our family's favorite sloppy joes

How To Make our family's favorite sloppy joes

• Step 1
  SLOPPY JOE SAUCE: Place a non-reactive saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add the oil. When the oil is just hot, add the onion, bell pepper, and celery. Cook until the vegetables are softened (should take about 4-5 minutes).
• Step 2
  Add the tomato puree, tomato paste, ketchup, cider vinegar, molasses, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to very low, and simmer with the lid half off for about 1 hour.
• Step 3
  Meanwhile, heat an 8-10-inch skillet over high heat. Add olive oil. When hot, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon until they are golden, which should take between 3 and 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Step 4
  After the sloppy joe sauce has cooked for 1 hour, add the cooked mushrooms, plum tomatoes (chopped), oregano, beef bouillon, and black pepper. Return to a simmer and cook with the cover ajar for 30 minutes.
• Step 5
  Meanwhile, heat a 10-inch deep-sided skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef, with a wooden spoon, and break it up. Cook until the beef is no longer pink.
• Step 6
  Remove from the heat and place the beef in a sieve to remove any excess fat. Return skillet to the stove-top over low heat.
• Step 7
  Stir in the sloppy joe sauce, add the drained ground beef, and bring to a gentle simmer, uncovered. Cook gently until all those flavors mingle, and it's hot throughout, which should take approximately 10 minutes or so. Add ground black pepper to taste.
• Step 8
  Prepping the Sloppy Joe Sammies. Open the hamburger buns and lightly butter each side (both sides). Place the buns on a cookie sheet and broil until the buttered sides are toasted. Keep a close eye so they don't burn.
• Step 9
  Spoon the sloppy joe meat generously over buns and serve while hot. Leftover sloppy joe beef can be easily frozen for later use for convenience, if you wish.
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