Papa's Slop Joes

As a bachelor, I used to get the cheap version of sloppy joe sauce in a can and added to my own ground beef. The can usually says to add one pound of beef. I would use two. This allowed me to avoid the soupy consistency that one pound gave.Then several years ago, my son-of-an-accountant came out and realized that it would be more affordable to make it from scratch, as well as taste even better!! (OK, the real reason that I started making sloppy joes from scratch was a conscious effort to drastically cut the amount of sodium in our diet. I am proud to say that even though I use soy sauce in nearly every recipe, our sodium intake is extremely low.)

I looked up sloppy joes recipes online. (It took me, oddly enough, quite a while to find a recipe that didn't start with a can of sloppy joe mix.) I found one from Alton Brown and then I modified it. Now my original, but modified, recipe called for Worcestershire sauce, but one day I was out. (Turned out I couldn't find it behind the eggs. Oops) So I used General Tzo's. It LOOKED like W-Sauce. So I thought, "Why not?" But that is how good food combinations occur: Trial and success!

Here is what I've settled on:

1 splash olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 pounds of lean ground 33beef
1 teaspoon of majoram
1 dash of pepper
1 generous splash of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of choice spice (Papa prefers crushed mint or ground Saigon cinnamon)  Mint is used here.
24 ounces of tomato sauce
1/2 to 3/4 cup of water, as needed
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of General Tzo's sauce
1 dozen regular sized hamburger buns, toasted
1 dozen slices of cheese (optional)

Bring a large wok to heat with olive oil. Once hot, not yet smoking, fry up garlic and onion until onions are golden brown. Add ground beef, pepper and majoram.

Once beef is browned, drain, and put beef into dutch oven, add tomato sauce, water and the rest of the spices to dutch oven. Bring to boil over medium heat. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve.

Bon Appetit!!