Recipe Notes: Boogaloo Wonderland Sandwiches

18 June 2018

Recipe from Cook's Country, April 2018

No, I had never heard of these sandwiches, either, and I am pretty sure I would have at least remembered their fun name. To me they seem similar to sloppy joes: ground beef is seasoned, fried, and served on a bun. What's different about these is the use of different seasonings, using sub rolls instead of buns, and adding a layer of melted American cheese to the sandwich a la cheeseburgers. I have tried several variations on this sort of sandwich over the years but I always go back to my family recipe. Will this sandwich be different?

I made only a few changes to the Cook's Country recipe: I used 80% lean ground beef instead of 85% because it was available at the supermarket. I also used potato slider buns instead of sub rolls, because we have those in the freezer and they are the right size for us. First, the sauce was made by combining ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, dried thyme, dry mustard, garlic powder, chili powder, and pepper in a sauce pan and bringing it to a boil. For the sandwich filling, ground beef, onion (sliced thin), pepper, and salt were fried in a skillet. The sauce was added and the mixture simmered. The finished mixture was placed on the rolls with a slice of American cheese (split between the two slider-sized sandwiches) which was then melted in a 350° oven. Total time was about 45 minutes.

The boogaloo wonderland sandwich is OK. It was a little spicy and a little sweet but the level of heat was OK for us. The sliced onions were too big for our slider buns, the onion should have been cut into halves or quarters before slicing. I don't think the sandwich was good enough to take the place of my Aunt Peggy's sloppy joe recipe. It is a good sandwich but I will probably continue to use the old family favorite.