Last Saturday was an important day for my family as it featured the yearly matchup between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones football teams. And as usual, we spent the entire day focused on two very important things. Cheering on our beloved Hawkeyes, and feasting on one of Iowa’s favorite regional dishes, the maid-rite sandwich.
If you’ve never been to Iowa then chances are you’ve never heard of the maid-rite sandwich. However, just mention the term “maid-rite” to anyone from the Hawkeye state and you will quickly find out just how special this simple sandwich is to them.
But what exactly is a made-rite sandwich?
Well, some would describe it as a hamburger where the beef is loose instead of formed into a patty. While others might describe it as a sloppy joe without the “sloppy” sauce. In truth, neither of those explanations accurately describes what the maid-rite sandwich really is. All I can say is that it’s a delicious sandwich that can’t be explained, it can only be experienced.
So if you’re ready to experience the simplistic beauty of the maid-rite sandwich then let’s get on with the recipe.
Tips, Tricks, & Suggestions
- Fat is flavor: I highly recommend that you use fattier ground beef like 80%-20% or 85%-15% as it will result in more flavorful and moist meat.
- Make it ahead: You can easily make the meat filling for these sandwiches a day or two ahead of time. The meat should last at least 4 days in an air-tight container and stored in the fridge. Then all you have to do is warm up the meat in a crockpot (on low) or nuke it in a microwave (for a couple of minutes) until nice and warm.
- Serving suggestions: I enjoy serving these maid-rite sandwiches with our baked french fries.
Maid-Rite Sandwich Recipe
Prep time: 2 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients
For the maid-rite meat:
1 LB of ground beef
1 Lipton onion soup mix packet, ground
1 Tablespoon of Worchester sauce
1 Teaspoon of yellow mustard
Black pepper to taste
For the sandwich:
Mustard
Diced white onion
Dill pickle slices
Hamburger buns
Instructions
- Get the beef ready for cooking: Get out a large walled pan/skillet and add the ground beef, Lipton’s onion soup mix, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard.
Then add roughly 3 cups of water to the pan/skillet and use a wooden spoon to mix everything together. make sure to stir well so that the ground beef breaks down into fine crumbs and has the consistency of uncooked hot dog chili sauce. 
- Cook the beef: Place this over high heat and let the mixture come to a rolling boil.
At this point, you will want to let the mixture boil for roughly 15 to 20 minutes making sure to stir every couple of minutes. Once most of the liquid has evaporated turn down the heat to medium and continue to let it cook making sure to stir every 30 seconds or so.
Keep doing this for another 5 to 10 minutes or until all of the liquid has evaporated and there is barely any steam coming off the meat. Finally taste the mixture and add black pepper to your liking.
- Assemble the maid rite sandwiches by first placing the bottom half of a burger bun on a plate. Then use a spoon to scoop out some of the maid rite meat and place it down on the burger bun.
Make sure to use the spoon to press the meat down onto the bun, or else it can get messy. Finally, top the meat with some diced onion, pickles, and mustard, as is tradition.
- Enjoy!
Maid-Rite Sandwich Recipe
Equipment
- crockpot
Ingredients
For the maid-rite meat:
- 1 LB of Ground beef
- Liptons onion soup mix packet ground
- 1 Tablespoon Worchester sauce
- 1 Teaspoon mustard
- Black pepper to taste
For the sandwich:
- Mustard
- Diced white onion
- Dill pickle slices
- Hamburger buns
Instructions
- Get the beef ready for cooking: Get out a large walled pan/skillet and add the ground beef, Lipton’s onion soup mix, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard. Then add roughly 3 cups of water to the pan/skillet and use a wooden spoon to mix everything together. make sure to stir well so that the ground beef breaks down into fine crumbs and has the consistency of uncooked hot dog chili sauce.
- Cook the beef: Place this over high heat and let the mixture come to a rolling boil. At this point, you will want to let the mixture boil for roughly 15 to 20 minutes making sure to stir every couple of minutes. Once most of the liquid has evaporated turn down the heat to medium and continue to let it cook making sure to stir every 30 seconds or so. Keep doing this for another 5 to 10 minutes or until all of the liquid has evaporated and there is barely any steam coming off the meat. Finally taste the mixture and add black pepper to your liking.
- Assemble the maid rite sandwiches by first placing the bottom half of a burger bun on a plate. Then use a spoon to scoop out some of the maid rite meat and place it down on the burger bun. Make sure to use the spoon to press the meat down onto the bun, or else it can get messy. Finally, top the meat with some diced onion, pickles, and mustard, as is tradition.
- Enjoy!
Inspiration from other blogs
From Cooking With Carlee
From Iowa Girl Eats
Ever since I left Iowa a decade ago I have struggled to find a good recipe for maid-rite sandwich. They just never seem to taste right. But your recipe is hands down the best I’ve ever tried, and is exactly like I remember them growing up!
I’m glad the hear it Tyler!
Pretty darn good. Will use this recipe over and over. A great find
Lived in Iowa my first 25 years. Had many Maid-rites and Tenderloins. Have been back from time to time and always have both while there. Looking around the internet for a reasonable recipe and found this one. Just tried it today. It is a no fail approach and ends up tasting very close to the real thing. Thanks
Thanks Mike, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I grew up 2 blocks from the Maid Rite in La Crosse,Wis…so I’ve had my share of the original sandwich. Now that our Maid Rite is no longer operating….I’ve tried several different Maid Rite recipes. This is by far the best and closest I’ve tasted to the original. The only problem is….I make a one lb batch each time…and I usually eat the entire batch at one sitting. OINK…OINK
Thanks for the kind words Mike! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I love…burgers..hot dogs…barbques…and hot sandwiches…I tried this recipe and love it. Our local Maid Rite closed down…and I miss the sandwich so I tried this recipe because of the other reviews…I will be making this recipe..quite often…it’s soo good…be patient…follow the instructions and I guarantee…you’ll love the sandwich.
If I triple this recipe do I triple everything including the water?
Hi Carol, yes you will need to triple the onion soup mix, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard. And while I recommend you triple the amount of water you could use less, maybe 6 or 7 cups instead of 9. This is because the ratio of water to other ingredients doesn’t matter as far as taste (your going to steam off all the water anyways). If you do just make sure that it’s enough water to break up the ground beef into fine crumb and form a slurry consistency before cooking.
Also I want to give you a heads up that doubling or tripling the recipe will result in a longer cooking time (sometimes 30 minutes in my experience). So either start cooking it a bit earlier or make it a day ahead of time and warm it up a crook pot or microwave.
I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
I loved this! I used to make it about 35 years ago but I forgot about using the water. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. I add lots of pepper about 1 1/2 T. to 3 lbs. of beef and let it simmer uncovered for 3 hours, or till water evaporates. Perfection! Thankyou!
Loved it, it was a simple to make recipe but you have to stand with it and stir the whole time it’s cooking. Pretty salty too.
I grew up eating made-rites at the original one in Quincy, Il. The restaurant is still there and when I go to visit it’s a have to place to eat. This recipe is not exactly like theirs but it is delicious. I did everything to a tee EXCEPT I added 2 cups of water and 1 cup of chicken broth. What flavor. Will definitely make again.