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It’s time for another edition of You Know You’re From the Midwest When… (check out editions one and two!) You know you’re from the Midwest when you don’t say “Maid who??” when I tell you Maid-Rites were on the menu tonight!

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Maid-Rite, a popular Midwestern restaurant, specializes in “loose meat” sandwiches, aka seasoned ground beef on a warm bun. I know. Sounds… crazy?! It is, a little, I suppose – but we totally dig them. And NO they’re not sloppy joe’s!

I had to laugh when Ben told me a story about a co-worker who was visiting from the east coast last month and was asking people where she should eat while in town. Someone suggested Maid-Rite and was trying to explain the sandwiches to her…

“So it’s a sloppy joe then…”

“No, there’s no sauce.”

“So it’s just meat?”

“Yeah, but it’s seasoned.”

“But it’s still just ground beef…”

“Right, but it’s really good. Just trust me!”

HA! I can totally hear this conversation in my brain… Anyway, my Mom has a super recipe for Maid-Rites (oh also, you can just call them “maid-rites” and everyone will know what you’re talking about) so I cooked some up for dinner!

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Maid-Rites

4.5/5 (5 REVIEWS)

Description

Maid-Rites are a popular Midwestern loose meat sandwich, and they're full of savory goodness. This is my version!

Ingredients

Serves 4-5

  • 1lb 85/15 ground beef (could use 80/20 - just not super lean)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1/2 beef bullion cube
  • 1/2 cup water
  • pepper
  • 1-1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1-1/2 Tablespoons steak sauce
  • Buns

Directions

  1. Sauté beef and onions until cooked then drain and return to pan. Add the rest of the ingredients then simmer for 30 minutes and scoop onto buns.

This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.

SO easy, right?! I always get my maid-rites with a squeeze of cold ketchup and salty pickles. Perfection I tell you. Totally a crowd pleaser too – everyone will love these.

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Bring a taste of the Midwest to your home, won’t you?

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Fill in the blank “You know you’re from (fill in your city/state here) when…”

Alternatively, do you have any unique local or regional dishes?

Iowa, of course, is know for their corn and pigs. NOT POTATOES – that’s Idaho (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten that!)