Sloppy Joe sandwich. Jeffreyw / wikimedia / 2012 / CC BY 2.0
The 18th of March is Sloppy Joe Day.
A favourite comfort food in the United States for decades now, Sloppy Joes are hot sandwiches with a saucy tomato and meat-based filling that makes them messy to eat. It’s generally considered not advisable to wear white clothes while eating one!
To celebrate today, you could have a Sloppy Joe for lunch or dinner, perhaps with salad or fries.
Maybe your local diner or cafeteria will offer them today. If not, you could make it at home.
You could buy a canned Sloppy Joe sauce such as Manwich if you are pressed for time, or if you have lots of time, you could make a big batch for the freezer in your slow cooker.
To make today special, you could do one of many possible variations on Sloppy Joes:
- make Sloppy Joe cups by scooping centre out of corn meal muffins and serve the Sloppy Joe sauce in that;
- serve on slider rolls;
- serve on toasted rolls or mini sub rolls;
- serve on top mini pizza base rounds;
- try a vegetarian version made with veggie mince or lentils;
- bake up as a macaroni dish;
- serve on a crispy Kaiser roll;
- serve in taco shells;
- turn it into a Sloppy José by garnishing it with guacamole, sour cream, pickled jalapeño, a squeeze of lime juice and some fresh cilantro;
- try a healthier version made with ground turkey and served on a whole grain bun.
#NationalSloppyJoeDay #SloppyJoeDay
“Yesterday’s meatloaf is today’s Sloppy Joes.” — Adam Sandler
Recipes
Smokey Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
If you have a pressure canner, over on our food preservation site we have a recipe for home-canned Sloppy Joes.
History
The earliest print reference that CooksInfo is aware of for a Sloppy Joe Day on the 18th of March dates to 2015 in Indiana:
“March 18: National Sloppy Joe Day” — Dickey, Kelly. March is full of national food holidays. Anderson, Indiana: The Herald Bulletin. 4 March 2015. Page A6, col. 5.
In the second half of the 1900s, Sloppy Joe Days and Sloppy Joe Dances at schools were occasions for students to dress sloppy, often tied to fund-raisers.
Sources
McAuliffe, Merrily. National Sloppy Joe Day. Charleston, West Virginia: WOWK-TV. 18 March 2016. Accessed March 2021 at https://www.wowktv.com/archives/national-sloppy-joe-day/
McCoy, Lisa. It’s National Sloppy Joe Day. Hagerstown, Maryland: Herald-Mail Media. 17 March 2020. Accessed March 2021 at https://www.heraldmailmedia.com/life/food/its-national-sloppy-joe-day/article_58bdcba7-fed1-5350-b643-803602a5bda2.html
Ocker, Morgan. It’s National Sloppy Joe day! San Angelo, Texas: KLST-TV. 18 March 2019. Accessed March 2021 at https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/local-news/its-national-sloppy-joe-day/
Reed, Alan. Today Is National Sloppy Joe Day. Rochester, Minnesota: 96.5 Radio. 18 March 2015. Accessed March 2021 at https://quickcountry.com/today-is-national-sloppy-joe-day/
Turner, Sarah. March 18th: National Sloppy Joe Day. Health Life Magazine. March 2016. Accessed March 2021 at https://healthlifemagazine.com/2016/07/07/march-18th-national-sloppy-joe-day/