Who doesn’t love a great sloppy joe? When you bite into the toasted bun that has soaked up the sauce it is just plain good. I have some great childhood memories of sloppy joes, but have not made them in years. When I saw this recipe in Gourmet I just had to make it and I was not in the least disappointed. These are as the name says a little more sophisticated than Manwich. Serve them up with some of your favorites whether it might be chips or fries. I thought these pan-fried Smashed Potatoes and a salad were a great choice.
From start to finish you can have them ready for the table in about forty minutes. And yes they are super easy. If you can brown ground beef, measure, and stir you have it made. I am telling you if you loved these as a kid you are going to love these as an adult. Toasty bread with all that sauce dripping down the side. Good gracious! And that last bite you just might have to eat it with a fork.
Sophisto Joes from Gourmet October 2007
serves 4-6
- 1 14-15 oz. can whole tomatoes in juice, drained
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
- 1 celery rib, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 lb. ground beef
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 4 kaiser rolls, split and toasted
- Puree tomatoes in a blender or food processor.
- Cook onion and garlic in butter in a 12 in. heavy skillet over medium -high heat, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to brown, 4-5 minutes. Add carrot, celery, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are softened, 4-5 minutes.
- Add beef and brown, stirring to break up lumps.
- Add chili powder, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook about 2 minutes.
- Add pureed tomatoes, wine, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar.
- Bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Sauce will thicken. ( The recipe says that it will thicken in about 6 minutes mine took about 15 minutes)
- Serve between sliced and toasted kaiser rolls, split
The Teacher Cooks 
I love Sloppy Joes…I think! I mean, it has been so long since I have had one. Yours looks delicious, here. Gotta love the addition of wine. 🙂
this is great! i love sloppy joes, but i feel a bit silly eating them as a grown woman. i think this recipe has all the flavor and slop of a sloppy joe but with a bit more class. 🙂
Looks great!!!
http://yummies4dummies.blogspot.com/
This takes me back to growing up when my mom made sloppy joes alot. We won’t tell her that they didn’t look as good as this!
I haven’t made a sloppy joe in ages, Wanda. What a super recipe. I don’t think I even have my old recipe any more. Copying this one for my file!
I did not know there were carrots or brown sugar in sloppy joes. These look great and easy!
i Learned that , You can actually put carrots in sloppy joes !!
i never knew that there was a spice called cumin. But i think thats what makes the slopy joe taste so good.
I’ve had a lot of bad experiences with these lol, I don’t normally like how people cook them because it seems like they add too much liquid and its just runny. But yours look just right. Brown sugar gives it a sweeter taste, not so strong!
i learned that these are very simple to make if you are able to do the basics in a kitchen.
I didn’t realize how many different ingredients combine to make a sloppy joe! I always thought my mom just slapped meat on a bun and put in on the table. And all the different ingredients seem so random put fit together perfectly to create the perfect sloppy joe.
this recipe is much healthier and easier than just buying the manwich canned brand, and these are household ingredients that i always carry
This looks GOOD!! i didnt know you can but brown sugar in a sloppy joe!
Sloppy Joes are my absolute favorite! I learned that you can put a vegetable in sloppy Joes and it still looks great!
i didnt know that when you make sloppy joes that you put carrots in them.. it doesnt sounds to tasty but i would love to try it..
I’ve had these before,but now I learned that you can toast the bread and still be just as good, probably even better!
Sloppy Joes are really easy to make, it’s a meal that you can make when you’re in a rush, I learned that you should cook onion and garlic in butter and stir occasionally
I love eating a nice sloppy joe. When I was little it was one of my most favorite things to help make, so everyone could eat dinner. I really didn’t learn to much, just that you use different ingredience like the dry red wine and chili powder. If I get the time i’ll try cooking it this way at home some day!
I didn’t realize how many vegetables were used in sloppy joes. Brown sugar? I really didn’t know about that.
I don”t eat sloppy joes that much, but this recipe actually doesn’t look tht bad. I learned that you have to finely chop up your garlic, carrots, & celery rib for a fine texture!
i learned you can Add carrots and celery to sloppy joes and they tates good and not have a texture of stale veggies!
sloppy joes are sloppy but very creative and tasty.
i knever knew celery and carrots were used to make sloppy joes
I didn’t know that brown sugar was in a sloppy joe, that would be the last thing I would think would be in there.
i learned that you can put brown sugar in sloppy joe! who knew!?
I didn’t know you could put brown sugar in sloppy joes! That probably gives it more of a flavor.
It may take from 6 to 15 minutes for the sauce to thicken.
I learned that you could put so many vegetables in sloppy joes and it still looks delicious
they are delicious but tedious because of how you have to chop all the vegetables!
i learned these are simple to make and are made with many vegetables.
I learned that there is brown sugar in this.
i never heard of adding wine to this! sounds like an interesting addition
I dont reallly like my vegies, but I learned that sloppy joes can be good even with them.
I learned how putting carrots, celery, garlic, and other ingredients in a sloppy joe can make it taste even better than before!!!!!
I did not know that there was carrots in sloppy joe’s!!!
I did not know there were carrots or brown sugar in sloppy joes…it looks good
I didnt know there were carrots or brown sugar in sloppy joes!
This recipe is much healthier and tastier than the manwhich brand.