BBQ Pork Sloppy Joes Recipe

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Wash and dry the potatoes, then cut them into ½-inch-thick wedges. On a baking sheet, toss the wedges with a drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper.

Roast them until they're browned and tender, which should take about 20-25 minutes.

While the potatoes roast, halve and peel the onion. Slice a ½ cup of it as thinly as you can for pickling, then finely chop the rest. Peel and finely chop the garlic.

Halve the lime and squeeze its juice into a small bowl. Halve the buns. In a separate microwave-safe bowl, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds, then brush it onto the cut sides of the buns.

Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it softens, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until you can smell its aroma, about 30 seconds more.

Add the ground pork to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook, breaking it up with a spoon. Continue cooking until the meat is browned and cooked through, which should take 4-6 minutes.

While the pork cooks, combine the BBQ sauce, the pickling liquid from the onions, 6 tablespoons of ketchup, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and ⅓ cup of water in a small bowl.

Once the pork is cooked through, pour the BBQ sauce mixture into the pan. Cook, stirring, until the sauce has thickened to coat the pork, about 2-3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.

While the sauce simmers, toast the buttered buns in the oven or a toaster oven until they're golden, about 3-5 minutes.

Divide the toasted buns among plates and spoon on a generous amount of the BBQ pork. Top with the quick-pickled red onion and a drizzle of hot sauce, if you like. Serve the sweet potato wedges alongside.