| 05 October 2009
Continuing with our new blog series called "Tailgate Tested Recipes". This series features recipes chosen off various sites and rates each recipe based on convenience, prep time, cook time and of course, taste.
At first glance, this seemed to be a much better week for tailgating than the previous game vs Arizona. Beautiful sun with partly cloudy skies made way to welcome our hated rivals, the Tennessee Titans. The Jags have had problems in recent years facing the Titans but this Sunday afternoon, was a bit different.
I'm happy to say that the Jags stomped on the throats of our rivals; ultimately beating the Titans 37-17 and much needed drumline dance commenced after the game.
But we are here to talk about the food BEFORE the game. This week's recipe came from Guy Fieri who hosts several shows on the Food Network.
Sloppy Joes with Maui Straws
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Conveinence: 3 out of 5
An important quality I always like to insure is that any tailgate recipe is portable and easy to make. The sloppy joe portion of the recipe fit this to a 'T'. The sloppy joes were made the night before and put into a storage container. We heated up the sloppy joe mix by bringing a pot to play on a portable grill. We could have easily heated up the sloppy joes before we left and simply ate as soon as we got down there but that's not really tailgating if you ask me. The other portion of the recipe is the onion straws which required us to bring a fryer and prepare the onion straws at the tailgate site.
Though we get out to our tailgate spot hours before a game, there is really not that much time to do all the things you would like to. We happen to tailgate with many people whom we usually only see before football games. Lets face it, most of us like to socialize and do not want to worry about fussing with food that takes up too much time. The onion straws were not convenient at all and after a couple attempts at trying to cut and fry, I gave up and tossed it in the trash, hence the 3 out of 5 rating.
Prep Time: 3 out of 5
I never knew there could be so many ingredients to sloppy joes! Ive always been a Manwich kind of girl but I was curious enough to give this recipe a try. Most of the ingredients should be available in your spice rack but if you cook as much as I do, then a trip to the grocery store is necessary. The only thing that really took time was dicing the peppers and onion. This could also be attributed to the fact I was cutting with a knife from Outback Steakhouse (long story...) but we hope to curb that when I get married in May and I am able to ask for a nice knife set! :) The lower rating for prep time is mainly attributed to the fact that I couldn't make the onion straws ahead of time and was forced to prepare them the day of the game.
Cook Time: 4 out of 5
The only reason this recipe didn't get a 5 out of 5 was again due to the onion straws. Cooking time the day before only took 30 minutes for the sloppy joes (45 if you count browning the meat/ cooking peppers) and we just simply reheated the mix before the game.
Taste: 4 out of 5
I am the type of person who loves food with a lot of flavor-especially garlic and/or spicy. This recipe features the best of both worlds! It has a spice kick to it from the garlic, peppers and worcestershire but also has a sweet taste from the brown sugar.
So if you are looking for a simple recipe to take with you the next time you go tailgating, I recommend the sloppy joes! Just save yourself the trouble and skip out on the onion straws.
Ingredients
For the Sloppy Joes:
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, deveined and diced
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 24 slider rolls or sweet Hawaiian rolls
For the Onion Straws:
- 2 cups canola oil
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 sweet onion (Maui or Vidalia)
Directions
Prepare the sloppy joes: In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, combine the canola oil, bell peppers, jalapeno and onion; cook for 5 minutes. Add the beef and pork; cook thoroughly, breaking up the meat as it browns. Add the garlic. Depending on the amount of residual grease, you may need to drain some of the fat from the pan. Deglaze with the red wine, then stir in the remaining sloppy joe ingredients (except the rolls) and season with 1 tablespoon each salt and freshly ground pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. If the sauce gets too thick as it simmers, add up to 1 cup water to adjust the consistency. Toast the rolls and set aside.
Meanwhile, prepare the onion straws: In a medium sauce pot, heat the oil to 350 degrees. Whisk the egg and milk in a medium bowl. Mix the flour, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper in another medium bowl. Cut the onion in half, then slice into -inch-thick half rings; separate into short straw-like pieces. Add to the milk mixture to soak.
Once the oil is hot enough, remove the onions from the milk mixture, shake off excess and dredge in the flour mixture, 4 or 5 pieces at a time. Add to the pot and fry until golden brown; transfer to paper towels to drain.
Serve the sloppy joes on the toasted rolls and top with onion straws.
Want to see more Tailgate Tested Recipes? Check out our other recipes we tested ourselves while tailgating.
