Maid-Rites are a popular Midwestern loose meat sandwich, and are full of savory goodness. This is my version!
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!
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!
Ingredients
- 1 lb 85/15 ground beef, could use 80/20 - just not super lean
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1/2 beef boullion cube
- 1/2 cup water
- pepper
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons steak sauce
- Buns
Directions
- 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.
Notes
- Serve like you would a burger - this is more akin to a burger than a sloppy joe.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
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.
Bring a taste of the Midwest to your home, won’t you?
~~~~~
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!)
I have been looking but can’t find how you made the fries in the pic for the Maid-rotes recipe.
Salt, Pepper, Onion juice and Hamburger meat. Maybe some pickle juice.
Hi! I don’t have beef boullion but have beef broth. Could I use that? If so, how much? Thanks.
I stumbled upon this recipe a few years ago, and since this has become my go-to blog for anything I want to make. I come here first and if it’s not here, then I go to google. lol
Anyways, this maid-rite recipe is amazing. We make it all the time. I literally crave it. It’s perfect, and hubby and kids make it their own with whatever topping they want to add. This is one recipe I’ll never change up.
You know you are from Springfield, IL when you know what a horseshoe sandwich is! I love them! It starts with any kind of toast on the plate, then the most common meat is hamburger. You top that with loads of French fries and a good cheese sauce and that is a horseshoe! Half a portion is a pony shoe. There are even breakfast horseshoes! You can have a white or yellow cheese sauce, and use any kind of meat from shrimp to buffalo chicken to walleye! It is our signature sandwich and we are very proud of it!
Awesome Whole family loved!!! no multiple meals tonite
I am going to try this recipe. I grew up in the Quad Cities as well and I have lived in Tennessee for 40 years now. I miss the Maid-Rite and homemade root beer. I also miss Harris Pizza and Ma’s Diner where you could get the big as your head tenderloin sandwiches. I am hoping that this recipe is great.
Every family does these a little different. Maid-Rite recipes are like the Gumbo of Iowa. You know you’re home when the Maid-Rite tastes just like the ones you grew up on.
This is NOT the traditional maid rite recipe. As a 71 yr old Iowa native born in Shenandoah Iowa, This is ALL wrong.
I am from Preston,Maryland and my husband and I took a trip to Iowa for my family reunion the summer of 2017 and took him to the Maid-Rite in my home Toledo, Iowa where he had his first maid- rite loose meat sandwich. Every day that we were there we ate there at least once a day. Everytime I go back have to always stop to eat a Maid-Rite in my home town.
Use chicken stock for more flavor.
Thank you Kristin. I’qm from Cedar Rapids and enjoyed going to a Maid-rite restaurant as a kid. I live in California now and been here for quite awhile but never forgot those maid-rite sandwiches. Surprisingly no one seems to have heard of them so I wanted to make them but wasn’t sure what was different about them. I will make them now. Just finished reading about the Maid-rite. Very interesting.
Doris in Riverside
Ketchup! Only condiments on a Maid-Rite should be dill pickle chips and mustard.