Sloppy joe
Encyclopedia
A sloppy joe is an American dish
of ground beef
, onion
s, sweetened
tomato sauce
or ketchup
and other seasonings, served on a hamburger
bun
. Commercially made sauces are also available. Textured vegetable protein
may be used as a vegetarian substitute for the meat. Contradictory lore suggests that the Original Sloppy Joe Sandwich was invented at Sloppy Joe's
Bar in Key West, Florida
, or by a cook named Joe at a cafe in Sioux City, Iowa
, as a variation of the popular "loose meat" sandwich (which does not contain tomato sauce).
, a "sloppy joe" refers to a cold delicatessen
sandwich, unrelated to the type of sandwich described above. There are minor variations depending on the deli, but it is always a triple decker rye bread
sandwich made with one or more types of sliced deli meat, such as turkey, ham, pastrami
, corned beef
, roast beef
, or sliced beef tongue
, along with swiss cheese
, coleslaw
, and Russian dressing
. Some delis make a "foot-long" variety which is sliced in half before being served.
The Town Hall Deli in South Orange
claims to have invented the New Jersey sloppy joe in the 1930s. According to the deli's owner, a Maplewood
politician named Thomas Sweeney returned from a vacation in Cuba
, where he spent time at a bar named Sloppy Joe's -- from which the Key West bar obtained its name. The bar's owner laid out fixings for patrons, who put sandwiches together. Sweeney asked Town Hall to cater his poker games with the same sort of sandwiches, and they caught on.
Cuisine of the United States
American cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from the United States of America. European colonization of the Americas yielded the introduction of a number of ingredients and cooking styles to the latter...
of ground beef
Ground beef
Beef mince, ground beef, hamburger meat , hamburg or minced meat is a minced meat food, made of beef finely chopped by a mincer. It is used in many recipes including hamburgers and cottage pie...
, onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
s, sweetened
High fructose corn syrup
High-fructose corn syrup — also called glucose-fructose syrup in the UK, glucose/fructose in Canada, and high-fructose maize syrup in other countries — comprises any of a group of corn syrups that has undergone enzymatic processing to convert some of its glucose into fructose to produce...
tomato sauce
Tomato sauce
A tomato sauce is any of a very large number of sauces made primarily from tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a dish...
or ketchup
Ketchup
Ketchup is a sweet-and-tangy condiment typically made from tomatoes, vinegar, sugar or high-fructose corn syrup and an assortment of...
and other seasonings, served on a hamburger
Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
bun
Bun
A bun is a small, usually sweet, bread. Commonly they are hand-sized or smaller, domed in shape, with a flat bottom. A bun can also be a savory bread roll similar to a bap or barmcake....
. Commercially made sauces are also available. Textured vegetable protein
Textured vegetable protein
Textured or texturized vegetable protein , also known as textured soy protein , soy meat, or soya meat is a meat analogue or meat extender made from defatted soy flour, a by-product of extracting soybean oil...
may be used as a vegetarian substitute for the meat. Contradictory lore suggests that the Original Sloppy Joe Sandwich was invented at Sloppy Joe's
Sloppy Joe's
Sloppy Joe's Bar is a historic U.S. bar in Key West, Florida. It is now located on the north side of Duval Street at the corner of Greene Street, ....
Bar in Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
, or by a cook named Joe at a cafe in Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....
, as a variation of the popular "loose meat" sandwich (which does not contain tomato sauce).
U.S. variations on the term
Sloppy joes are also referred to as:- Barbecues in other areas of the Upper Midwest, and also in some parts of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
- Dynamites in northern Rhode Island.
- Gulash (not to be confused with GoulashGoulashGoulash is a soup or stew of meat, noodles and vegetables , seasoned with paprika and other spices. Originating in Hungary, goulash is also a popular meal in Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania, Scandinavia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the north-eastern Italian region of Friuli Venezia...
) in parts of the Upper Midwest, especially in areas where people of Scandinavian heritage are prominent. - Hot Tamales in parts of northeastern Wisconsin, a misnomer as actual (Mexican) tamales are a completely different food item.
- Manwich in parts of Northern New Jersey, after the popular name brand sauceManwichManwich is the brand name of a canned sloppy joe sauce produced by ConAgra Foods, Inc. and Hunt’s introduced in 1969. The can contains seasoned tomato sauce that is added to cooked ground beef in a skillet. It is marketed as a quick and easy one-pan meal for the whole family...
, as a distinction from the local variant also known as a "sloppy joe" (see below). - Sloppy Janes in parts of central Minnesota.
- Slushburgers in parts of the Upper Midwest, particularly in eastern MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
and western North DakotaNorth DakotaNorth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S.... - Steamers in parts of Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland.
- Taverns in parts of northwest Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota.
- Victory burgers in parts of Canada, including Saskatchewan.
- Wimpies in parts of the Northeast USA, especially Northeastern PennsylvaniaNortheastern PennsylvaniaNortheastern Pennsylvania is a geographic region of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains and the industrial cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazleton and Carbondale....
- Yum Yums in parts of the Midwest USA, particularly in NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
The New Jersey sloppy joe
In parts of northern New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, a "sloppy joe" refers to a cold delicatessen
Delicatessen
Delicatessen is a term meaning "delicacies" or "fine foods". The word entered English via German,with the old German spelling , plural of Delikatesse "delicacy", ultimately from Latin delicatus....
sandwich, unrelated to the type of sandwich described above. There are minor variations depending on the deli, but it is always a triple decker rye bread
Rye bread
Rye bread is a type of bread made with various percentages of flour from rye grain. It can be light or dark in color, depending on the type of flour used and the addition of coloring agents, and is typically denser than bread made from wheat flour...
sandwich made with one or more types of sliced deli meat, such as turkey, ham, pastrami
Pastrami
Pastrami , is a popular delicatessen meat usually made from beef and, traditionally in Romania, also from pork and mutton. In Israel, "Pastrama" is the term used for sliced chicken and turkey. Like corned beef, pastrami was originally created as a way to preserve meat before modern refrigeration...
, corned beef
Corned beef
Corned beef is a type of salt-cured beef products present in many beef-eating cultures. The English term is used interchangeably in modernity to refer to three distinct types of cured beef:...
, roast beef
Roast beef
Roast beef is a dish of beef which is roasted in an oven. Essentially prepared as a main meal, the leftovers can be and are often served within sandwiches and sometimes is used to make hash...
, or sliced beef tongue
Beef tongue
Beef tongue is the tongue of a cow. The human consumption of beef tongue dates back to the days of Paleolithic hunters, who preferred the fatty portions of the carcass including tongues, as well as organs, brains, feet, and marrow. Beef tongue is very high in fat, at almost 75% of its calories...
, along with swiss cheese
Swiss cheese
Swiss cheese is a generic name in North America for several related varieties of cheese which resemble the Swiss Emmental. Some types of Swiss cheese have a distinctive appearance, as the blocks of the cheese are riddled with holes known as "eyes". Swiss cheese has a piquant, but not very sharp,...
, coleslaw
Coleslaw
Coleslaw, sometimes simply called slaw in some American dialects, is a salad consisting primarily of shredded raw cabbage. It may also include shredded carrots and other ingredients such as fruits and vegetables, apples, onions, green onions, peppers and various spices.-History:The term "coleslaw"...
, and Russian dressing
Russian dressing
Russian dressing is a salad dressing invented in the United States in the late 19th century or early 20th century. Typically piquant, it is today characteristically made of a blend of mayonnaise and ketchup complemented with such additional ingredients as horseradish, pimentos, chives and...
. Some delis make a "foot-long" variety which is sliced in half before being served.
The Town Hall Deli in South Orange
South Orange, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 16,964 people, 5,522 households, and 3,766 families residing in the township. The population density was 5,945.3 people per square mile . There were 5,671 housing units at an average density of 1,987.5 per square mile...
claims to have invented the New Jersey sloppy joe in the 1930s. According to the deli's owner, a Maplewood
Maplewood, New Jersey
Maplewood is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 23,867.-History:...
politician named Thomas Sweeney returned from a vacation in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, where he spent time at a bar named Sloppy Joe's -- from which the Key West bar obtained its name. The bar's owner laid out fixings for patrons, who put sandwiches together. Sweeney asked Town Hall to cater his poker games with the same sort of sandwiches, and they caught on.
International variations on the term
- ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
: The Rou jia moRou jia moRou jia mo, sometimes spelled roujiamo , meaning "meat burger or meat sandwich," is a street food originating from Shaanxi Province and now widely consumed all over China. The meat is most commonly pork, stewed for hours in a soup consisting of over 20 kinds of spices and seasonings...
, which originated in Shaanxi Province. - AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
: Called a "Savoury Mince Roll." The same ingredients as a Sloppy joe are used, but the meat and sauce are poured into a pocket made in a square bread roll.- In Australia, the term "sloppy joe" is a colloquial term for a sweatshirt or loose-fitting pullover, often made from fleecy lined cotton.
- Quebec (Province), CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
: Called pain à la viande; served on a hot-dog roll; not to be confused with Pain de viande (meatloaf)