Iowa Maid Rite sandwiches

Doc

Doc

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Just reading on CNN about these "Maid Rite" loose meat sandwiches and thought they sounded interesting. Reading further into the comments and I find a copy cat recipe for the Maid Rite loose meat sandwiches.

Have any of you ever made these or tried these? I plan too some time soon.

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Excert from article:

Maid-Rite.

Since 1926, Iowans have been feasting on the the iconic "loose meat" sandwich, invented by Muscatine, Iowa butcher Fred Angell. Angell began franchising the idea throughout the Hawkeye State under the name "Maid-Rite" after a delivery man he'd drafted to taste his creation purportedly said, "You know, Fred, this sandwich is just made right."

comment posted by Randy:
Copy Cat Maid-Rites
Those of you with recipes that call for ketchup in the recipe have got a FAKE recipe. Maid-Rite has NEVER added ketchup to their meat for their classic burger while cooking it. The secret is twice-ground ground beef (probably the cheapest you can find – it is often told that the beef has other things ground into it, such as kidneys and hearts). The meat is very, very fine.
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, twice ground
1 medium onion, minced
1 can chicken broth
Salt and pepper
Crumble meat in a skillet over medium heat, then add onion. Brown meat and cook until onion begins to turn clear. Drain off fat. Meat should be very crumbly. Add broth and cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid evaporates. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve on buns with slices of dill pickle. Add mustard, if desired.

Another comment to this recipe suggested:
Substitute a can of chicken gumbo soup for the broth and it's a done deal.

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/01/03/maid-rite-loose-meat-sandwiches-an-iowa-tradition/?hpt=li_c2
 

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Hmmmm, Doc, I looked these up when there was a poster of this name on another forum.

I keep thinking it needs a binder of some sort, so it doesn't all end up on your plate when you pick it up and take a bite.

Otherwise, it's joining the messy things I won't eat, like tacos in hard shells and Sloppy Joes.

:-)

Lee
 
doc, not the authentic ones from the restaurant. i've made similar tho not following a recipe- geez quite awile ago, now that i think of it. basically sloppy joe w/ all the sloppy & not the sauce. & good.

i remember him & his wife, lee. me & jake met them & took 'em to Primanti's fer dinner. sweet couple. have u tried like i have often done, BTW, smushing the taco shell into the fixins & making a salad of sorts w/it~
 
I've never had the original, so I haven't bothered to make the copy cats, even though I've seen recipes for it before.

I didn't realize the meat was twice ground....I bet that makes a huge difference in the texture.
 
Yep, definitely a messy sandwich to eat. That doesn't bother me. I can make anything messy. LOL.

No Luvs, I've never tried that. I have crunched tortilla chips for ultimate nachos so they were easier to eat with a fork and I didn't have to get my fingers all icky.

for twice ground, I suppose you have to go to a butcher. Least I've never noticed it available in the grocery stores we go to. Is it normally available that way everywhere and I have simply overlooked it?

Another option might be like the way DW does her spaghetti sauce. She browns the meat, drains it and then chops it up fine using one of those mini choppers. That might be much like twice ground ....don't ya think?
 
I bet it'd get at least close to the desired texture by using the chopper that way, and skip the butcher step altogether.
 
i figure before. geez, i have seen so many shows where they featured these & cannot remember for the life of me.
 
During a brief time when I lived in Waterloo, Iowa I used to get what they called "Made Rite Sandwiches" in a tiny little greasy spoon restaurant there and they were really good. I asked how they made them and this is the recipe they gave me:

2 pounds of hamburger, browned and drained and chopped fine.
2 tbls. Worchestershire sauce
1 cup spicey tomato sauce or catsup of choice (yeah, they did put it in there)
2 tbls. quick-cooking oatmeal (this would be the "binder")
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. onion salt
2 tbls. brown sugar

Stir all together and simmer well until cooked through.

These really were good and I made a huge batch last summer and served them for a backyard cookout. They went over like gangbusters! These are authentic "Iowa" and mid-western loose meat sandwiches, so I was told by the folks in Waterloo. Whatever's true they are sure worth the eating and don't really fall apart, either. Just put some dill pickles on top with a smear of mustard and away you go! :a1:
 
I had heard of "Maid Rites" on the TV show "Roseanne" but never had a chance to try them....does the authentic "Iowa" recipe turn out like Sloppy Joe's?
 
Hi, Mama - The answer to the "Sloppy Joe" question is no. Nothing whatever like that. They're "loose meat" in a bun, spicey and tasty but they hold together and don't end up in your lap or on your shirt front. As I "wear my food well", I find that important in polite society! :whistling:

FM
 
I spent several months back in 2005 - 2007 working in Muscatine, IA., with some other consultants. A few of us went to Maid-Rite there frequently, in a fairly new store on the bypass. I especially liked the ones topped with chili, but always ate them with a fork because there was no way you could pick them up. They were really good with a chocolate malt!
 
Fallon's Favorites said:
During a brief time when I lived in Waterloo, Iowa I used to get what they called "Made Rite Sandwiches" in a tiny little greasy spoon restaurant there and they were really good. I asked how they made them and this is the recipe they gave me:

2 pounds of hamburger, browned and drained and chopped fine.
2 tbls. Worchestershire sauce
1 cup spicey tomato sauce or catsup of choice (yeah, they did put it in there)
2 tbls. quick-cooking oatmeal (this would be the "binder")
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. onion salt
2 tbls. brown sugar

Stir all together and simmer well until cooked through.

These really were good and I made a huge batch last summer and served them for a backyard cookout. They went over like gangbusters! These are authentic "Iowa" and mid-western loose meat sandwiches, so I was told by the folks in Waterloo. Whatever's true they are sure worth the eating and don't really fall apart, either. Just put some dill pickles on top with a smear of mustard and away you go! :a1:
Click to expand...

Just tried this recipe thanks to the bump. :thumb:
Good stuff. We did not have spicy tomato sauce so we just used ketchup. I think I would prefer spicy tomato next time. As it was I added sky line hot sauce and that topped it off nicely. :D
 
Nope, not at all. I'm guessing the oats held it all together. Much different than a sloppy joe.
 
What a surprise several hours ago when I snooped on the forum and 'lo and behold, I encountered ME! I'd forgotten all about having posted the recipe I had for loose meat sandwiches and was pleasantly surprised to discover that someone actually made them - and liked them. I'm gratified to note that. They really are good and we have them often. Our son likes the meat mushed up very fine and served on his little baby spoon. The messier he can get, the better he likes it. Loose meat on a Zwibach is his latest true love. A bite for Kieran and two bites for the dog - one for Kieran and two for the dog. They're both in heaven with this feast. Looks as though we'll be moving back down to Hampton along in late autumn and will be out of the skiing area for the winter. Right now we're looking at temps up in the late 90's over this coming weekend. I, personally could do without that. Hi, Lee, is Boston heating up? Luvs, I frequently make a taco salad such as you described. I don't like eating tacos off the table top or out of my lap! The taco salad is really good with plenty of sour cream and lots of spicey taco sauce drizzled on it. Goooooood stuff - Ian loves it like that, too. Kieran, not so much. He sticks pretty close to his Zwibach!

Fallon
 
I make taco salad all the time. Best way I know of to eat some lettuce. We dice up tomato real small and shave cheddar cheese over it as well. I use whatever taco or tostito chip is on sale and crumble them up so they mix well and don't fall off the fork. Sour cream is nice but lack of it does not stop me from making it!:mrgreen:
 
I love Maid Rites (quilty pleasure) and we still stop and have one when we travel south into Iowa...They are good...Loose meat sammies (don't need any copyright infringements) :) are on our menu occasionally.

the copycat recipe..is right on the money as per the ingredients used in the Maid Rite Restaurant version

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Hey..Ya know sometimes Ya just LOVE the things Ya find when Ya GOOGLE:D

I went and looked up Maid Rite..
and found that we NOW have one in the closest town in Minnesota!!
(geez, now I need a different excuse for going to Iowa)
They are in 11 states folks..
Here is a link to locations:
http://maid-rite.com/locations.php
 
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Hi Fallon! Good to see you back, and with an update! Hope you and Ian get a chance to post a little more often!

Yep, Boston is going to be HOT for the next four days or so. Hate it!

I will try the Maid Rites, too!

Lee
 
Fallon's Favorites said:
What a surprise several hours ago when I snooped on the forum and 'lo and behold, I encountered ME! I'd forgotten all about having posted the recipe I had for loose meat sandwiches and was pleasantly surprised to discover that someone actually made them - and liked them. I'm gratified to note that. They really are good and we have them often. Our son likes the meat mushed up very fine and served on his little baby spoon. The messier he can get, the better he likes it. Loose meat on a Zwibach is his latest true love. A bite for Kieran and two bites for the dog - one for Kieran and two for the dog. They're both in heaven with this feast. Looks as though we'll be moving back down to Hampton along in late autumn and will be out of the skiing area for the winter. Right now we're looking at temps up in the late 90's over this coming weekend. I, personally could do without that. Hi, Lee, is Boston heating up? Luvs, I frequently make a taco salad such as you described. I don't like eating tacos off the table top or out of my lap! The taco salad is really good with plenty of sour cream and lots of spicey taco sauce drizzled on it. Goooooood stuff - Ian loves it like that, too. Kieran, not so much. He sticks pretty close to his Zwibach!

Fallon
Click to expand...

It's so good to hear from you Fallon!

:bbq3:

Sounds like the little man is growing up quickly! I hope that you, Ian and Kieran are doing well.
 
I grew up in Iowa and Maid Rites were my favorite. When I was 5-8 yo outré little town of 4000 had a Maid Rite but it didn't last. Every time I go to Iowa a Maid Rite is my first stop. I went to Mason City JC for two years and lived next door to one. I ate a lot of meals there.

All the recipes noted are imitations and have never heard of putting oats in sloppy joe's but whatever works. They all sound tasty.

Another Iowa favorite is pork tenderloin sandwich, where the pork is the size of a dinner plate.
 
I belong to a Facebook group called You know you are from Iowa… someone posted this recipe for Maid Rites. I set off some woman by saying it was someone’s take on Sloppy Joe’s. It was fun… she started shouting at me like I didn’t know what I was talking about.

F4D839FE-279C-4E0A-B0B8-A789C9D9D296.jpeg
 
As I was searching for a "close" recipe for our famous "maidrites", I read where someone said they got a recipe from a little restaurant. It's wrong. That recipe would be for a sloppy joe. Maidrites don't have anything remotely close to tomato sauce, ketchup, or chili powder in it. Maidrites are cooked/steamed, put on a bun, then topped with mustard, onion, and pickle. Served with a spoon. Yes, they're suppose to be messy.
 
hhelv said:
As I was searching for a "close" recipe for our famous "maidrites", I read where someone said they got a recipe from a little restaurant. It's wrong. That recipe would be for a sloppy joe. Maidrites don't have anything remotely close to tomato sauce, ketchup, or chili powder in it. Maidrites are cooked/steamed, put on a bun, then topped with mustard, onion, and pickle. Served with a spoon. Yes, they're suppose to be messy.
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Exactly… I’m from iowa and approve of this post.
 
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