How Much Ground Beef Do You Need to Make Sloppy Joes for 100 People?

Sloppy joes are a classic American sandwich that are often served at large gatherings and potlucks. Their saucy, messy flavor makes them a hit with kids and adults alike. But when you’re cooking sloppy joes for a crowd of 100 people, how much ground beef do you really need?

Making a huge batch of sloppy joes can seem daunting but it’s actually quite easy if you have a good recipe and know how much of each ingredient to get. The key is having the right ratio of ground beef to the sautéed vegetables and zesty sauce.

An Award-Winning Large-Batch Sloppy Joe Recipe

One excellent large-quantity sloppy joe recipe comes from Linda Cailteux of Clifton, Illinois, whose Sloppy Joes for 100 was featured in Taste of Home magazine This recipe has been tested in the Taste of Home Test Kitchen, meaning it has been reviewed for taste and ease of preparation

Linda’s recipe, which yields 100 servings, calls for:

• 20 pounds of ground beef
• 4 large onions, chopped
• 4 large green peppers, chopped
• 4 cups chopped celery
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup spicy brown mustard
• 4 cups ketchup
• 2 (12 ounce) cans tomato paste
• Tomato sauce, water, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce

The full recipe also includes seasoning with salt and pepper and simmering the meat sauce for 3-4 hours. This slow simmering is what gives the sloppy joes their distinctive thick, rich flavor.

Choosing the Right Amount of Ground Beef

The key ingredient in sloppy joes is the ground beef. For a hearty sloppy joe with plenty of meaty flavor, you need the right ratio of ground beef to the sauce ingredients.

In Linda’s recipe, 20 pounds of beef is used to make enough sloppy joe sauce for 100 sandwiches. Here is how to calculate the amount of ground beef needed for other group sizes:

• For 25 people, use 5 pounds ground beef
• For 50 people, use 10 pounds ground beef
• For 75 people, use 15 pounds ground beef

The general rule of thumb is to use 1⁄4 pound of ground beef per sloppy joe sandwich. So for 100 sandwiches, you would need 100 * 1⁄4 pound = 25 pounds of ground beef. Rounding down slightly to 20 pounds gives you a good meaty sauce with the right sauce-to-beef ratio.

Lean Ground Beef is Best

When choosing ground beef for sloppy joes, it’s best to use a leaner ground beef, at least 90% lean. This helps reduce the amount of grease rendered during browning. Too much fat in the pan can make the sauce greasy.

Leaner ground beef is a healthier choice and gives you more actual beef per pound. With fattier ground beef blends, you are paying for more fat and getting less usable meat.

Ground chuck or ground sirloin are good choices for sloppy joes. Ground round is a budget-friendly option. Stay away from ground beef labeled just “hamburger meat”, as this often has a very high fat content.

Handling Large Batches of Ground Beef

Cooking 20 pounds or more of ground beef all at once can seem like a daunting task. Here are some tips:

• Use a very large stockpot, Dutch oven, or braising pan to brown the beef in batches. Crowding too much beef into the pot will cause it to steam rather than brown.

• Brown the beef in smaller batches, removing it to a bowl with a slotted spoon before adding the next batch. Browning in batches ensures even cooking.

• Let the pot reheat for a minute between batches to maintain the heat level. Use a little reserved beef fat to sauté the onions, peppers and celery after the meat is browned.

• If your pot isn’t big enough, brown half the beef, make half the sauce, then repeat with the remaining beef and vegetables. Combine at the end.

• Allow plenty of time. Browning this much beef can take 60-90 minutes. Simmering the sauce for 3-4 hours is crucial for flavor.

Tips for Making a Big Batch

Cooking 20 pounds of ground beef and a gallon of sauce may seem like a challenge, but having the right tools and techniques makes it manageable:

• Use the largest stockpot or Dutch oven you have, at least 12 quarts capacity. Use a heavy pot to prevent scorching.

• A large braising pan is ideal, as the wide surface area provides plenty of space for browning meat in batches.

• Have a very large bowl or even a clean cooler ready to hold the browned beef before adding it to the sauce.

• A heavy duty slotted spoon makes easy work of removing the beef from the pot.

• Once combined, simmer the sauce in smaller batches in a soup pot if needed, then combine back into the large pot.

• Let the sauce simmer as long as possible, at least 3 hours, to allow the flavors to meld.

• Keep the sauce warm in a roasting pan in a 200°F oven, or chafing dishes if serving immediately.

• Have plenty of burger buns ready. Sturdy brioche or potato buns hold up best to the saucy filling.

Satisfying Saucy Sandwiches

With some advance preparation and the right techniques, you can easily whip up a big batch of crave-worthy sloppy joes. Just remember to stock up on plenty of napkins! The juicy ground beef and zesty tomato-based sauce make for deliciously messy sandwiches that will disappear fast at any large gathering.