Loose Meat Sandwiches
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Packed with seasonings like brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic powder, and apple cider vinegar, these loose meat sandwiches with tender onion pieces are full of flavor and so easy to make for supper. Take them to the next level by serving them on Hawaiian sweet rolls.
Two things I love: economical ground beef recipes and easy weeknight suppers. Well, this easy loose meat sandwich recipe ticks both boxes! Also called a tavern sandwich, it’s a Midwestern specialty that originated at Maid-Rite in Iowa. They’re THE sandwich to try in Iowa (and the most popular item on the Maid-Rite menu), so today we’re making homemade loose meat sandwiches.
When I say this recipe is quick and easy, I mean it. All we have to do is cook the ground beef, onion, and seasonings in a large skillet until the meat is cooked and the sauce has thickened. They’ll be ready to serve in under 30 minutes.
Now, let’s take a moment to talk about the seasonings because they make ground beef so deliciously tasty and full of flavor. They include garlic powder, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, a combination of chicken and beef stock, seasoned salt, and pepper. As the sauce cooks down, all of these different flavors soak into the ground beef for the tastiest loose meat sandwiches ever!
Meat sandwiches are always a hit in my house if you love this one make sure you try Easy Sloppy Joes, Pimento Cheese Sandwich, Steak Sandwiches, Club Sandwich or Italian Beef Sandwiches
A lil’ housekeeping
Before we dive in, a couple of housekeeping notes. Firstly, it’s very important you use lean ground beef as you will regret using regular beef when you realize how greasy it makes these puppies in the end. Secondly, this recipe isn’t complete without a packet of Hawaiian sweet rolls. They’re the absolute perfect vessel for our loose meat sandwiches. Trust me, it is very important that you use Hawaiian sweet rolls for this. If you use a regular hamburger bun, it’s going to fall to pieces and be a big old mess. Plus it won’t have that flavor in the bun that these rolls have.
Keep reading for lots of topping and serving suggestions.
Recipe Ingredients
- Garlic powder
- Brown sugar
- Onion
- Worcestershire sauce
- Soy sauce
- LEAN ground beef
- Apple cider vinegar
- Seasoned salt
- Black pepper
- Chicken and beef bouillon cubes (or a cup of beef or chicken broth instead)
- Hawaiian sweet rolls
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How To Make Loose Meat Sandwiches
I know, my onions are not chopped fine but this is about as far as I get before my brain is ready to move on to the next step. Finely chopped is a relative phrase.
Then add onions and beef to a large skillet.
Pour in water or if you are using chicken broth and beef broth, pour that in here now.
Now start mixing up the ground beef with the water.
You’ll notice that with the added water the ground beef gets really, really fine. That is what we want.
This is how we make hot dog chili and it is perfect for this meat as well. You’re going to end up with very fine granules of tender beef and the water cooks out.
You want to put that over medium-high heat and cook it until the meat is done and there is no more pinkness.
It will get done pretty quickly in this case because all of that water is cooking it at the same time the heat is.
Now add everything else.
Return this to the stovetop and stir it really, really well.
Cook over medium to medium-high heat, stirring often until the liquid cooks down as pictured below. This part may take anywhere from ten to twenty minutes.
Just find something to read and hang out around the stove. Or even better, let your kids do this part while you go put your feet up.
This is our finished loose meat, all ready for sandwiches.
Assemble your loose meat sandwich
Using a slotted spoon, strain out some of the meat and press it into a pile on top of the center of a cut Hawaiian sweet roll.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add the toppings of your choice (lots of options below). I’m opting for mustard…
But they also taste so good with pickles.
Then I say you should serve them with a side of potato chips.
Enjoy!
Storage
- If you happen to not eat all your meat, simply store it in the fridge for up to three days. Then when you would like some, heat it up in the microwave or add it to a skillet with a splash of water. This will warm it up and prevent the meat from burning.
- Go right ahead and freeze any of the ground beef you don’t eat right away. It will freeze for up to three months in the freezer. You can freeze the meat in a freezer bag or airtight container that is freezer-friendly.
Recipe Notes
- I have gotten away from using bouillion cubes to keep salt levels low and substituted them with beef and chicken broth. I find these give the meat even more flavor. But use whatever you feel comfortable with.
- Feel free to use yellow onion, white onion, or even green onion.
Recipe FAQs
What is a loose meat sandwich made of?
A loose meat sandwich or tavern sandwich includes seasoned ground beef sauteed with onions served on a bun and topped with condiments such as dill pickles, ketchup, mustard, and cheese.
What is a loose meat sandwich called?
A loose meat sandwich can be called a variety of names, depending on where in the Midwest you are. This includes the aforementioned tavern sandwich, a Maid-Rite after its birthplace, a Nu-Way, a Steamer, a Big T, or a loose hamburger sandwich.
Does this recipe double?
Grab a larger pan and go right ahead and double, triple, or even quadruple the recipe. This is a great ground beef recipe to serve up for birthday parties, family gatherings, and more.
What do you eat with loose meat sandwiches?
Okay, there are endless ways to serve your loose meat sandwich, so here are just some serving suggestions:
- These loose meat burgers are absolutely sublime when topped with ketchup, mustard, and pickles.
- But use your favorite condiment, whether that’s ketchup, barbecue sauce, hot sauce, or mayonnaise.
- My husband insists that purity is best and has them as they are, nothing added, just on the roll.
- Add your favorite burger toppings: red onion, tomato slices, lettuce, crispy bacon, and American cheese.
- Serve them as a main dish with a side, like mac and cheese, roasted sweet potato wedges, onion rings, or parmesan oven fries.
- Add a side salad. They’d also taste great with my burger slaw or coleslaw on the side.
Can I use ground turkey to replace ground beef?
If you want a leaner loose meat sandwich recipe, opt for ground chicken or turkey. It will of course change the flavor a bit, but it will still be just as delicious as the beef.
What is the difference between a loose meat sandwich and a sloppy joe?
The biggest difference between these two sandwiches is that the latter is known for its tomato-based sauce. Loose meat sandwiches are meat without sauce. But both recipes are just as messy as each other!
This loose meat sandwich recipe is one of those recipes you just have to try.
You may also enjoy these sensational sandwich recipes:
Ingredients
- 3 pounds lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 whole onion, finely chopped
- 1.5 tsp seasoned salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 3 to 4 cups water eliminate this step if you are using broth
- 2 beef bouillon cubes or two cups of broth
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes or two cups of broth
Instructions
- Put beef and onion in a large skillet along with water. Chop up beef really really fine while bringing it to a low boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring and chopping often, until no longer pink.3 pounds lean ground beef, 3 to 4 cups water, 1 whole onion, finely chopped
- Add everything else and continue lightly boiling, stirring often, until water is cooked down and the ground beef mixture gets thick.2 tablespoons cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1.5 tsp seasoned salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 2 beef bouillon cubes, 2 chicken bouillon cubes
- Strain beef out and press small mounds of beef onto cut Hawaiian sweet rolls. Top with your choice of condiments. Mustard is highly recommended.
Notes
Nutrition
Christy, I made these last night and they were absolutely wonderful. Also enjoyed all your Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes. Keep the recipes coming.
Thank you for trying them Geyna!! I am so glad to hear that you liked them!!!
Thank you for this recipe. It brings back fond memories of the Dari-Delite in my hometown of Rome, GA. They had a sandwich very much like this called the Delite Burger. However, the cook there boiled the ground beef before adding the seasoning, which was only salt and pepper , I believe and was served on a large burger bun with only mustard. They were oh, so good! Wish I had one right now. MMMMMMM!
As and add on
………….after boiling the meat, the cook would drain it on a cloth and then squeeze the liquid from the meat and then finish preparing it for the sandwich.
This will be dinner tonight. Can’t wait to give it a try.
We have substituted one envelope of onion soup mix per pound of meat for the bouillon cubes and Accent for years now and it works just fine! (and incidentally I use the beefy-mushroom-onion soup mix for salisbury steaks!)
sorry that would be one envelope of onion soup per pound and a half! so 2 envelopes for this recipe.
Hi Christy
The recipes you print are usually scrumptious.
I was wondering how come that I can only print your recipes now instead of save them.?
I might have missed your explanation because I have been sick and just kind of slowly catching up.
Could you let me know because I love to save them and have them all together
Hugs
Jan
Hey Jan!
Ziplist, oh goodness, it’s zip list. I can’t even being to tell you the issues that have resulted because of them. Here is a link to my newsletter from November where I explained it and you should have several emails from them in your inbox from back in December as well.
http://archive.aweber.com/southernplate/DtmDX/h/SouthernPlate_5_Great.htm
It’s kind of a long story so I’ll let the newsletter tell it to ya 🙂
Gratefully,
CJ
Thank you for clearing things up for me Christy. I still miss it, but I am with you all the way. I hope those people realize that what goes round comes round.
Thank you for your lovely recipes and your stories. I like them as much as I like the recipes.
Too bad I live so far away from you, I would love to meet you.
Hugs
Jan
I would love to meet you someday as well Jan!! Maybe one day I will be in your neck of the woods!
Christy: Many thanks for the Loose Meat Sandwiches recipe. Like you, I’ve never been anywhere near Iowa and so have never tried a “real” Maid Rite. A while back, Cook’s Country published a recipe for them. Theirs differ a bit from yours-85% ground beef, onion, a lot less water, mustard a dab of sugar, salt and pepper and that’s it. They felt that the worcesteshire and soy sauces interfered with the beefy taste. They serve theirs on hamburger buns. You put mustard on the bottom bun, put the loose meat on with a slotted spoon, put dill pickle slices on that, then the bun top. You serve it with a spoon to get everything that drops on to your plate, and as you well know, you don’t want to miss any of the stuff on your plate. It’s hard to not lick the plate clean.
I’m going to try your recipe for certain. I had my lower front incisors crowned yesterday, so I need soft foods, ( no sticky, crunchy, chewy, eat out of the side of your mouth for anything iffy-which makes your face really sloppy and lovely). I am going to try the King’s Hawaiian Rolls as you suggested as well. I’m also on jury summons starting Sunday and this recipe comes together in 5 minutes so I can feed myself even if I’m on jury duty and it’s late and I’m tired.
I noted your comments on Runsas, (also called Bierocks), and Cook’s Country also did a recipe for those sometime back. I don’t generally make the dough and enclose the meat in it. I just use homemade hamburger buns, or make them into a pot pie or a hand pie. I think the Loose Meat would work well for that, way as well. They’ve done more than one recipe for them, but the latest, “Nebraska Beef Buns” by Diane Unger (June/July ’12) is the best and I think you’d also love them.
Loose Meat Sandwiches are everything you say they are. I love Sloppy Joes; always have, but they beat Sloppy Joes like Secretariat beat Sham. The only thing that can beat a Loose Meat is a BBQ Beef Sandwich.
When I was a kid, “Secret Sauce” did not exist-except as Thousand Island Dressing of course, and no one had yet put it on a hamburger. I loved those simple hamburgers with meat, onion, pickle and mustard before “Secret Sauce” took over and hijacked the condiments, and I still order mine that way, although some places don’t even know where the mustard packets are!
I love each and every one of your recipes. I want to try this one, but with most recipes calling for ground beef I substitute ground turkey because red meat makes my body angry at me. Do you think I can make a ground turkey substitution here also?
absolutely!
You could certainly try it and see how it turns out. I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for certain how it will taste but I look forward to hearing what you think if you do try it.