If you're looking for a Mid-West sandwich experience, then this easy Loose Meat Sandwich recipe will fit the bill. It is an easy dinner recipe made of cooked loose hamburger mixed with yellow mustard and brown sugar and a delicious sandwich the whole family will love.
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❤️ Why you'll love it
Simple ingredients: an easy recipe with ingredients you probably already have in your cupboard!
Versatile: you can make the best loose meat sandwich your own way, use your favorite toppings sauces to jazz it up a little bit.
Easy ground beef recipe: its so easy to make your own favorite burger joint recipe right at home and more cost effective.
🥘 Ingredients
Lean ground Beef: an 85/15 or 90/10 blend is good. You want some fat for flavor but not too much.
White or yellow onion
Olive oil
Yellow mustard: adds a tangy flavor to the meat mixture.
Brown sugar: use dark brown sugar for a deeper flavor.
Hot Sauce: to give a little bit of spicy flavor to the ground beef.
Coconut Aminos: I use this in place of soy sauce. I prefer the flavor and it is not as salty.
Garlic Dill Pickles: These are essential for topping the Loose Meat Sandwich, and you will use some of the pickle juice in the loose meat mixture.
Garlic powder
Salt and black pepper
Hamburger Buns: be sure to use a soft bun that is also sturdy enough to hold the loose meat filling. I love to use my own homemade hamburger buns.
🔪 Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook 10 minutes, until meat is no longer pink, using the chopping the meat up into small pieces.
- Add the hot chili sauce and sweetener. Stir and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic powder, coconut aminos, yellow mustard, dill pickle juice, salt and pepper. Cook and stir for 5 minutes, or until liquid has absorbed.
- Pile meat over bottom half of hamburger bun, top with dill pickle slices.
🥄 Equipment
Large skillet
Ground meat chopper
🥫Storage
Refrigerate: store leftovers in an air-tight container up to 4 days.
Freeze: store leftover ground beef mixture in freezer-safe containers up to 3 months.
Reheat: warm thawed leftover maid rites in a skillet over low heat with a little bit of water added, until warmed through or heat in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave until warm.
📖 Variations
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- Serve with crispy bacon and a slice of cheddar cheese.
- Substitute Worcestershire sauce for the pickle juice.
- Make a ground beef blend by using half beef and half ground venison
- Use a mustard-based bbq saucemustard-based bbq sauce in place of the yellow mustard.
💭 Tips
- Make the Loose Meat sandwiches low carb and keto-friendly by substituting a brown sugar sweetener and serving the loose meat on a keto slider bun.
- Double the recipe and serve at your next party! Just keep the cooked beef in a slow cooker on low and let guest assemble their own ground beef sandwich with toppings.
📚 Related Recipes
This Bacon Tomato Grilled Cheese is a great lunch. Make it a dinner sandwich with a side of tuna macaroni salad.
I love a hearty Bacon Egg Salad Sandwich!
Pickle lovers may want to try these bread and butter pickles on a loose meat sandwich.
Easy to make Caprese Burgers are a perfect summer burger.
Homemade Taco Meat is a great recipe to have on hand for quick weeknight tacos!
🍽 Serve with..
Serve classic loose meat sandwich style topped with pickles in a sturdy bun.
The Iowa Maid-Rite Sandwich
I lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for a few years. In that time I came in contact with some food experiences that I won't forget and they became a part of my foodie life back here in New York State.
For Easterners (like me) the Loose Meat Sandwich, which in the mid-west is called maid rite sandwiches, is similar to this sloppy joe, but without the sauce. It can be a messy sandwich to eat, so be sure to have a fork handy to help you out and napkins to clean up.
📖 Recipe
Loose Meat Sandwiches
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Ingredients
- [1 ½ pounds ground beef]
- ¼ cup minced onion
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ½ tablespoon mustard
- [1 teaspoon hot chili sauce]
- [1 teaspoon golden monkfruit or brown sugar]
- [1 ½ tablespoons coconut aminos]
- 1 tablespoon dill pickle juice optional
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 6 Hamburger Buns OR Keto Slider Buns optional
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook, chopping the meat up into small pieces.
- Cook the ground beef mixture, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until the meat is no longer pink.
- Add the hot chili sauce and sweetener. Stir and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic powder, coconut aminos, dill pickle juice, salt and pepper. Cook and stir for 5 minutes, or until liquid has absorbed.
- Serve over buns with desired toppings.
Linda Kilbride says
I was born and raised in Muscatine, Iowa, home of the Maid-Rites. which was started in the early 1920s by the Angel Brothers Their recipe is very simple, with only four ingredients.
Shelby Law Ruttan says
Hi Linda, this recipe wasn't made specifically to replicate theirs. I made it with my own twist and flavors we love. Thanks for stopping by!