What could be more American than a Sloppy Joe? Sweet and tangy – a little spicy and a whole lot messy! But it’s a new year and there are ways to elevate this familiar sandwich from its mid-century America Manwich roots if you put your mind to it. Instead of settling for conventional ground beef, you could follow chef Daniel Holzman’s lead and choose ground lamb. Lamb Sloppy Joe’s! While you’re at it, why not top that Joe with something special too. Coleslaw is a good way to go. So are fried onions. Maybe even guacamole. Use your imagination.
What’s so amazing about this sandwich is the familiarity of it. Yes, I realize the Sloppy Joe sandwiches of your youth were not made from lamb. But it’s not the choice of ground protein that makes a Sloppy Joe so familiar.
It’s something more basic than that.
Some foods are memory triggers. For me, sandwiches have the ability to take me back to childhood more than any other category of food. Sloppy Joe’s are no exception. They’re like time machines transferring me back to my middle-school hot lunch line, where hair-netted lunch ladies ladle heavy spoonfuls of tomatoey meat onto sesame-studded hamburger buns.
Lamb Sloppy Joe’s
The familiarity doesn’t stop there. At least not for me. Daniel Holzman’s Lamb Sloppy Joe’s are served very much like the lunch lady versions from my adolescence. By that I mean plain. Even in those days, I tended to personalize my food. Most of the boys scarfed these sandwiches down without even peeking under the bun. That’s because in middle-school the lunch hour is practically as competitive as P.E. class, and often just as stressful. The more aggressive boys at my table were typically in a race to see who could eat the sandwich the quickest. When that form of domination began to bore them, they’d run off to see if they could trick the lunch lady into a second sandwich – just so they could prove their superiority all over again.
Not me, I’d sit quietly (out of their peripheral vision) and lift the bun to consider how I could dress up this boy’s version of a Manwich. Potato chips, crunchy pickles, or maybe something from the salad compartment of my indented lunch tray. You just never knew how creative I could get with a Sloppy Joe. Though I admit Lamb Sloppy Joe’s were (at that point in my life) a little beyond my imagining.
Today however a Lamb Sloppy Joe feels just right to me. So I peeked under the bun of Mr. Holzman’s recipe and chose a few creative additions of my own. I don’t think he’ll mind my adaptations. Because what really matters is the place your mind goes when you pick up one of these Lamb Sloppy Joe’s and take a bite. Once you taste the crunch of cabbage and feel that slow drizzle of tomato sauce slipping down your chin, you’ll feel just like a 12-year-old trying to avoid the loud boys at lunchtime. GREG
Suggested condiments: Quick pickled cabbage slaw, fried onions, guacamole and maybe even tater tots.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground lamb
- ½ large yellow onion (peeled and cut into tiny dice)
- ½ red bell pepper (seeded and cut into tiny dice)
- ½ yellow bell pepper (seeded and cut into tiny dice)
- ½ green bell pepper (seeded and cut into tiny dice)
- 4 clove garlic (peeled and minced)
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
- 3 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- ⅓ cup white wine
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4–6 toasted burger buns
Directions
Heat the oil in a large saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add the lamb, stirring frequently to break it up, until browned and beginning to crisp; about 12 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the lamb from the pan and set aside, leaving the oil and rendered fat in the pot.
Lower the heat to medium, add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, paprika, cumin seeds, and cayenne pepper and continue to cook, stirring frequently until soft (about 10 minutes).
Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until the tomato paste begins to caramelize and stick to the pan; about 3 minutes then add crushed tomatoes, sugar, wine, vinegar, water, salt and reserved lamb. Bring the stew to a simmer, lower the heat to low and continue to cook for half an hour. Enjoy on a toasted bun.
Nice tweaks, will have to try with lamb, but also like the cabbage, and other vegetables thrown in, otherwise my memory of these is that the tomato base become acidic-tasting
I am not a huge fan of sloppy joes as they were the worst soggy greasy mess in grade school. But… add lamb and I might be a new convert. Looks delicious.
Note to Lunch Ladies all over the country.…step up your sloppy joe game!
I was probably the only kid who hated sloppy joe’s growing up. My mom would make them with the spice packet! Many many years later I decided to make a scratch version (from Williams-Sonoma), and I LOVED it. Now I need to try your recipe. Looks tasty!
Sloppy Joes are one of those guilty pleasures for me. Am actually working on a recipe now that is a bit different. Not as different as this, though — LOVE the idea of lamb in this dish. Really terrific — thanks. And Happy New Year!
Ugh. School lunch. Thank God those days are over. Your sloppy joes sound delicious. I love putting coleslaw on a sloppy joe.
Great post and recipe Greg. Big lamb fan here and this looks delicious.
My husband and I love lamb burgers so I know that your sloppy joe’s would be welcomed at our kitchen table.
LOVE sloppy joes and the lamb is the icing…Happy 2017 Greg!
Sloppy Joes are one of the first North American things that I remember my Dear Mom making for us. My Dad, of course, wouldn’t have any of it but we LOVED it. My Mom used a mix of pork and beef and sometimes veal and we didn’t have those gorgeous buns but the basics were the same. My Dear Mom’s version always oozed off the bottom bun so there was no way you could pick it up without making a huge mess, so we ate it with knife and fork. Such a lovely memory, thank you, Greg.
The lamb version definitely takes this household staple to the next level and the slaw is such a wonderful contrast to the sweet soft meat. Happy New Year, I wish you all the best for the coming year.
Being a lamb lover, Greg, this is a no brained!
I love this. My lamb-loving husband will be all over this. I use my Mom’s recipe for my sloppy joes. Because her recipe came from her Midwestern mother, it is always called “barbeque” in our family kitchens.