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These Loose Meat Sandwiches are a staple in our house! Such an easy and fun twist on burgers inspired by the Maid Rite recipe! The beef gets cooked in a savory sauce so that it has tons of flavor, perfect for a weeknight, and totally kid-approved.
Call ’em what you want, either way they’re delicious.
The Midwest’s Best Kept Secret
I’m sorry. Loose meat sandwiches? I hate that name. We actually call these sandwiches Maid Rite Burgers after a Midwestern burger joint that makes these.
But, apparently, the more common name is Loose Meat Sandwich. <— K. You do you.
Just, whatever it is you call them, please promise you’ll give these a try. They sound so simple – probably because they are.
You look at the ingredient list and you think *boring.* But no.
The beef gets really tender and savory thanks to the cooking method and the family goes absolutely bonkers for these sandwiches.
Plus, the kids love manhandling these!
Think a sloppy joe, but without the sauce. (Speaking of which, our homemade sloppy joe sauce is phenomenal.)
I grew up eating these Maid Rite sandwiches and I’m raising my kids on them too!
What Readers are Saying!
“Last week I was going through my Pinterest saves looking for something easy to cook for dinner. I came upon this recipe and I have tried many versions but I never found a version that I liked. Until I made these!!! OMG! Pure Awesomeness! They were so yummy that hubby requested them this evening for dinner and I was informed to make enough for one of his friends because he has been bragging all week on these sandwiches so we are having company for dinner.” – Paula K
Ingredient Notes:
Ground Beef – For burgers, we usually go for 80/20 beef. A leaner beef will work as well.
Hamburger Buns – Butter ’em and pop them in a hot skillet to toast. It makes all the difference!
Worcestershire Sauce – This is a key ingredient that adds a lot of savory depth to the beef.
Spices – We’re keeping it simple with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Have faith. These are simple but still flavorful.
Beef Broth – The beef simmers in the broth which adds savory flavor and helps make the beef super tender.
Toppings – We usually stick with dill pickles and mustard, but any burger toppings would work here. You do you!
How To Make Maid Rite Burgers (aka loose meat sandwiches):
Brown the beef in a skillet, breaking it up as it cooks. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and seasonings.
Add the broth to the beef and bring it to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated.
Taste the beef and season with additional salt, if needed. Spoon it onto your buns and build your maid rite burgers!
Tip: It’s worth the extra effort to butter and grill the hamburger buns on a griddle or skillet first before serving!
Leftover Hack!
Turn your leftovers into a burger burrito! Warm up a large flour tortilla, fill with meat, pile on french fries, drizzle with ketchup and mustard, add some pickles, and roll it all up like a burrito! Our kids are obsessed with ‘burger-ittos!’
Recommended Topping:
To be perfectly honest, we like them just the way they come at Maid Rite and that means dill pickles and mustard only!
Of course, there are plenty of options though:
- Cheese – Any variety you like works, but we’re partial to American on a burger.
- Ketchup and Mayo
- Pickled Jalapenos
- Fried Egg
- Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, and/or Avocado
- Smash Burger Sauce
More Burger Recipes:
Loose Meat Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef 80/20 to 85/15 for best flavor
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth
- 4 hamburger buns
- pickles for serving
- mustard for serving
Instructions
- Place ground beef and seasonings into a large skillet and brown the meat, crumbling it as it cooks, over medium heat until cooked through. Do not drain fat.
- Pour the beef broth into the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated.
- Taste the beef and season with additional salt, if needed.
- Spoon the beef onto buns and top with pickles and mustard.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This recipe was originally published in August 2016. It was updated in February 2021.
Mary-Beth says
OMG I’m so glad I tried this!! So, so good! This northeast girl is sad they haven’t been in my life until now ?
Karly says
So glad you gave them a try! 🙂 Thanks for the review!
Bonnie Turner says
Just made exactly to recipe put minced raw onion , pickles, and mustard! Both my husband loved them! First time eating one!
Karly says
So glad you both enjoyed them! Thanks, Bonnie!
Carla says
I made these and they were delicious. I did add a couple of things due to reading other recipes. I added 1 tsp of mustard. I also added 1/2 cup of diced onion when I added the beef broth and let it simmer for the 30 minutes. I will be making these again.
Karly says
So glad you enjoyed them, Carla!
Jaci purdin says
This is the way I make them but cover it to simmer. Always with mustard & pickle. Yummm
Dawn Knight says
I liked this repice. Very tasty, however, for myself, it was too salty. So, next time I make it I am going to use low sodium beef stock and omit the salt. Don’t forget that Worcestershire sauce is salty to begin with and the condiments, mustard and dill pickles, also contribute to the saltyness of the sandwich. Yes, I will make this recipe again. Thank you for sharing it.
Karly says
Hi Dawn! Glad you enjoyed it, even if you found it too salty. I’m sure it will be easy to adjust for your tastes next time. 🙂
Michelle says
I grew up in Iowa and we ate these all of the time. Ate the same way pickle and mustard. My husband came from the east coast and loved them.
Felicia Thayer says
So yummy! The seasoning is spot on! Put pickle chips and just a small squeeze of mustard on top. Thanks for the great recipe!
Karly says
Thanks, Felicia!
Heather Hoffman says
Being from Iowa, and living in PA, I crave maidrites!! I will have to try your recipe Karly. I am sure we will love it, it has some of the same ingredients I use in the recipe I use. The one I use is a 3# recipe for the crockpot, and it is amazing. I make that batch on a friday and we munch on it all weekend. We get requests for it at picnics and birthdays as well.
Karly says
Sounds delicious, Heather!
Alison says
My daughter lives in the Quad Cities and recently I had one of the Maid-Rite sandwiches – which was delicious – but your recipe is even BETTER – seriously so so good!
Karly says
Thanks so much, Alison!
Stacey Smith says
Frying up meat now , going to throw it in the crockpot next. Yum!
Karly says
Hope you love the sandwiches!
judy brown says
have not tried yet. Trying tonight
Renae Weghorst says
Growing up in Iowa with home-grown, grass-fed beef, I remember having tasty “Maid-rites” for supper all the time. My mom would also add some ketchup, a little mustard and some brown sugar for a fabulous Sloppy Joe which is now one of my son’s favorites!
Bonnie says
I am thrilled to find this recipe. I grew up in Wichita and we had NuWay sandwiches. i haven’t been back so don’t know if they still have them but I am definitely making this recipe this weekend!!!!
JC says
I’m from Wichita too!!!
Bonnie says
are you still there? i left in 1978 and haven’t been back for quite a while now but there was some good places to eat back then. NuWay, Dog N Shake, some place way out south of town called Burke’s where we use to go for breakfast in the wee hours – i want to say we had some kind of enchilada but that doesn’t sound quite right. and King’s X….and some italian place on East Harry that had the best spaghetti and meatballs….and some mexican place that had the best tacos — i can’t remember what the name of that place was. so much good food lol.
Karly says
Ooh, never heard of NuWay sandwiches. Interesting!
Bonnie says
i don’t know if they are still around but the sandwiches were like what Roseanne made on her show when she had her loose meat sandwich shop. i’m cooking the meat right now….. 🙂
Mary says
This is such a great recipe! We don’t have MaidRite in Michigan but like previous commenters, we were introduced to the concept on Roseanne. I’m making loose meat sandwiches on Hawaiian buns and your slow cooker Mac n Cheese for our anniversary dinner tonight…a romantic comfort food dinner. Thanks for sharing, Karly
Karly says
Oh yum! Sounds like the perfect dinner. Happy Anniversary!
Mary says
Thanks, Karly…it was a real nice dinner and evening. We topped it off with a most excellent chocolate cream pie…36 years and counting.?
Paula K says
Last week I was going through my Pinterest saves looking for something easy to cook for dinner. I came upon this recipe and I have tried many versions but I never found a version that I liked. Until I made these!!! OMG! Pure Awesomeness! They were so yummy that hubby requested them this evening for dinner and I was informed to make enough for one of his friends because he has been bragging all week on these sandwiches so we are having company for dinner.
He informed me that the guy just doesn’t get the idea of just ground beef and seasoning on a bun! LOL!
I just wanted to pop on here and say thanks for such an awesome and easy recipe!
Karly says
Best comment ever! Thanks for coming back to share your success with this recipe. Hope your friend enjoyed it too! 🙂