School Lunch Sloppy Joes

Ground beef in a delicious tomato-based sauce on a hamburger bun, part of a classic 90s American school lunch

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City/Region: United States of America

Time Period: 1988

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Today we know sloppy joes as a saucy ground beef sandwich, but the term sloppy joe has referred to many things over the years. A sloppy joe could be other kinds of sandwiches, a nickname for a messy friend, or women’s fashion from the 1940s and 50s that included pants and looser fitting styles.

For me, though, it is this style of sandwich. Really, it is this version of this sandwich. Sloppy joes were a larger part of my adolescent diet than was healthy, and these taste exactly like the ones I remember from middle school. 

Be sure to get the cheapest hamburger buns possible to authentically recreate this nostalgic lunchtime favorite.

“Sloppy Joe on a Roll (50 servings)
Raw ground beef (no more than 24% fat)...17 lb 4 oz
Dehydrated onions…2 1/4 oz…2/3 cup
OR Fresh onions, chopped…1 lb 2 oz…3 cups
Garlic powder…2 Tbsp
Tomato paste…3 lb 8 oz…1/2 No. 10 can
Catsup…3 lb 9 oz…1/2 No. 10 can
Water…2 qt 3 1/2 cups
Vinegar…2 1/4 cups
Dry mustard…1/4 cup
Black pepper…2 tsp
Brown sugar, packed…5 1/2 oz…3/4 cup
Hamburger rolls…100”

— Quantity Recipes for School Food Service by the United States Department of Agriculture, 1988

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Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 lbs (800 g) ground beef, no more than 24% fat
• A heaping 1/4 cup diced onion
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 10 tablespoons (160 g) tomato paste
• 10 tablespoons (165 g) ketchup
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (265 ml) water
• 3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons (55 ml) apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 teaspoons brown sugar
• 8 to 10 hamburger buns, for serving

Instructions:

1. Cook the ground beef over medium-high heat in a pan until it browns, breaking it up as it cooks. This should take maybe 5 minutes.
2. Once the meat is browned, drain off as much of the fat as you can, then return it to the heat. Stir in the diced onion and the garlic powder and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes.
3. After 5 minutes, stir in the tomato paste, ketchup, water, and vinegar. Once that is all mixed, stir in the dry mustard, pepper, and brown sugar. Mix everything together well, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes.
4. After the 25 to 30 minutes are up and the liquid has cooked down to a thick sauce, portion about 1/3 cup onto each bottom half of each bun, top with the top halves, and serve them forth.

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