Grown-Up Sloppy Joes

These are GOOD! I really liked this recipe a lot. I've tested out a few homemade sloppy joe recipes over the years and have been "meh" on most of them. Some are too "barbecuey", some have too much chili powder for my taste - but having a Goldilocks and the Three Bears moment with this one because it was JUUUUUUUUUST right! :)

I found this recipe ages ago on Tasty Kitchen here and you can find the related blog post by the recipe author here. I made a couple very small changes to the original and we were all very happy with this meal! The flavor of the sauce was great - I think the Dijon mustard made the biggest difference - it had a bit of a BBQ taste to it but quite a nice tang from the other ingredients to balance it all and give it a little more depth. Very filling, very tasty!

Started with all my ingredients: 1 lb of ground beef, 1 large onion, garlic powder, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, ketchup, Dijon mustard and brown sugar.

I diced the onion into small-ish pieces.

I added the onion and beef into a large non-stick skillet and turned the heat to about medium high at first and then down to medium once the meat was mostly browned and let that cook for about 15 minutes while I got the sauce ingredients together.

I added the garlic powder, Worcestershire, soy sauce, hot sauce, brown sugar and Dijon (about 3 TBS was all I had left and the sauce still had a nice tang in my opinion - I would start small and taste test with that ingredient before adding more).

I gently stirred until the sauce ingredients were evenly combined.

Once the ground beef and onions were ready, I added the sauce mixture to the meat and onion and stirred to combine.

I let that simmer on low for about 5 more minutes to heat the sauce all the way through and make sure the consistency was right and that gave me just the right amount of time to put the buns in the oven to toast!

The end result was a delicious, hearty and filling sandwich that was very satisfying and enjoyed by everyone!

Ingredients

1 large onion, diced
1 pound ground beef
¾ teaspoons garlic powder
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons teaspoons soy sauce
3-4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
¾ teaspoon hot sauce

Directions
Add onions and ground beef to a large nonstick skillet, stirring frequently to break up large clumps; cook over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink, liquid evaporates and onions are tender (about 15-20 minutes). Drain fat, if necessary. Turn heat to low.

Mix remaining ingredients and stir them into the cooked meat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is thick, rich, and not runny, 5 to 8 minutes. Serve with toasted buns.

Serves: About 5