Ground beef is pretty low in the hierarchy of meat, but its cheapness makes it a cornerstone of the modern American diet. This is not the stuff of fine dining, but sturdy home-style simplicity. Sloppy Joe and Cuban picadillo are similar tangy ground beef recipes. It's interesting how two very different cultures inadvertently created variations of the same dish. You could say they rhyme in flavor as well as sound.
As a man of little sophistication and great appetite, I have always considered Joes and picadillo to be golden classics that every chef should perfect. One can learn a great deal about building and balancing hefty flavors with both dishes, which require the balance of savory, sweet, sour — and if you're anything like me — spicy.
Sloppy Joes and similar "loose meat" sandwiches have a strong presence from Minnesota and Iowa in the west to New England and Virginia in the east.
My Grandma Huse's Sloppy Joe is pure simplicity: ground beef, ketchup, mustard, water, brown sugar and vinegar, served on a cheap hamburger bun. The ketchup and mustard combine into a tangy sauce, and the sweet and sour flavors are provided by the brown sugar and vinegar. Good Sloppy Joes may not be fancy, but they ooze the savory fifth taste, umami.
Consider the recipe to be a starting point. It's always fun to wing it and find the balance for yourself. Grandma Huse didn't use hot sauce, but times do change, and I like the depth and warmth it provides. With such a simple preparation, it is easy to play with the flavors to get exactly what you want.
If you want a more complex Sloppy Joe, there's the Cuban favorite picadillo.
Picadillo is a dish beloved in Mexico and Puerto Rico, but its heart belongs to Cuba, an island that probably has not seen much of this dish for some time. Today, we're dealing with Tampa's Cuban version, which is replete with the tangy flavors of olives, white vinegar, red wine and capers. Onions, garlic and green peppers are helpful so the savory and aromatic flavors can compete with the strong acid content.
I employ some olive brine to really punch up the flavor, and I prefer olives with pimiento to add another element. I also find it best to use sliced olives, as they permeate the dish much faster than whole olives. In addition to a little sugar, raisins hold up the sweet side of the equation. I like to raise the spice level by adding hot sauce or additional cayenne as it cooks. And, I admit, I add ketchup at the end to give it a glossy tomato finish. Leftovers taste even better, when the flavors will have melded.
My recipe makes a huge batch, great for a party or plenty of leftovers — I've never found leftover picadillo to be unwelcome in my fridge.
Picadillo
Ingredients:
6 pounds ground beef
5 tablespoons oil
2 large onions, diced
5 large bell peppers, diced
15 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons oregano
18 bay leaves
3 teaspoons cumin
2 32-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed and chopped
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 14-ounce jar of sliced pimento-stuffed olives, and 1-2 tablespoons brine (to taste, for salt and flavor)
2 3.5-ounce jars of capers, drained (just under a cup)
1.5 cups raisins
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1.5 cups red wine, such as burgundy
Half-cup ketchup
1 tablespoon sugar
Teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons lime juice
Hot sauce to taste
Directions:
1. Brown meat and set aside. Drain the grease, leaving a bit to sauté the onions and peppers until they're soft.
2. Add tomato, garlic, spice and cook 2 minutes. Mix in meat and simmer 5 minutes.
3. Add capers, olives, raisins, wine, sugar and vinegar. Simmer on low, partially uncovered, one hour.
4. Adjust the flavor with hot sauce and the olive brine before serving.
