Sunday, November 1, 2015

Sriracha Joe's


When I was growing up, Sloppy Joe's were every school kid's favorite recipe.  In Wisconsin, however, we called them Spanish Hamburgers. Does anyone else remember this? Perhaps, in the land of meat and potatoes, a mixture of ground beef, celery, onions, and tomato paste was considered exotic? My mother's recipe was seasoned only with salt and pepper, and while I loved it as a kid, I couldn't help but doctor it up when I got older. Usually, this meant some mustard, worcestershire sauce, garlic....whatever I could dig up in the fridge. Until now. Now, there is this.....


Bonus--there's Red Gold Ketchup in there!

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be invited to Indiana to participate in the Red Gold Tomatoes' Farm to Table Event. If you follow my blog, you all know that I'm already a huge Red Gold fan. This trip confirmed what I already knew....Red Gold Tomatoes are the best! I saw first hand how those fresh tomatoes make it into the cans, from one of the 53 Midwest family farms that supply the tomatoes to the actual plant, where the tomatoes are sorted, cleaned, and canned using the finest methods. If there was ever any doubt that not all canned tomatoes are equal, the "tasting" portion of this trip erased all of it. Different brands of tomatoes were displayed side by side. There was visual evidence---you could see the "other" brand's tomato was mushy---and sensory evidence...we could taste a difference! Plus, since Red Gold is committed to providing the best product to their consumers, their tomatoes are certified non-GMO and their cans are non-BPA.


Red Gold Tomatoes mean more than just canned tomatoes and sauce, though...they have ketchup, too! Recently, they teamed up with the original Huy Fong Sriracha to make an incredible Sriracha Ketchup, and they've rolled it out nationwide. So if you can't find the original Red Gold Ketchup in your neck of the woods, look in your local Walmart or Target and you'll find the Sriracha Ketchup. Go get some and make some of these Sriracha Joe's!


I made a slider version using my Homemade Hamburger Bun recipe. If you make your own buns (I highly recommend this), just portion out the dough into 18 portions. Then just butter them, toast them, and fill them up with this awesome recipe. This can be easily doubled or tripled for a bigger crowd.


Sriracha Joe's

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground chuck
  • ½ cup diced red bell pepper
  • ½ cup diced onion
  • ½ cup diced celery
  • 2 cloves garlic, diced
  • ¾ cup Sriracha Ketchup
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile pepper, optional

Instructions

  • Brown the ground chuck, bell pepper, onion, and celery in a medium skillet over medium heat. Drain, then add the garlic, water, ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and chile pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer.
  • Continue to simmer for 20 minutes, adding additional water if needed. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. For less heat, reduce the amount of Sriracha Ketchup and replace with regular ketchup. Makes 8 sliders or 4 regular sandwiches.


Disclosure: I was given a trip to Indiana to participate in Red Gold Tomatoes' Farm to Table Event. I was not obligated to write about the trip and all opinions are my own.