I grew up in Iowa, so of course that means I grew up eating Maid-Rite sandwiches. I would often take advantage of my high school open campus lunch time to run over to Maid-Rite for a delicious sandwich. That location no longer exists. It changed hands numerous times and now hosts a Mexican restaurant.
What is a Maid-Rite you say? It’s a loose meat sandwich made from well seasoned and slow cooked ground beef. It’s absolutely delicious and a must to try if you are traveling through Iowa.
Maid-Rite History
In 1926, the Maid-Rite sandwich was born! Fred Angell started the concept in Muscatine, Iowa. Fred began to franchise his idea, selling the rights to Newton, Iowa in 1927 and Marshalltown, Iowa in 1928. Cliff Taylor purchased the 1928 franchise for the sum of $300. Cliff and his family operated Taylor’s Maid-Rite Hamburger Shop; baking pies at home, slicing whole pickles from Marshall Vinegar Works and buns from Strand’s Bakery.
After Cliff’s death in 1944, his son Don Taylor and wife Polly took over operations at Taylor’s Maid-Rite. Don continued to run the Maid-Rite in the same fashion, even building a cooler in the basement of his home to store the hamburger that was ground daily! To read more about the Maid-Rite history, click this link.
A Versatile Recipe
This recipe is VERY versatile! It can easily be made in the slow cooker for anyone with a busy schedule and can’t be home to babysit a stove top pot. The slow cooker method can be used with uncooked or cooked ground beef.
It can also be done on the cooktop if you are in a hurry and wish to get a quicker supper on. Though even stovetop needs a bit a time to accomplish the full flavor effect. If you are using uncooked ground beef, you will want to brown that and strain away the grease.
This recipe is PERFECT for meal prep. If you buy ground beef in bulk and brown it for freezer meals, this recipe is made for just that purpose! In the recipe video, you will see that I go this route for Maid-Rites.
Iowan Maid-Rite
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon dried minced onion can use onion powder
- 1 teaspoon low sodium beef base or a bouillon cube
- 1 teaspoon low sodium chicken base or a bouillon cube
- 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 pounds lean ground beef uncooked
- 8 hamburger buns
- Optional toppings cheese, ketchup, pickles, onions, mustard
Instructions
Slow Cooker Method
- Set slow cooker to high. Add all ingredients (except beef). Stir to combine. Add beef and stiruntil all combined and beef is completely coated.
- Cover and cook for 1 hour. Stir occasionally to break up ground beef. Uncover after 1 hour ofcook time. Continue cooking on high for 2 ½ – 3 hours (with the lid off), until most of the liquidhas cooked off. Continue to stir occasionally and break up any chunks of beef.
- Using a slotted spoon, serve a heaping spoonful on a warm bun and load it up with your favoritetoppings. We love cheese, ketchup and pickles!
- Serve and enjoy!
Stovetop Method
- Brown your ground beef and strain away the grease (if you are using fresh ground beef that has not already been cooked)
- Into a large pot, add: water, onion, beef and chicken bouillon, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk this together till fully combined.
- Add your ground beef (you can cook and strain your ground beef ahead of time or even pull cooked ground beef from your freezer if you'd like). Mix into brown broth.
- Cover your pot and simmer on low for 1 hour (or bump to medium heat for 30 minutes).
- Uncover the pot and simmer over medium heat (or whatever heat is necessary for the brown liquid to be slowly boiling), until the liquid has been absorbed or steamed away. Any liquid left in the beef mixture will cause soggy buns 😉
- Serve on hamburger buns and top with your favorite burger additions.
