My very first job was at a bowling alley in Jasper, Minnesota. I started there in August of 1973, and worked there all through my senior year in high school. It was called Jasper Lanes. It wasn’t just a bowling alley–it was the local hangout, and there was a flat top grill and deep fryer. I worked there after school and some weekends. I was waitress, cook, dishwasher, cashier, and anything else that needed doing. Once in a while, I even flipped the switches so people could bowl. It was fun.
One of the things I learned to make was barbeques. That is what we called them. Just barbeques. Loose meat sandwiches served on a bun. If we were not too busy, I would toast the bun on the flat top grill.
As years went by, I saw these sandwiches called many things. Sloppy Joes is the most common, but when we moved to Iowa I was surprised when people called them “Maid-Rites”. I still call them “barbeques.” Keepin’ it simple!
Of course I ground the meat myself, this time, trimming it well and using the grinder that attaches to my mixer. I also processed it while it was partially frozen. It went through like butter!
I used chuck roast to grind, but a leaner cut would work all right too. If you buy ground meat, for this recipe, it is fine to go very lean–almost a 93 percent would be fine. Fat does carry more flavor, but this is one of those times where you can get by with a very lean meat.
I never wrote down the recipe when I worked there–I guessed, and really, I never measure when I make these. You can adjust the amounts to your liking.
Barbeques
1-1/2 pounds ground meat
1/2 cup milk (2% if you are indulging, but skim works just fine)
1 small onion, minced fine
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
I made a very large batch here–but you get the idea. Stir everything together so it looks like this.
Cook this on medium to medium high heat stirring often, until the meat is no longer pink.
The mixture will still be soupy, but do not drain! This is where all the flavor resides! If you have very fatty meat, you can skim some of that off if you wish. The secret to all this is to keep stirring it.
Now we add some goodies for flavor. It is so simple you won’t believe it!
3/4 cup ketchup, or more if desired
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
4 teaspoons vinegar
1 Tablespoon chili powder, or Worcestershire sauce. (I prefer the chili powder, myself)
1/4 cup water or more if needed
Stir this well and simmer slowly until all the liquid has evaporated. A lower heat is fine for this–with the sugar in there you don’t want it to burn. Soon it will look like this.
Yum! But these are barbeques not chili, so this needs to reduce the liquids more. Be careful to not over season at this point. The seasonings become more concentrated as the liquid reduces.
Ah! That’s more like it! This large batch in my 12 inch cast iron frying pan took about 1/2 hour to reduce down like this. A one pound batch in a non stick skillet may take as little as five or ten minutes. This is not the time to go do something else while this is cooking. This can easily burn, and if you don’t stir it every few minutes, it will get clumpy and you won’t have this nice texture.
This is the stage at which you would adjust seasonings. I ended up adding more salt, pepper and chili powder. Then it was perfect. You may even need to add a little more vinegar or sugar, depending on your tastes. You can always add, but you can’t take away. Experience will help you here.
I like to add a little ketchup to my sandwich; Martin likes to add raw onions.
This is another excellent make ahead dish. It stores well in the refrigerator for up to five days, and in the freezer for up to three months.
The Fairy Foodmother 