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Maid Rite Recipe Copycat (Loose Meat Sandwich)

January 21, 2016 · FoodHussy · 18 Comments

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The Maid Rite is a loose meat sandwich - and this Iowa Maid Rite Copycat Recipe will teach you the secrets of my favorite hometown food! via @foodhussy

In Iowa, Maid Rites are a staple. The Maid Rite is a tasty loose meat sandwich – but there’s more to it than just ground beef! This Iowa Maid Rite Copycat Recipe will teach you all the secrets to one of my favorite hometown foods!

Copycat Maid Rite Recipe
 

How to Make the Traditional Maid Rite recipe? 

The Iowa Maid Rite Copycat recipe is easy to make – you start with hamburger and add a bunch of seasonings to them and cook them down until the liquid has evaporated! All the ingredients are listed below! You’ll love it! 

 
Copycat Maid Rite Recipe
 

Now if you don’t know what a Maid Rite is – think back to the days of Roseanne. Remember when she opened a diner and they served “loose meat sandwiches”? Well – there you go! It’s like a sloppy joe without the sauce. 

What’s the difference between a maid rite and a sloppy joe? 

The Maid Rite – aka Loose Meat Sandwich – doesn’t have a sauce. You have the liquid and seasonings but they cook off and the meat is “dry” whereas Sloppy Joes have a thick tomato sauce. 
 
Copycat Maid Rite Recipe
 
Honestly – when I think back to eating Iowa Maid Rites as a kid – I really can’t picture Neil Wicks (he ran the Maid Rite in my tiny town) putting all these ingredients in the sandwich. All I remember of him is him standing over the griddle with a big stogey hanging out of his mouth. 
 

Can you Make Maid Rites in the Crock Pot? 

Yes. To make your Iowa Maid Rite Copycat Recipe in the crock pot – just brown the ground beef first and then add all the seasonings and beef to the crock pot and put on low for a couple of hours. If you’re serving these loose meat sandwiches for a crowd – you can just leave it on low for the party! 

Copycat Maid Rite Recipe

What to serve with Maid Rites? 

I tend to get obsessed about Iowa foods – I love big tenderloins, cheesy queso from “Mexican”-ish restaurants and traditional MAID RITES – oh man – I almost forgot about Taco Johns Potato Oles! It’s not that Ohio doesn’t have amazing food – but Iowa is home – so I have a soft spot for all things Hawkeye. (If you’re looking for a cheesy loose meat sandwich – you can also ramp up the Maid Rite to a Cheese Rite or even Sliders!) 

Be sure to use the $1 buns – the cheaper, the better! Fresh, cheap & soft – that’s the best way to go. Spoon a heap of the loose meat onto your cheap bun and you’re ALMOST ready to go! Just don’t forget the dill pickles and mustard!
 
 
 
 
Copycat Maid Rite Recipe

Maid Rite Recipe

The Maid Rite is a loose meat sandwich – and this Iowa Maid Rite Copycat Recipe will teach you the secrets of my favorite hometown food!
3.67 from 6 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 25 mins
Course Entree
Cuisine American
Servings 8 burgers
Calories 166 kcal

Equipment

  • Non stick Skillet
  • Meat Chopper

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 onion minced
  • 1 beef bouillon cube
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1.5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
  • Hamburger buns
  • mustard
  • pickles

Instructions
 

  • Brown ground beef and onion – chopping vigorously until the pieces are tiny
  • Add bouillon, water, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire and soy sauce
  • Stir and continue chopping ground beef
  • Simmer until liquid has evaporated
  • Top a heaping spoonful of meat onto cheap hamburger buns and top with pickles and mustard and you will be reveling in the delight of the Iowa Maid Rite!

Notes

  • Make it a cheese rite by adding a slide of Land o’Lakes American 
  • Or make them into Maid Rite Sliders
  • Or make them into Maid Rite Biscuit Sandwiches

Nutrition

Serving: 1burgerCalories: 166kcalCarbohydrates: 24.1gProtein: 7.7gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1.2gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 495mgPotassium: 106mgFiber: 1.1gSugar: 4.9gCalcium: 65mgIron: 2mg
Keyword copycat, iowa, maid rite
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Comments

  1. fast fabulous foodie says

    March 19, 2018 at 8:24 pm

    Or stop at the Maid Rite in Greenville OH and load up.

    Reply
  2. Food Hussy says

    March 19, 2018 at 8:36 pm

    I've been there! Gum wall and all!

    Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    April 2, 2018 at 9:56 pm

    Iowa Maid-Rites are an institution! I remember when the Maid-Rite in Lake Mills, IA burned down about 1969. I was pretty young, but remember a long period of mourning. They rebuilt and I was raised in that place. Your recipe looks great…I'm gonna try it. I make them now with beef broth and a little black strap molasses. I wrap each one in wax paper before I serve them to make it feel just like a real Maid-Rite. It's awesome!

    Reply
  4. FoodHussy says

    April 3, 2018 at 1:17 am

    Yaaaaaas!!!! I love them! pickles, ketchup and cheese and it's Cheese-rite perfection!

    Reply
  5. kp says

    April 18, 2018 at 11:42 pm

    I wasn't expecting them to taste sweet. I followed your recipe to a T.

    Reply
  6. FoodHussy says

    April 19, 2018 at 3:59 am

    There's a little sweetness but not too much – hope you still liked them!

    Reply
  7. Anonymous says

    April 25, 2018 at 1:03 am

    I will be trying this recipe tonight, but thought I would let you know your beef will chop up finer and more easily if you add water to pan while browning it. In this case, I may try mixing the liquid ingredients from the recipe and adding it with the meat so it all cooks at the same time. I use water with the ground beef anytime I want it super fine….like taco meat to resemble taco bell texture.

    Reply
  8. FoodHussy says

    April 25, 2018 at 4:22 am

    Good tip!

    Reply
  9. Unknown says

    October 25, 2018 at 6:56 pm

    Used to original Maid-Rite's these were not that good. Bland just loose hamburger..

    Reply
  10. Food Hussy says

    October 25, 2018 at 6:59 pm

    Sorry you didn't love them – I think the seasonings, worcestershire and soy really add a bunch of flavor to the meat!

    Reply
  11. Jayne Homsher says

    August 27, 2019 at 5:34 pm

    Heather this recipe for the Maid Rite sandwiches are so good and so easy to make. I am so surprised I made this last night and both my husband and I loved this dinner meal.

    Reply
  12. Unknown says

    September 10, 2019 at 7:36 am

    This recipe was amazing! I made over a pound for 2 and there is nothing left! So good and can't wait to share with friends!

    Reply
  13. Lame Blind Bob says

    October 29, 2019 at 11:43 pm

    Using salt? As the Made Rite sandwich uses finer broke up ground beef, try adding your salt as the last step of the recipe. With this method, you can break up the ground beef finer and easier. So you are getting closer to the original recipe.

    Reply
  14. Anonymous says

    April 16, 2020 at 1:41 am

    I love this recipe. I added one final step. Load up the bun with meat, wrap in parchment or waxed paper and microwave for 15 seconds. Perfection! Just like the real deal!

    Reply
  15. Linda says

    August 12, 2020 at 10:05 am

    Just to let you know Heather, there is a Maid Rite in Cedar Falls, Iowa on University. Still serving the best. I will give this recipe a try. Thanks.

    Reply
    • FoodHussy says

      August 13, 2020 at 12:16 am

      Thanks! it’s the best I can get in cincinnati oh is to make my own!

      Reply
  16. Jessica Markley says

    September 24, 2020 at 6:42 pm

    Easiest way to put the meat on the bun is use an ice cream scoop while holding the back side of the buns together. You forgot BBQ Rites, just add BBQ sauce instead of ketchup. I worked at the one in Waterloo for years. I also make a few changes, you used minced onion… I substitute that for onion powder and add some garlic powder. I can’t tell you how much because I’m Iowa born & bred!

    Reply
    • FoodHussy says

      September 24, 2020 at 7:05 pm

      oh we didn’t have bbq rites in muscatine/cedar rapids/west liberty!

      Reply

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