Depending on where you live, a "Sloppy Joe" can mean many different things. The Sloppy Joe I love is the one I'm presenting here—a sweet and tangy ground beef concoction that you ladle onto a hamburger bun.
It's a mess. Intentionally so. Even though it's in a bun, it must be eaten with a fork.
It's also a delicious mess!
Lots of people open up a can of sloppy joe mix, dump it in some sauteed ground beef and call it dinner. Trust me on this - it is easy to make and the flavour is far superior.
Most recipes take close to an hour. Using the instant pot means dinner is ready in 20 or so minutes.
Now you notice right away from the pic below that there is something not quite right about our sloppy joes . . . I had to serve them on a bagel half because the brioche hamburger buns that I had purchased went into that black hole of small food items. We looked everywhere for those buns to no avail. The bagel was a bit more challenging to cut and eat but it's bread so i guess all was OK.
Whatever. You'll enjoy these, bagel or hamburger bun.
Oh yes, you'll also notice that I sprinkled some grated cheddar cheese on top . . . everything is better with cheddar in my book!
Enjoy.
Sloppy Joes
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small yellow onion finely diced
2 celery stalks finely diced
1 small green bell pepper diced
3 cloves garlic minced or put through a garlic press
1 ½ pounds lean (93%) ground beef
1 cup tomato sauce
¾ cup ketchup
½ cup water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch, optional for thickening
2 tablespoons warm water, optional for thickening
6 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted
Select the sauté setting and adjust it to high (more). Add the oil to the pot. When it shimmers, add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the beef and cook, breaking up the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, ketchup, water, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Lock the lid into place and turn the valve to “sealing.” Select pressure cook (manual) and program for 10 minutes at high pressure. When the cook cycle completes, allow the pressure cooker to cool without venting steam for 5 minutes. It's fine if the keep warm setting turns on. After 5 minutes, turn the pressure release valve to “venting” to manually release the steam. When the pressure valve drops, carefully remove the lid. (Always remove the lid away from your face.)
Stir the Sloppy Joe mixture. You can serve as is or you can thicken the sauce. To thicken, stir together the cornstarch and warm water in a small bowl until smooth. Add the cornstarch mixture to the beef mixture. Set the pot to “sauté” (You might have to turn off your pressure cooker and turn it back on to do this.) Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture bubbles and thickens, about 2 minutes. Taste. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
Spoon Sloppy Joe mixture on the bottom halves of the buns. Cover with the bun tops and serve immediately.
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