My daughter’s family is quite large. She has 3 children all boys one is a teenager, and one is a pre-teen both are in sports so they eat a lot. Dad has a very physically intense job and she works out a lot so they also eat a lot, even the 2-year-old eats well. So needless to say their grocery bill is huge. Which is why she can’t economically make sloppy joes as dinner for her family.

Once when Berlyn (middle child) was visiting I made them for dinner and he loved them. He wanted more and more. The last time I made them he told me I need to write the recipe down. So here it is.

Ingredients

1 lb Ground beef or turkey

1 medium onion diced

1/2 cup BBQ sauce

1/2 cup Ketchup

2 TB Yellow Mustard

2 anchovy filets

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil for pan (Avocado oil is best)

Hot sauce (optional) use in sauce or as topping

How To

Heat a large skillet, once the pan is hot add the oil and allow to warm up. Add onions and saute until just tender. Add the  ground meat and break it up so it will cook more evenly. Sprinkle a little salt over the meat and allow to cook for a few minutes on medium heat. Check meat, add the anchovies.  Make sure they are touching the bottom of the pan so they melt.

Once the meat is about half done chop it up so that it’s crumbly. Add the mustard, ketchup and BBQ sauce. Stir this into the meat, cover and let cook for 5 minutes on medium. Now take the lid off and allow it to reduce down by simmering on low. I’m not sure how long this will take it really depends on how much sauce there is and how condensed you want it to be. The more you reduce it the stronger and more flavorfull it will be.

We like to serve them as an open faced sandwich topped with thinly sliced sweet onion and a squeeze of mustard. But you can use a hamburger bun the traditional way.