When I was little, I always wanted to try a sloppy joe. Remember the movie It Takes Two with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen? And that one scene where she rubs the sloppy joe all over her face after having the first bite? Well, it looked delicious to me when I was 8 years old. All I ever ate were Happy Meals and home made Vietnamese food. I had no idea what a sloppy joe was.
Ironically, I think I had my first sloppy joe at summer camp. It must be a common camp food. I’ve probably only had two sloppy joes in my twenty five years of living. Is that normal? Do people make sloppy joes at home on a daily basis? I’ll never know.
Actually, I just asked my mom right now since I’m currently at home and she claims that she’s made it before when we were little. She was curious at the grocery store and bought the premade packets that you just mix in with the meat. When I told her that I never remembered eating sloppy joes at home, she said it’s probably because the meal wasn’t very successful.
We normally just stick to Vietnamese dishes in my parent’s household. It’s the safest bet.
I have yet to try making any Vietnamese dishes in my kitchen, though. I’ll need to remember to write a few pointers from my mom.
This recipe comes from the The Pioneer Woman. The only difference is that I subbed ground turkey for ground beef since that’s what I had on hand and it’s healthier. The buns that I used were from Trader Joe’s and went great with the dish. They were fresh and fluffy, perfect for the tangy spoonful of turkey that was going to be shoved in between it. I did find that using an entire green bell pepper was a bit much, even for me. My DB probably would have liked it even better if I completely omitted it, but hey, you have to eat your greens somehow.
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 2-1/2 pounds Ground Turkey
- 1/2 whole Large Onion, Diced
- 1 whole Large Green Bell Pepper, Diced
- 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
- 1-1/2 cup Ketchup
- 1 cup Water
- 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Chili Powder (more To Taste)
- 1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes (more To Taste)
- Worcestershire Sauce, To Taste
- 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste (optional)
- Tabasco Sauce (optional; To Taste)
- Salt To Taste
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
- Kaiser Rolls (I used burger buns)
- Butter
Directions
- Add butter to a large skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat.
- Add in the ground beef and cook until brown. Drain most of the fat and discard. Toss in the onions, green pepper, and garlic, cook for a few minutes.
- Add ketchup, brown sugar, chili pepper, dry mustard, and water. Stir to combine and simmer for 15 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste. Also add tomato paste, Worcestershire, and Tabasco if using.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
- Spread rolls with butter and brown on a griddle or skillet. Spoon meat mixture in between the rolls and serve hot!