Hatch Chile Sloppy Toms
If you’re wondering what a Sloppy Tom is, you’re not the only one. Before I found this recipe in a collection aboard the USS Iowa, I had never heard of a Sloppy Tom. Turns out it’s just a Sloppy Joe made with ground turkey instead of ground beef. It’s just as good as the classic, but thanks to the turkey, it’s slightly healthier.
The USS Iowa
When the kids are out of school for the summer and you don’t want to travel too far from home, you look for things to do around town. There are museums and the park, but when your boys are 10 and 7, museums aren’t really ideal, and let’s be honest, how many times can you hit the park? So, we decided to take a trip to the USS Iowa. The Iowa is just a few towns over in the Long Beach Harbor and it’s a pretty cool museum. But it’s not just a museum, it’s a museum on a boat! So, while the boys are getting a little historical education, they’re having fun at the same time. We got to explore the kitchen, the sleeping quarters, we even saw the room where President Franklin Delano Roosevelt slept. I’m not a war buff, but even I was impressed. We had a lot of fun and we learned a lot about the battleship. But my favorite part of the whole excursion was a cookbook I found in the galley.
This cookbook was so cool. It was full of recipes from the wives of naval officers who served on the Iowa over the years. There were appetizers, entreés and of course desserts. While several recipes intrigued me, the Sloppy Toms were something I knew everyone in the family would love. See, my boys love Sloppy Joes. They ask for them all the time. So, when I saw a healthier version of the classic recipe, I knew I had to make them. But I didn’t want to simply follow the original recipe. I wanted to give these Toms a little bit of a kick. So, I took that recipe and substituted one special ingredient. Something that’s only available for another month: hatch chiles!
Hatch Chile Season
That’s right, we’ve officially hit hatch chile season. These are those green chiles that are only around from August to September and they’re best when they’re roasted. I’ve used them before in hummus, guacamole and even ice cubes. They’re great. They’ve got just the right amount of bite and add a wonderful flavor into anything you put them. But what’s really cool about hatch chiles are that they come in a variety of degrees of spiciness. There are mild, medium and hot chiles. It’s actually the only chile on the market that comes in varying degrees of hotness. I like them so much in face, I look can’t wait for August to come around. One reason is because the summer’s coming to a close and the kids are going back to school. But the other reason is strictly food based because that’s when hatch chiles are harvested and roastings happen all over the country.
I always try to go to at least one roasting from Melissa’s Produce so I can grab a few dozen roasted chiles. The live roastings are so much fun! While it’s true you could just go to your local Gelsons or Bristol Farms and grab some chiles, it’s so much more fun to go to a live roasting event. Not only do you get to watch them roast hatch chiles in about five minutes flat, there are usually several different recipes available to try as well. It’s a fun, foodie event that’s well worth the experience. If you’re concerned that you’ve missed out, I have good news: there are still a few weekends left to attend a roasting, and Melissa’s has a list so you can find one near you.
Sloppy Toms
But back to the Sloppy Toms. Remember how I said they were a healthier version of Sloppy Joes? That’s because the ground beef is replaced with ground turkey. While ground turkey usually has a lot less fat in it than beef, it doesn’t lack any of the flavor, especially when you replace basic green bell peppers with hatch chiles. The whole recipe makes for one delicious dinner any night of the week from now until the end of September. But if you grab several pounds of chiles and simply freeze them, you can enjoy these Sloppy Toms year round, and imagine what it was like to live on a naval ship in the 60’s and 70’s.
Notes
Adapted from USS Iowa cookbook.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 roasted hatch chile, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 (8 ounce) can of tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup brown mustard
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 6 toasted hamburger buns
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the turkey and onion and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
- Mix together the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir the mixture into the turkey in the skillet and simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Spoon the turkey mixture onto the toasted buns and serve.
