Delicious, home-canned Sloppy Joes makes for quick, healthy and nutritious lunches or suppers.
The ingredients are really easy to assemble for home pressure canning.
This is a safe, tested recipe from Dr Barb Ingham at the University of Wisconsin Extension Service.
A quarter-litre (half US pint / 8 oz ) size jar makes enough filling for four buns (i.e. enough for two people to each have two Sloppy Joes.)
Want to make a version without the meat? Then just head on over to Ball’s site for their Sloppy Joe Starter recipe. Then, when you open a jar to use it, you could use veggie ground-rounds or other meat substitutes of your choice.
The recipe
Jar size choices: Either 1/4 litre (1/2 US pint / 8 oz ) OR 1/2 litre (1 US pint / 16 oz) OR 1 litre (1 US quart)
Processing method: Pressure canning only
Yield: 8 x 1/2 litre (US pint) jars
Headspace: 3 cm (1 inch)
Processing pressure: 10 lbs (69 kPa) weighted gauge, 11 lbs (76 kpa) dial gauge (adjust pressure for your altitude when over 300 metres / 1000 feet)
Processing time: Half-litres (pints) 75 minutes; litres (quarts) 90 minutes
Home-canned Sloppy Joes
Yield: 8 x half-litre jars (US pint)
Ingredients
- 1.75 kg ground beef (or venison. 4 lbs)
- 500 g onion (washed, peeled, chopped. 3 cups / 16 oz. Measured after prep. 3 medium onions before prep)
- 225 g green bell pepper (chopped, seeded. 1 1/2 cups. Measured after prep. About 1 1/2 large.)
- 500 ml tomato sauce (2 cups / 16 oz / 1 US pint)
- 500 ml ketchup (2 cups / 16 oz / 1 US pint)
- 500 ml water (2 cups / 16 oz / 1 US pint)
- 1 tablespoon salt (OR non-bitter, non-clouding salt sub)
- 1 tablespoon sugar (OR 1/2 teaspoon liquid stevia)
- 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
- 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
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Prep the onion and green pepper in advance, set aside.
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Sauté the ground meat in a large pot. Drain off any excess fat.
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Add the prepped veg and all remaining ingredients.
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Bring to a boil uncovered, then reduce to a simmer and let simmer for 5 minutes, uncovered.
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Ladle into jars, being sure to get balanced scoops of liquid and solid.
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Use either 1/4 litre (1/2 US pint / 8 oz ) OR 1/2 litre (1 US pint / 16 oz) OR 1 litre (1 US quart) jars,.
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Leave 3 cm (1 inch) headspace.
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Debubble; adjust headspace.
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Wipe jar rims.
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Put lids on.
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Processing pressure: 10 lbs (69 kPa) weighted gauge, 11 lbs (76 kpa) dial gauge (adjust pressure for your altitude when over 300 metres / 1000 feet)
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Processing time: Process 1/4 litre (1/2 US pint / 8 oz ) OR 1/2 litre (1 US pint / 16 oz) for 75 minutes. Process 1 litre (1 US quart) for 90 minutes.
Reference information
How to pressure can.
When pressure canning, you must adjust the pressure for your altitude.
More information about Salt-Free Canning in general.
Recipe notes
The University of Wisconsin notes that you may use “ground beef, or venison, or a combination of both.” We used extra-lean ground beef to be more Weight Watchers® friendly.
You can use homemade or bought ketchup. We used low-sodium, low-sugar ketchup.
Yes, you can omit the tablespoon of sugar. It won’t impact the safety (it’s just there as a dry seasoning), and, we’re not convinced it will impact the taste all that much, either, especially if you are already using regular full-sugar ketchup. If your audience has a real sweet tooth, you could also even increase the sugar by a few tablespoons.
Serving suggestion: for a change, when opening and reheating, try stirring in 1/2 to 1 cup of chopped, salted peanuts.
Recipe source
Ingham, Barbara, et al. Wisconsin Safe Food Preservation Guide. Wisconsin Safe Food Preservation Series: Meat, Wild Game & Poultry Recipes. B3345. 2002. Page 23.
Modifications made:
- Gave option for smaller portion jars
Nutrition
Nutritional information based on extra-lean ground beef, stevia, salt sub, sugar- and salt-free ketchup, and sugar- and salt-free tomato sauce being used.
Serving size: 125 ml (4 oz / 1/2 cup). Enough to cover two buns.
Per 125 ml (4 oz / 1/2 cup) (bun not included):
- 140 calories, 166 mg sodium
- Weight Watchers PointsPlus®: 3 points
* Nutrition info provided by https://caloriecount.about.com
* PointsPlus™ calculated by healthycanning.com. Not endorsed by Weight Watchers® International, Inc, which is the owner of the PointsPlus® registered trademark.
Further reading
Is it safe to do a double batch of the liter sloppy joe meat mixture in a pressure canner at the same time and it still be at the proper pressure?
Yes it is safe to double the batch. The pressure will still work out for you.
Can this be made without meat?
Yes, it is fine to omit the meat. But, Ball home canning already has a sloppy joe mix recipe without the meat, you are probably best just to use that. Sloppy Joe Starter Mix.
Greetings, could you add cumin instead of the sugar?
Yes, you could add some cumin as dry seasoning. See: Tweaking.
I tried another recipe that also had sugar in it. Once it was canned it took on a burnt taste. Does this do the same because of the sugar?
I’ve made this several times, with the tablespoon of brown sugar, and didn’t experience any burntness. You could always just omit, it’s so little I’m not sure it actually makes much of a flavour difference, especially if you use full-sugar ketchup….
I used another recipe and it would not get thick it was just like tomato. Juice
My husband has alpha gal; meaning he is allergic to mammal meat. Can this recipe be safely made with turkey?
That is a good question; I will write to Wisconsin to ask, and let you know what I hear.
I have heard back from University of Wisconsin Extension; they say that you can use the same amount of ground chicken or turkey instead of beef in this recipe.