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The most popular item on the Maid-Rite menu, these Loose Meat Sandwiches taste as good as the Iowa-famous diner classic. This easy ground beef recipe cooks in just 10 minutes!
Not quite as sloppy as a sloppy Joe, but still firmly in the category of “messy,” a Loose Meat Sandwich is the ultimate, all-American road food feast. If you’ve ever been lucky enough to try one at Tastee, Maid-Rite in Muscatine, Iowa, or even at Canteen Lunch in the Alley, you already know what all the fuss is about. If not, well then consider this recipe the next best thing.
Depending on where you are in the Midwest, the sandwich can be called a Nu-Way, Steamer, Big T, loose hamburger sandwich, tavern sandwich, or just a Maid Rite. Since the 1920s, it has been made with sautéed (sometimes steamed) ground beef and onions, served on a bun and dressed up with ketchup, mustard, and pickles.
If you love Sloppy Joes and hamburgers, then you need to add a tavern sandwich to your culinary bucket list.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Ground beef: I prefer a ground beef blend of 85% lean, 15% fat, for the best flavor.
- Onions: Yellow onions, white onions, or even shallots will do. I add them after the meat is cooked so they’re still a bit raw in the beef, just like a traditional Maid-Rite sandwich. Brown them in the skillet before browning the beef if you like them a little softer and milder in flavor.
- Hamburger buns: I love a good quality soft burger bun, toasted, buttered, and ready to go. But you can even make these slightly smaller soft dinner rolls for a buffet-style meal or a tailgate menu.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a large skillet, combine beef, water, mustard, and sugar. Simmer over medium heat until the beef is cooked through, about 5 minutes, breaking up clumps of meat with a spoon.
- Drain the fat if desired (I don’t, and it is closer to the original recipe if you don’t, but you can if you want). Stir in onion and season to taste with salt and pepper; I like 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper.
- Serve meat on buns with toppings on the side, such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, and pickles.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This Maid-Rite recipe makes 4 delightfully sloppy sandwiches.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Feel free to make the meat up to 3 days in advance, then store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave until warm, then pile inside hamburger buns.
- Freezer: Make the loose meat portion, then divvy it up in single-size or family-size servings in freezer-safe containers or zip-top bags. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
- Slow cooker: To make Loose Meat Sandwiches in a slow cooker, brown ground beef in a skillet, then add to a slow cooker. Add all remaining ingredients except buns to slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 2 to 3 hours. Serve in buns.
- Optional seasonings: Some cooks swear by a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce to amp up the flavor.
- Take your Maid-Rite over the top: Any burger toppings you like will be a hit atop a Loose Meat Sandwich, too. Try dill pickle slices, red onion, tomato slices, a splash of barbecue sauce, mayonnaise, ketchup, and/or mustard.
Best sides for Maid-Rites
Side Dish Recipes
Homemade French Fries
Salad Recipes
Broccoli Salad Recipe
Slow Cooker Recipes
Crockpot Baked Beans from Scratch
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Loose Meat Sandwich (Maid-Rite Copycat)
The most popular item on the Maid-Rite menu, these Loose Meat Sandwiches taste as good as the Iowa-famous diner classic. This easy ground beef recipe cooks in just 10 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef (85/15 recommended, see note 1)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup onion peeled and finely chopped, plus more for topping (see note 2)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 hamburger buns split, for serving
- Toppings such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, pickles, for serving
Instructions
- In a large skillet, combine beef, water, mustard, and sugar. Simmer over medium heat until the beef is cooked through, about 5 minutes, breaking up clumps of meat with a spoon.
- Drain the fat if desired (I don't, and it is closer to the original recipe if you don't, but you can if you want). Stir in onion and season to taste with salt and pepper (I like 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper).
- Serve meat on buns with toppings on the side such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, and pickles.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Ground beef: I prefer a ground beef blend of 85% lean, 15% fat, for the best flavor.
- Onions: Yellow onions, white onions, or even shallots will do. I add them after the meat is cooked so they’re still a bit raw in the beef, just like a traditional Maid-Rite sandwich. Brown them in the skillet before browning the beef if you like them a little softer and milder in flavor.
- Hamburger buns: I love a good quality soft burger bun, toasted, buttered, and ready to go. But you can even make these slightly smaller soft dinner rolls for a buffet-style meal or a tailgate menu.
- Yield: This Maid-Rite recipe makes 4 delightfully sloppy sandwiches.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Feel free to make the meat up to 3 days in advance, then store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave until warm, then pile inside hamburger buns.
- Freezer: Make the loose meat portion, then divvy it up in single-size or family-size servings in freezer-safe containers or zip-top bags. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
- Slow cooker: To make Loose Meat Sandwiches in a slow cooker, brown ground beef in a skillet, then add to a slow cooker. Add all remaining ingredients except buns to slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 2 to 3 hours. Serve in buns.
- Optional seasonings: Some cooks swear by a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce to amp up the flavor.
- Take your Maid-Rite over the top: Any burger toppings you like will be a hit atop a Loose Meat Sandwich, too. Try dill pickle slices, red onion, tomato slices, a splash of barbecue sauce, mayonnaise, ketchup, and/or mustard.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 sandwichCalories: 302kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 20gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 81mgSodium: 120mgPotassium: 335mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 2mg
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My original Maidrite sandwich came from The Maidrite in Quincy, Il, the one and only maidrite in my world! There is no ketchup allowed on a true maidrite. Mustard, pickle and onion. That’s it! YUM!
My husband is from Iowa and he had dreams about the Tastee Made-Rite sandwiches. He says this recipe is like the real thing! I do add 2 healthy dashes of Worcester sauce to mine!
Thanks for the quick, easy, soul-filling recipe!
Thank you Robin! So glad you both enjoyed! -Meggan
MaidRite or on the farm. Brown ground beef and immer in chicken broth for a few hours until grainy. Serve with mustard, onions and pickles. Kinda German.
I was born and raised in Iowa, but I now live out of state. This past weekend I returned for a funeral and I had to stop by Maid Rite in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Occasionally I think about trying to find the recipe, but I honestly would rather make it treat to enjoy the real thing.
I like to bring the meat back in styrofoam cups to make sandwiches at home. I also stop by Jaarsma Bakery (pronounced: Yarsma) in either Oskaloosa or Pella to bring back Dutch pastries. Their Dutch Letters along with a Maid Rite burger are a true treat from Heaven.
Loved reading your comment Todd! My mother was 100% Dutch and raised in Pella. When we visited, Jaarsma Bakery was always one of the first stops. Dutch letters & almond macaroons were our favorites. Although I’ve never been to a Maid-Rite place I grew up eating them the way my mother made them. It was my favorite food! Anytime I was asked what I wanted my answer was always Maid-Rites! Unfortunately I never watched closely how she made them so my attempts have fallen short for decades. But this recipe changed all that! I didn’t put mustard in it because she didn’t. But happy to say this recipe brought back the taste I’ve been so longing for! I now eat it on shredded romaine lettuce because I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2019 and stay away from all grains (by choice). But gotta say I think I like it better on the lettuce! I add some mustard & mayo and mix it all together. So happy to have the taste I grew up loving back in my life again!
Thank you so much for sharing Joy! That is the exact feeling I set out to create with these recipes. I am so glad you enjoyed. – Meggan
Chris Kimble does pretty good, but, being from Ottumwa, Iowa…nobody beats the Canteen!!!!! Heck, Roseanne Arnold tried to open a similar place somewhere around Ottumwa…it sadly did not stack up to the Canteen!
Geez, I need a Canteen now!! Lol!!!
It’s Ohio.. not Iowa
Hi Molly, Fred Angell was a butcher from Muscatine, Iowa. He opened his first Maid-Rite there. The first franchise was opened in Durant, Iowa. The headquarters of Maid-Rite are in Des Moines, Iowa. Thanks! -Meggan
Nah, it’s def. Iowa.
This recipe is a pretty good dupe. We usually get them in Lamont, IA, en route from KC to my Illinois hometown.
I worked at a locally owned, branch of the real Maid RIte as a cook for many years in the 90’s in Ft Dodge, Iowa, called Ray’s Maid RIte. The seasoning came in big envelopes that did not have the ingredients listed on them, but we mixed it with 1 gallon of warm water, and it was added to 20 lbs of 80/20 ground beef. My boss, the owner did not even know what was in the seasoning. The maid rites were served with only mustard, pickle & onion on the bun. Ketchup was on the tables for people to add if they wanted. To make it a cheese rite, we had a liquid cheese sauce, that was kept in squirt bottles, that were kept in a warmer. The cheese sauce came in gallon cans too.
Hi Lori…just want to say thank-you for the yummy Maid Rites that you cooked for Ray’s!! I had many while living in Ft. Dodge. Good times. 🙂
This is my go-to recipe and I have tried plenty! Simplicity is where it is at! I am making another batch as I post this comment! There are so many loose meat sandwich recipes out there but this is the only one I consider to be close to the real deal. Thank you so much! Pickles mustard and onions yep!
Hi, we grew up in Peoria area. Loved maidrite sandwiches. Got a pkg of ground beef in freezer, trying to decide what to do with it and remembered these sandwiches. Going to make some, and thanks Megan.
Made this for my wife as a surprise. She was born in Iowa and remembers going to Maid-Rite as a treat with her Dad. She liked it very much!