Saucy Sloppy Joe Starter (Ball recipe)
Info
Ingredients
This recipe is definitely a keeper. I have been looking for canning recipes that will help make dinnertime fast and easy, and this one definitely fits the bill. It’s from The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving, and it is a delicious, thick sloppy joe sauce that I think is way better than those processed sauces you get at the grocery store. While you could definitely use a homemade tomato paste and/or sauce to boost the flavor even more, I used commercial paste and sauce, and I really liked how it went together quickly.
The recipe says you’ll get 4 pints of sauce, but I ended up with 4-1/2 pints. Not bad when you end up with a little extra 🙂
Saucy Sloppy Joe Starter
Vegetable cooking spray
3 cups finely chopped green bell pepper (about 2 large)
3 cups finely chopped red bell pepper (about 2 large)
2 cups diced onion (about 2 large)
4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1/2 cup tomato paste (one 6-ounce can)
4 cups tomato sauce (four 8-ounce cans)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (5% acidity)
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil; coat foil with cooking spray. Spread green bell pepper and next 2 ingredients on prepared pan. Stir in salt and pepper. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes or until vegetables are very tender and beginning to brown, stirring occasionally.
Transfer onion mixture to a large skillet (I used my usual heavy-bottom canning stockpot). Stir in tomato paste; cook, uncovered, stirring often, for 5 minutes until mixture begins to thicken. Stir in tomato sauce and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened.
Ladle hot sauce into a hot jar, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band and adjust to fingertip tight. Place jar in boiling water canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.
Process jars for 20 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat; remove lid and let jars stand for 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool.
Yield: 4 pints
Visit Canning and Cooking Iowa Style’s profile on Pinterest.
Leave a Reply
10 Comments
Certainly putting this on my ‘ do this’ for this summer! I do hope this is a 4🌟 recipe!
It seems like a lot of peppers/onions….8 cups of them to 4 cups of tomato purée and 1 small can tomato paste??
It may seem like a lot of peppers and onions, but they do cook down. It’s a Ball recipe, and we’ve really enjoyed it.
Sounds good! Have you ever pureed the vegetables with the tomato sauce after baking them? Also, I’ll assume since it’s a Ball recipe that the amount of vinegar called for is adequate for safe hot water bath canning/processing. Thank you 😊
I haven’t pureed them mostly because I like the chunks of veggies, but I don’t see how it would hurt it. And, yes, the amount of vinegar is what the Ball book has. Hope you enjoy it!
Thank you! I plan to use the rest of my tomatoes and peppers from our garden to try this recipe.
This is a keeper. I have made it for several years now. I often don’t have the red peppers so I double up on the green. I have even substituted banana peppers. And if I have been shot of peppers before I have made up the difference with onions. A pantry staple at our house.
I made this recipe, but I won’t make it again. I love the idea of a sloppy joe starter, but there’s way too much mustard in this one (1/2 cup). All I can taste is the mustard. I’ve never seen a recipe for sloppy joes (not canned) that uses more than 1 or 2 teaspoons max. I’m hoping Ball will test a version without so much mustard.
The amount of mustard isn’t crucial to the outcome of the canned product. You could reduce it to your liking. I thought the sauce was too mustard forward, but making it with the ground beef neutralizes the mustard taste, some how.
I NEED TO MAKE THIS!