It’s time to revisit the sloppy joe

When was the last time you had a sloppy joe? That long?

I asked a friend of mine, and since it had been more than a decade or two, he could not remember the last time. When I said I would be making some from scratch for this column, he asked me to share — not the recipe, a sandwich.

My original recipe for a sloppy joe, which appeared in my 1996 cookbook “Lean and Lovin’ It,” was called a Sloppy Sammie. (My former wife called sandwiches “sammies.”)

I did some internet searching to see what current scratch-made sloppy joes were like and found quite a few. It seems sloppy joes are like chili; everyone has their own version.

Before my cookbook, I used a canned sauce — Manwich — to make sloppy joes. Manwich helped me easily make decent sloppy joes by just adding a pound of inexpensive ground beef.

My Sloppy Sammie recipe originated with a friend who served little sloppy joe sandwiches as hors d'oeuvres. They were so good I asked her for the recipe. For several years that was my “go-to” sloppy joe. Her secret ingredient was fresh orange juice. Yes, orange juice.

She also used white wine vinegar instead of the standard distilled vinegar and dark corn syrup, along with molasses. Unique and sensational.

My Sloppy Sammies recipe was hers except, since that was the era of low-fat everything, I used 95% lean ground beef or 97% lean ground turkey.

Today’s updated recipe is quite different. I do use 93% lean ground beef. But not just any ground beef — all grass-fed, organic ground beef. The cost difference for the value is worth it. No Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) for me.

Since I had no dark corn syrup in my pantry, that wasn’t going to work as the sweetener. I waved goodbye to molasses and that corn syrup, instead using organic dark brown sugar. It has a similar flavor profile since dark brown sugar has molasses in it.

I also added small amounts of yellow mustard and Worcestershire sauce to subtly tweak the flavor. And finally, I made a light cornstarch slurry so the sandwich would not be too wet and r-e-a-l-l-y sloppy.

My new sammies turned out great. I served them on organic, whole-grain, whole-wheat buns.

Yes, it’s way more of a hassle than opening a can and browning some ground beef. However, for a unique, old-fashioned treat, this was definitely worth the effort.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at 1leanwizard@gmail.com.

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Sloppy Joes Revisited

1 teaspoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons brown sugar (dark brown preferred)

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

⅓ cup white wine vinegar

½ cup tomato ketchup

½ cup orange juice

1½ teaspoons yellow mustard

1½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound 93% lean ground beef

½ medium onion, chopped

½ medium green bell pepper, chopped

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoons kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon sea salt)

½ teaspoon black pepper

⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

6 whole wheat hamburger buns

In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch and water together until combined. Set aside.

Add tomato sauce, vinegar, ketchup, orange juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar to a medium mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When the olive oil is hot, add the ground beef. As it cooks, use the edge of a spatula to break the meat into small pieces. After 2 minutes (the meat will only be partly cooked), add the onion and green pepper; sauté for 2 minutes while continuing to break up the ground beef. Add the chili powder, Kosher salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper; continue sautéing until the onion and green pepper soften.

Add the tomato sauce mixture and stir until combined. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Add and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Spoon over the bottom half of the hamburger buns, then add the top. Makes 6 sandwiches.

Note: Toasting the cut sides of the hamburger buns adds more flavor.

Nutrition values per serving with whole wheat bun: 341 calories (25% from fat), 9.6 g fat (2.8 g saturated fat), 37.2 g carbohydrates (33.2 net carbs), 13.2 g sugars, 4 g fiber, 23 g protein, 47 mg cholesterol, 961 mg sodium. Salt Sense: Omitting the kosher salt reduces the sodium per serving to 588 milligrams.

— Don Mauer