From the very first time I made Sloppy Joes for dinner, I had just about guaranteed myself a permanent spot in the “Greatest Moms’ Hall of Fame.” Of course, I may have blown it when I asked for help in cleaning up the dishes, but I redeemed myself with an encore performance.

            For anyone unfamiliar with this dish, which requires great finesse and culinary skills, it consists of ground beef and celery cooked up with a ketchup sauce, and then served on a bun, preferably a squishy white bun. Of course, everyone has his own secret family recipe, but these seldom stray from the basic formula. For anyone finding the recipe too difficult, there are commercial products available that require the mere opening of a can. This has to be the original working-mom’s lifesaver.

            The forerunner to the Sloppy Joe was the loose-meat sandwich. This dish may be better known to those who were avid fans of the Rosanne TV show; it was the speciality of the house at her diner. In fact, Iowa claims to be the home of the loose-meat sandwich and seems quite proud of the fact. How would you like to have that on your state (or provincial) crest? I am certain that it would have been impossible to convince my family to eat something called a loose-meat sandwich, and so fortunately the name Sloppy Joe became popularized in the 1960s. This definitely has a more palatable ring to it.

            As is the case with many foods, attempting to establish who first created a popular dish is often difficult and perhaps even silly. It didn’t take a scientific genius to realize that a great way to use less- than- tender beef would be to grind it, season it and serve it either formed as a loaf or steak (Salisbury steak) or cooked loose as in meat sauces or chilli. Cheap, fast and versatile; whatever bad rap hamburger has gotten, you can’t argue with those three facts.

            In the depression days, ground beef was in great demand for these reasons. It could be extended with breadcrumbs to make meatballs or meatloaf. When I was growing up, it was a budget saver for Mom. We probably ate something made from ground round at least three times a week. The roast was saved for Sunday. It was always referred to as ground round in our home and not called hamburg until it had been properly seasoned, formed into a patty and served on a bun.

There is little dispute that the hamburger did derive its name from the port in Germany, where many immigrants to America had originated. The Germans had a fondness for ground beef. But it is likely that in many other places throughout the world the versatility of seasoned ground beef had already been discovered. It could be found in early cookbooks under “minced beefsteak,” and a Hamburg-style steak could be found on menus in New York eateries in the early 1800’s, minus the bun. It was at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis that vendors were selling the hamburg steaks in buns and calling them hamburgers. The name for this bunwich stuck.

Who was the original Sloppy Joe? The history of this sandwich is full of contradictions. The owners of a restaurant in Sioux City, Iowa where the loose-meat sandwich reigns supreme claims that they had a cook once named Joe, and thus the sloppy sandwich was named after him. In Florida, there is a bar called Sloppy Joe’s which also says they coined the name.

            The Sloppy Joe moniker wasn’t found in print until as recently as the 1960s. Considering its reliance on ketchup and tomato sauce, it seems very likely that the name was spread in advertisements from manufacturers of these products.

            You can imagine my surprise when I found someone who didn’t know how to make this family favourite. One of our kitchen staff was at a loss one day as to what to make for the staff lunch. I suggested she whip up some Sloppy Joes, and I had to give her a recipe. It has now become one of the easiest and favourite staff lunches.

            Even I can enjoy this treat. With the proliferation of soy products now available, I can make my own version with veggie ground round served on an organic spelt bun. Jordan will even eat it, and that is saying tons.