sloppy joe

[raymondaliasapollyon]

Hi,

Do you consider the sloppy joe a sandwich or a hamburger?

I'd appreciate your help.

 

[JulianStuart]

Not a hamburger: the meat is not in the form of a patty

 

[raymondaliasapollyon]

We can find descriptions of the sloppy joe as follows:

Basically Sloppy Joe’s is a hamburger chopped up with all the typical burger ingredients cooked together. Once cooked it creates a luscious mound of succulent meat that drips off your bun and oftentimes down your chin! It brings me right back to my childhood, when days were carefree. Remember those?


Childhood Favorite - Best Sloppy Joe's - At Home with Vicki Bensinger

 

[JulianStuart]

You asked for my response, not whether you can find a description of it on the internet. If a hamburger patty has been chopped up, or me it's no longer a hamburger patty. Your description refer to how to make one from a hamburger patty

 

[lingobingo]

To me, as a Brit, a sloppy joe is a loose jumper (sweater).

 

[dojibear]

Basically Sloppy Joe’s is a hamburger chopped up with all the typical burger ingredients cooked together.

Here basically means "this is not really true, but is similar to what is true".

Hamburgers are cooked patties of ground beef. Sloppy joes are cooked ground beef (not patties, not chopped up).
Sloppie joe's contain a special sauce. This sauce is not used on hamburgers. You can purchase this sauce in stores.

Do you consider the sloppy joe a sandwich or a hamburger?

A sloppy joe is one kind of sandwich. It is often served on a bun (pic1) but I often eat it on bread.

Sloppy joe filling is similar to meaty spaghetti sauce (served on pasta) and chili (served in a bowl).
They are all very common US meals.

 

[Myridon]

When you make a sloppy joe, it's never been a hamburger patty. You make the sauce from loose ground beef.
You cook this:

into this:

Then add the tomato sauce.

 

[kentix]

You could probably make it out of an uncooked hamburger patty (probably several) but it's a wasted step if you have a package of ground beef. However, if you bought pre-made patties you could break them up to make sloppy joes.

When finished, it's not a piece of meat, though. It's a (sloppy, loose) mixture of things, including meat. You scoop up a portion with a big spoon or something like that and put it on the bun.

 

[natkretep]

So is a sloppy joe just the meat sauce? And you can spoon it onto a bun, or bread, or rice, or mash, or pasta?

 

[dojibear]

"Sloppy Joe" is the name of the sandwich. It got the name from "Sloppy Joe's Restaurant" which served this.
In some parts of the US, ground beef sandwiches are popular at restaurants, even without sauce on the beef.

 

[kentix]

Yes, "a sloppy joe" is this (mildly) spicy cooked meat mixture served on a bun. Of course, people are creative and can do whatever they want, but if your mother tells you you are having sloppy joes for dinner, this is what the standard expectation is:

 

[RM1(SS)]

So is a sloppy joe just the meat sauce? And you can spoon it onto a bun, or bread, or rice, or mash, or pasta?

Unlike a hamburger, a sloppy joe doesn't behave itself and stay on the bun where it belongs -- it drips. I usually put it on mash, so I can eat it with a spoon.

 

[CaptainZero]

To me, as a Brit, a sloppy joe is a loose jumper (sweater).

And that's the only usage of "sloppy joe" I've ever known.

 

[kentix]

a sloppy joe doesn't behave itself and stay on the bun where it belongs -- it drips

Yes, it's a bit of a balancing act with the moisture. It needs to be moist to hang together but not so runny that it slides off the bun.