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Pressure Canning Sloppy Joes Recipe

Makes 7 quarts
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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 7 pounds ground beef
  • 5 1/4 cups chopped onions
  • 2 1/2 to 3 medium bell peppers diced
  • 4 2/3 cups ketchup
  • 28 ounces tomato sauce
  • 2 cups water
  • 5 1/4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 7 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 3/4 tablespoons prepared mustard
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons black pepper

Method
 

  1. Prepare the Canner and Jars
  2. Prepare your pressure canner according to the manufacturer's directions. Wash and inspect seven quart jars and keep them hot until you're ready to fill them.
  3. Brown the Ground Beef
  4. Brown the ground beef, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks. Work in batches if necessary.
  5. Drain the excess fat well and transfer the meat to a large stockpot.
  6. Cook the Vegetables
  7. Add the chopped onions and bell peppers to the ground beef. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften.
  8. Make the Homemade Sloppy Joe Sauce
  9. Add the ketchup, tomato sauce, water, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, prepared mustard and black pepper.
  10. Stir well and bring the sloppy joe mixture to a boil.
  11. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
  12. The sauce should be thick enough to cling to the ground beef but still moist and easily ladled. Don't reduce it until it becomes dry or paste-like. The goal is a sloppy joe filling that will be ready to heat and serve once the jar is opened.
  13. Filling the Jars
  14. Ladle the hot sloppy joe filling into hot quart jars, distributing the meat and sauce evenly.
  15. Leave 1 inch of headspace. Remove air bubbles and check the headspace again.
  16. Wipe the jar rims, center the lids and apply the bands fingertip tight. Place each filled jar into your prepared pressure canner.
  17. Pressure Canning Sloppy Joes
  18. Vent the pressure canner with a steady stream of steam for 10 minutes before pressurizing it, following the directions for your particular canner.
  19. Process quart jars for 90 minutes.

Notes

Adjusting the Sweetness

Sloppy joes are one of those recipes where everyone seems to have a different opinion about how sweet the sauce should be. This version has a little brown sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes and vinegar without making the filling overly sweet.
If your family prefers a sweeter sloppy joe, taste the mixture while it's simmering and add brown sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring and tasting between additions. Small adjustments to the sugar for flavor do not change the pressure-canning processing time, so adjust the sweetness before filling your jars.