson via Flickr used with CC Attribution, Non Commercial, Share Alike license