Recipe Description
Recipe Submitted By: Diane Pittman Vasseur
Copycat Maidrite Sandwich
This is my version of the famous “loose meat” sandwich that originated in the Midwest. After doing some research and reading many comments by people claiming to know how it was made, I came up with my own recipe for the meat. Having never eaten a Maid-Rite, I had nothing to compare the taste to but what I ended up made a pretty tasty sandwich. Traditionally, the meat was said to be served on a steamed bun and dressed only with yellow mustard, diced onion, and dill pickles (shown in my photo). Over the years, other toppings have been added such as ketchup and cheese while others went a different direction using only A-1 steak sauce and grilled onions.. all of which sound delicious to me! Here’s what I used:
2 pounds ground beef (I used 90/10 ratio, you want some fat)
1 – 1 1/4 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 cups water
1 – 2 teaspoons Kitchen Bouquet browning sauce (for desired color), optional
1/2 teaspoon sugar or brown sugar, optional (I did not use)
Hamburger buns
Yellow mustard, finely diced onions, hamburger dill slices (or whatever condiments you like)
In a large deep skillet with a cover, add the meat and chop up as fine as possible with the side of a spoon, or a potato masher. Sprinkle the meat with the bouillon, pepper, dried onions, sugar, and salt. Pour the water over the meat.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to combine and chopping up any lumps of meat. Reduce heat to low, cover the skillet and simmer for 2 hours or more, stirring occasionally and checking the water level. (It should maintain a little in order to steam the meat tender, so add a dab more before it dries out.) Add the Kitchen Bouquet about halfway through the cooking time. The meat should be very tender and moist but not wet. If there is still liquid in the pan, uncover, increase the heat to medium and cook until almost all of it has evaporated.
A few minutes before serving time, lay the buns (cut side down) on top of the meat, cover the skillet to steam the buns. Assemble the sandwiches with a scoop of the meat and dress with mustard, diced onions, and dill slices (or whatever you like).
