National Sloppy Joe Day

National Sloppy Joe Day is celebrated every year on March 18. If you're a fan of the classic sandwich, you're probably already aware of it. According to the National Days Calendar website, the National Sloppy Joe Day is one of the all-time favorite sandwiches in America.

History of National Sloppy Joe Day

"There were some more sloppy Joes. I made them sloppier because of her. I know your kids love 'how sloppy they are.' As the Billy Madison lunch lady said, as she dropped some more Sloppy Joes on her students' plates, like in the movie, the contents of these sloppy sandwiches often drip off the cake or out off the plate, but it hasn't stopped falling in love with the public. Popular in school cafeterias, at birthday parties and barbecues, and in home kitchens because they're a quick and easy meal. Easily, Sloppy Joes are now considered an iconic American sandwich, much like a hamburger or hot dog. Today, we celebrate them, on National Joe Sloppy Day!

Ground beef mixed with tomato sauce is the main ingredient of Sloppy Joe. Onion is often present in the mix, seasons are added, and it is sweetened with brown sugar, maple or cola, and served in a burger. There are several variations. Chicken, pork, turkey or vegan alternatives can be used in place of beef. Ketchup can be used instead of ketchup. Green peppers can be added, for example. Worcestershire sauce is commonly used, and bread is sometimes seasoned with Tabasco, mustard or pepper sauce. The seasonings and flavors sometimes vary by location — sandwiches tend to be sweeter in the North and more barbecued in the South. The number of other names that sandwiches have come out with besides Sloppy Joe are almost unmatched. Some of the most used are the Spanish hamburger, Manwich, barbecue, dynamite (a variation served on a hoagie roll sandwich with chili peppers in a sauce), Sloppy Jane (with ground turkey instead of meat), yum, burger slush, steamer, and grime.

The origin of Sloppy Joe cannot be stated with certainty, but the sandwich was probably created in the United States in the early 1930s. There are three stories related to Sloppy Joe: one of them takes place in Havana, Cuba and the other two in the United States.

José Abeal y Otero, a bar owner in Havana in Spain, has worked in New Orleans and Miami and his American friends call him Joe. He officially opened the bar in 1918, and during Prohibition it became a favorite destination for Americans, including Ernest Hemingway, who first visited Cuba in 1928. The establishment became known, so Joe's name is Sloppy Joe. At last, it was named Sloppy Joe's Bar. It sells cocktails and cigars, as well as sandwiches. There are some indications that Joe may have served a loose meatloaf similar to the Sloppy Joe ground beef, but this has not been proven.

The story Sloppy Joe came to America following the path of Hemingway. Joe Russell, a bar owner in Key West, Florida, was a friend of Hemingway. Since the ending of Prohibition Day on December 5, 1933, it was originally called The Blind Pig, then was Silver Slipper. According to some sources, Hemingway asked the bar to make his own version of the sandwich he had met in a Havana bar, and named it Sloppy Joe. Later, at Hemingway's suggestion, the bar changed its name to Sloppy Joe's bar where still serve Sloppy Joes and claim to create the sandwich by Americanizing the loose burger that was once served in Havana.

However, the third story regarding Sloppy Joe's origins is the most likely of the three stories. Loaf meatloaf is like a burger without a filling - they have ground beef but no sauce, and are often topped with fries and onions, as well as ketchup and mustard. They date back to at least 1924 when served at a bar in Sioux City, Iowa, and are known as pub sandwiches. A decade later, the bar was named Ye Olde Tavern in honor of the burgers. Loose meatloaf is not only produced there but also sold in the surrounding area. According to some stories, a chef named Joe who worked at Ye Olde Tavern or another nearby establishment created Joe Sloppy when he added ketchup to a pub sandwich.

No matter where it started, Sloppy Joe continued to become increasingly popular in the decades after it was created. In the late 1940s, it appeared in cookbooks, and it received a real boost in 1969 when Hunt's introduced Manwich, a sauce made from canned tomatoes for added into cooked ground beef. The sandwich's popularity continued to grow into the 1970s. Today, it's considered an American staple, and we celebrate it today, on National Sloppy Joe Day.

Why National Sloppy Joe Day?

No wonder an easy sandwich can become one of America's all-time favorites.

Sloppy Joe's basic ingredient is ground beef; however, others also use turkey and buffalo. Alternative ingredients are used in it to bring out the delicious and beautiful taste. Onions, tomatoes, brown sugar, cola, ketchup, and maple syrup for sweetness and spice for spiciness. It's all served on a hamburger or a roll, and sloppy Joe is ready to go.

There are different claims about the origin of sloppy Joe. In Havana, Cuba, a true bartender gained a good reputation with a vacationer named Sluggish Joe in the 1930s.

He is famous for his enthusiastic way of cleaning the bar.

Despite this, no solid evidence has been found in documents from the period when the hot sandwiches on the menu match the description of sloppy Joe. Also, a man with the same name retired to Spain in 1933.

Deli City Hall– Reader Steven Hirsch wrote in the Independence Day Calendar and informed us that the government is building Deli in Maplewood. He has a direct connection to Havana Fame's Sloppy Joe. During the 1930s, the Mayor of Maplewood traveled to Havana, where he met a bartender named Sloppy Joe, who served him a delicious hand-made bread. The mayor is back in New Jersey and with Joe's taste for sandwiches has flourished. The mayor was so pleased with it that he asked one of the government building's owners, Fred Heinz, to form an equivalent sandwich. According to the article from a website, it is made with coleslaw, ham, beef tongue, Swiss cheese, with plenty of sauce and served on rye bread.

Hence the foundation of the Sloppy Joe sandwich and how the Deli of South Orange government building became the birthplace of Sloppy Joe.

Then in 1934 - Al the Ye Ole Tavern Inn, in Sioux City, Iowa. Abraham and Bertha made a claim on sloppy Joe when they added liquid bread to their menu in 1934.

Being the first person to carry the Sloppy Joe in the world, Hunt's made it more convenient in 1969. They put it in a can and called it man-which.

Today, many families have their own secret recipes, their own sloppy Joe's recipes that make their sloppy Joe's special. Whether it's an unusual condiment, a completely unique ingredient to sweeten, or a homemade pasta sauce, Sloppy Joe's exudes originality and personality.

Sloppy Joe has its own new flavor all over the place. It's in the southern barbeque flavor, while in the north, Sloppy Joe might be a sweeter treat. Whatever your favorite flavor is, it's sure to be an American food holiday.

Observing National Sloppy Joe Day

• Try a sloppy Joe recipe

Without a doubt, nowadays there are many recipes on the internet; you can try one and enjoy it.

• There's a sloppy Joe party

Joe can make a party great, so create as many items as you can to invite some friends over for a fun day out and enjoy.

• Share your happiness

One can use hashtag #NationalSloppyJoeDay and post picture with Sloppy Joe and make people aware of it.