Welcome to JayPo’s Penalty Boxed Lunch, where we explore food from around the country! This week’s 34th official entry is for those folks who like it extra sloppy. I know how you kids like ’em extra sloppy! The Sloppy Joe is a rite of passage sandwich in which you’ve never truly lived until you’ve had one. Does North Dakota claim this as their own? Not sure because I’ve never met anyone from RoughRider State! So let us stop, drop, shut ’em down, open up shop on this subject.
Food History!
The Sloppy Joe has some unknown origins. It is theorized it was developed in none other than Havana, Cuba in the early 1900’s. The name then came to the US via a local bar in Key West “Silver Slipper” which changed it’s name to Sloppy Joe’s at the suggestion of Ernest Hemmingway. Some then claim the current traditional Sloppy Joe is just a variant of the Iowa loose meat sandwich, which was invented in the 1920’s. Nonetheless, the sandwich consists of seasoned ground beef with onions, tomato sauce/stewed tomatoes, and Worcestershire sauce on a hamburger bun. It is a cheap and filling meal and can be made very quickly (if not following a homemade recipe) with simply adding a can of Manwich sauce to some ground beef. I’ve seen articles that say North Dakota don’t even call them Sloppy Joes, but rather a barbecue sandwich or slush sandwich. Weird.
Fun fact! New Jersey has its own variation of a Sloppy Joe which can be found in almost any local diner. The sandwich has usually turkey, roast beef and pastrami deli meat with coleslaw, swiss cheese and Russian dressing on sandwich bread. Equally sloppy as the iconic sandwich, but much different.
How I Made It!
My version was sloppy, but not extra sloppy. I cooked down some onions, red bell pepper, and jalapeño in beef while adding some tomato sauce to go along with some seasonings, which escape me 3 years later. It was certainly tasty and I probably make some version of a Sloppy Joe once every other month at home.
What Does A Local Think?
Guess what, we don’t have a local. Hard to believe that I couldn’t find a single North Dakotan to judge my culinary skills. I did find one article with a slightly different take on what they thought the signature sandwich is and apparently its called a Smørbrød. You can look into that on your own.
Want to judge my culinary skills and have lived in (even if briefly): Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, Wyoming…hit me up on Twitter!! You’ll be featured in here and forever immortalized (and forever in your debt).
