Korean Beef Sloppy Joes

Today’s delicious sloppy joe recipe was inspired by the amount of K-Pop music that had been making its way to our favourite radio station over the past couple years.

We randomly wondered “what would Korean Sloppy Joes be like?”, Porter quipped “K-Slop” (NO, we will not be going with that name, thanks!), and I was thinking back to the Korean inspired Boneless Vegan Ribs I used to make for him.

Anyway, obviously we had to come up with Korean-inspired sloppy joe sandwiches!

I added some tomato sauce to the sloppy joe filling, to bring it a bit more in line with classic sloppy joes.

The tangy sauce is dressed up with sesame seeds and green onions, for a super flavourful take on the loose meat sandwich.

Is it getting a bit too far from the source material to be called either “Korean Beef” or “Sloppy Joes”? Probably.

Whatever you want to call it, it IS a quick, easy, and tasty option for weeknight dinners - or campfire meals.

Let’s look at what you need for the recipe... which we photographed last summer, at Rene Brunelle Provincial Park!

Ingredients

This recipe uses really simple ingredients - you won’t have any trouble finding everything you need in pretty much any grocery store.

As always, I have some ingredient notes for you:

Lean Ground Beef

I like to use lean ground beef for this recipe, but any lean meat would work well - we’ve made it with ground chicken, ground turkey, and even Beyond Meat.

If you want to use a regular ground beef, just be sure to drain it well - something that can be annoying to do on a campsite (while still being bear safe!)

Rice Vinegar

If you don’t have rice vinegar on hand, apple cider vinegar is the best substitute for use in this sloppy joes recipe.

Lime juice would be my next choice, followed by white wine vinegar, then white vinegar - in that order.

Hamburger Buns

I like to use Kaiser buns for this recipe, but really... whatever hamburger buns you like - and have available! - will work just fine.

Personally, I’d stick to a fairly plain white bun, though. I’d find whole wheat, rye, etc to compete with the flavour of the Korean BBQ Sloppy Joe mixture a bit too much, IMHO.

Sriracha

If you don’t have sriracha, Sambal Oelek is the closest thing. If not, just use some dried red pepper flakes to spice it up a bit, to taste.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Small Onion
Plain Tomato Sauce
Soy Sauce
Sesame Seeds
Brown Sugar
Sesame Oil
Olive Oil
Garlic Powder
Ground Ginger
Ground Black Pepper
Salt
Green Onions

... I just really don’t have anything to add, as far as these last few ingredients go!

How to Make Korean Beef Sloppy Joes

The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post, here is the pictorial walk through:

Optional Food Prep

We like to make up freezer packets of prepped ingredients for our sloppy joes recipes, in advance of our camping trips. This is not only great for camping, but can be a great way to have easy weeknight dinners available, with little work.

For this one, we mix the seasonings, sesame seeds, and brown sugar in a little Ziplock baggie. Then we chop the onions, and vacuum seal them in a larger baggie, with the seasoning packet - a regular freezer baggie works fine though.

Label it and freeze until you’re ready to use it.

Korean Beef Sloppy Joes Filling

Get a medium campfire going, or get your charcoal on the go. (If you’re making this on a stove, use medium high heat and a nonstick pan.)

Add the onion and olive oil to a large cast iron skillet - or a dutch oven, and set over the fire or hot coals. Cook - stirring often - until the onions are tender.

Note: If using frozen vegetables, you can thaw them first, or just add them in frozen. They’ll take a bit longer to cook if frozen, but it works just fine!

Add the ground beef to the pan and cook - breaking up the meat as it cooks - just until it’s cooked though.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Assembly

Toast the buns, then divide the Korean Beef mixture between the 4 bottom buns.

Top each with green onions and sesame seeds, before finishing off with the top bun.

Serve immediately, with plenty of napkins!

Leftovers

Leftover Sloppy Joe mix can be cooled to room temperature, then stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat before serving.

More One-Pot Camping Recipes

Looking for more easy - but satisfying! - one pot meals to cook over your campfire? Here are some of my favourites!

Bacon Cheeseburger Soup
Beef & Root Vegetable Stew
Big Mac Sloppy Joes
Cabbage Roll in a Bowl
Cajun Chicken Sloppy Joes
Campfire Chicken Curry
Campfire Chili
Chicken Marbella
Dutch Oven Jambalaya
Easy Chicken Curry
Egg Roll in a Bowl
Hearty Campfire Beef Stew
Indian Sloppy Joes
Mexican Sloppy Joes
Peanut Chicken Stir Fry
Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
Puttanesca Sloppy Joes
Sloppy Giuseppes
Southwest Chicken Chili
Thankgiving Sloppy Joes
Traditional Sloppy Joes
Venison Chili
Venison Stew

Be sure to check out our other Camping Recipes, including Camping Desserts, Camping Snacks, Make-Ahead Camping Mix Recipes, and a ton of delicious Camping Main Dish Recipes.

Also, we had SO much fun designing gourmet jerky recipes for our camping trips, we started a whole new blog for them! Check out Dried & Tasty for all kinds of fun recipes to make in your food dehydrator!