Sloppy Joes for 100

If you have ever been roped into cooking for a wedding rehearsal, church basement supper, school fundraiser, or summer reunion, this is the recipe that saves you. Twenty pounds of ground beef simmered into a tangy tomato sauce feeds a hundred buns with room to spare, all from one giant roaster on the back of the stove.

The key to bulk-cooking ground beef is browning in batches, never dumping it all in the Dutch oven at once. Crowding the pan drops the temperature and the meat steams gray instead of browning into the deep savory flavor that makes a sloppy joe taste like more than just sauced ground beef.

A long three to four hour simmer is non-skippable. The vegetables break down into the sauce, the meat absorbs the sweet-tangy tomato base, and the flavors meld into something that tastes much better than the sum of its parts. Short-simmered sloppy joes always taste raw and one-dimensional.

Pro Tips

• Use 80/20 ground beef for the best flavor, leaner beef turns dry over the long simmer
• Drain off most of the fat after browning, the sauce already has plenty of body without it
• Toast the buns lightly before filling, it stops them from going soggy from the wet meat
• Make it the day before, this recipe tastes even better after an overnight rest in the fridge
• Keep warm in a chafing dish or large slow cooker for serving over a long event

Variations

• Add a splash of hot sauce or diced jalapenos for a spicy version
• Stir in a tablespoon of liquid smoke for a smoky barbecue-style finish
• Swap half the ground beef for ground turkey or pork for a lighter or richer profile

Serving Suggestions

• Set up a sandwich bar with shredded cheese, pickles, sliced jalapenos, and chopped onions
• Serve alongside potato chips, coleslaw, or a simple green salad
• Spoon over baked potatoes as an alternative to buns