30-Minute Sloppy Joes with Pickled Jalapeños
Ground beef simmered sweet, tangy, and savory in ketchup and Worcestershire, piled onto a toasted bun before it has time to cool.
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Written
Method
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Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
-
Add the ground beef, breaking it apart with a spoon, and cook until no longer pink and starting to brown at the edges, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain off excess fat.
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Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
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Add the ketchup, Worcestershire, mustard, brown sugar, smoked paprika, and water. Season with salt and pepper and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened and no longer watery, 8 to 10 minutes.
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Toast the buns cut side down in a dry skillet or under the broiler until golden.
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Pile the beef mixture onto the bottom buns, top with cheddar and pickled jalapeños if using, close, and serve while it’s still hot enough to run down your wrist.
Notes
The uncovered simmer is what keeps this off the list of soggy-bun sloppy joes — give the sauce the full 8 to 10 minutes and it should hold together in a spoonful rather than pool around it. Taste before you plate; the balance you’re after is sweet and tangy with the mustard cutting through, not straight ketchup.
Ground turkey works in place of beef with no other changes. The filling keeps and reheats well for a few days, so it’s worth doubling if you’re making it on a weeknight — dinner twice for the same ten minutes of chopping.