Chipotle Sloppy Joes

A couple of weeks ago, I asked my middle child what he wanted for the Super Bowl. He sat and thought for a few minutes, then said “Hey, what about sloppy joes?“. I have to be honest and say I was a bit shocked to have him come back with sloppy joes, however I do recall quiet clearly when I made them some time ago, and he loved them. I loved that he loved them as he’s my eater at the table who does not like, well, pretty much any vegetable. Little did he know, or know to this day that sloppy joes are loaded with great vegetables. So I did what he wished for, but I turned the heat up a bit on them and turned them into chipotle sloppy joe sandwiches.

There is something to be said about chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Something about that smokiness, along with heat and that touch of vinegar that just goes amazingly well with these sweet sloppy joes.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• 1 carrot, peeled, cleaned, and minced
• 1 medium yellow onion, minced
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 cups of San Marzano tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup of ketchup
• 1 green bell pepper, seeds and veins removed, minced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeds and veins removed, minced
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
• 3/4 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/4 lb of lean ground beef
• 2 chipotle peppers, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp chipotle adobo sauce
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• hard rolls, sliced
• Chili Cheese Fritos, optional

Begin by browning your meat in a large pot. Once you have thoroughly browned your meat, remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Remove the fat drippings as well.

Add the canola oil, bring back to medium heat, and toss in your carrots, onion, garlic, celery, bell peppers, and chili flakes, and cook on medium heat for about 7 minutes or until the vegetables have softened.

Add the ketchup, tomatoes, tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, and brown sugar. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper and give it another stir.

Cover, and cook on medium to low heat for about 15 minutes. Toss the sauce into a food processor, or blender, and puree it into a nice smooth sauce. Add the sauce back to the pot, reduce heat to low, and add in the cooked ground beef. Give a nice stir, and cover.

Cook for about another 10 minutes. You are now good to go on making the sloppy joes.

To make your sandwich, take one of your hard rolls and stack on the sloppy joe mixture. Add a layer of fritos, and top with the other bun. I went this route on as I wanted a bit more texture and that crunch and additional spice from the chili fritos was just perfect. The chipotle sloppy joes were still a winner with my kid and they were just spiced enough that everyone could enjoy.

So the next time you are looking to add a bit of smokey heat to your sloppy joes, give these a shot. I hope you enjoy!

Chipotle Sloppy Joes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Servings 10

Ingredients

  

• 1 carrot peeled, cleaned, and minced
• 1 medium yellow onion minced
• 6 cloves of garlic minced
• 2 cups of San Marzano tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup of ketchup
• 1 green bell pepper seeds and veins removed, minced
• 1/2 red bell pepper seeds and veins removed, minced
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
• 3/4 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/4 lb of lean ground beef
• 2 chipotle peppers finely chopped
• 2 tbsp chipotle adobo sauce
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• hard rolls sliced
• Chili Cheese Fritos optional

Instructions

 

• Begin by browning your meat in a large pot. Once you have thoroughly browned your meat, remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Remove the fat drippings as well.
• Add the canola oil, bring back to medium heat, and toss in your carrots, onion, garlic, celery, bell peppers, and chili flakes, and cook on medium heat for about 7 minutes or until the vegetables have softened.
• Add the ketchup, tomatoes, tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, and brown sugar. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper and give it another stir.
• Cover, and cook on medium to low heat for about 15 minutes. Toss the sauce into a food processor, or blender, and puree it into a nice smooth sauce. Add the sauce back to the pot, reduce heat to low, and add in the cooked ground beef. Give a nice stir, and cover.
• Cook for about another 10 minutes. You are now good to go on making the sloppy joes.
• To make your sandwich, take one of your hard rolls and stack on the sloppy joe mixture. Add a layer of fritos, and top with the other bun. I went this route on as I wanted a bit more texture and that crunch and additional spice from the chili fritos was just perfect. The chipotle sloppy joes were still a winner with my kid and they were just spiced enough that everyone could enjoy.