Slow cooker all American sloppy Joes

A sloppy Joe is an American sandwich/bun which consists of minced beef, onions, chilli, smoked paprika, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.  It actually is delicious but very messy to eat and you would think that it was called ‘Sloppy’ for that reason. However, according to a legend, it was called this, after a guy named ‘Joe’, who added ketchup to his ‘loose meat’ sandwich.  

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 celery stick, finely diced
• 1 large carrot, finely diced
• 1 red pepper/capsicum, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 500g minced beef
• 2tbsp brown sugar
• 2tbsp Yellow or Dijon mustard
• 2tbsp Worcestershire Sauce*
• 2tsps smoked paprika
• 1tsp cumin
• ½ tsp chilli flakes (optional)
• 1tsp sriracha or chilli sauce (optional)
• ¾ cup ketchup
• ¾ cup finely chopped tomatoes (passata rustica)
• 1 cup gluten free beef stock
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Sauté the onion, celery, and carrot in a little oil until translucent.
2. Add the red pepper and garlic and keep cooking for about a minute.
3. Add the minced beef, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, stirring everything all together. Leave to cook till meat is browned.
4. Add the brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, sriracha or chili sauce, chili powder or flakes, cumin, and smoked paprika.
5. Stir to combine, and then mix in the passata, ketchup, and stock.
6. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Transfer to your crockpot and set it either on a low setting, cooking for six hours or else on a high setting and leave to cook for about four hours. Best is to judge according to your crockpot. The longer it cooks, the better the flavour.
8. Before serving, butter the buns if desired, and then scoop the mince onto the buns.