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Maid-Rites are a ground beef sandwich with tons of flavor. It’s a quick and easy Midwest classic your family will enjoy for lunch or dinner!
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Have y’all ever had a Maid-Rite?! Lawd have mercy, are they gooo-oood! 😍
So first off: what is a Maid-Rite? Basically, it’s a loose meat ground beef sandwich! Think of it as a sloppy joe without all the sauce.
Here, the beef is the true “main character”!! Don’t be fooled, though, because there’s plenty of flavor going on inside!
If you’re ever in the Midwest and you have never had a Maid-Rite, add it to your list of things to experience.
As for Maid-Rite rules…
I’ve heard that you’re not supposed to put ketchup on a Maid-Rite, ever! And I won’t tell either way, ‘cause I’m not one to judge. 😉
Just know that, from what I understand, it wasn’t until a few years ago that restaurants would even allow ketchup on a Maid-Rite. Apparently, some purists take that matter very seriously.
A second “rule”… they don’t have visible onions in their sandwiches if there are any at all. But I like them, so I added them for the Copycat Maid-Rites. Feel free to leave them out if you prefer!
Overall, if you need an easy weeknight meal with a little bit of nostalgia and history, be sure to give these copycat Maid-Rites a try!
If you’d like to find out a little bit more about these tasty sandwiches, be sure to read about Maid-Rite’s history and tradition – or check out this Wikipedia article all about Maid-Rite!
Maid-Rite Copycat Recipe: Ingredients & Substitutions
To make this recipe for Maid-Rites, you will need …
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Ingredients
- ground beef – you’ll want to use lean 85/15 ground beef for this recipe, crumbled small and drained of fat. I haven’t tried it with ground turkey or anything like that, but I imagine it still tastes just as good, even if it isn’t the “classic” recipe!
- onion and salt – you’ll cook the beef with these to provide the base flavor.
- mustard, white vinegar, water, and sugar – the classic Maid-Rite flavoring added to the ground beef. So, so good!
- salt and pepper – optional, to taste. You might want a lot. Or a little!!
- steamed hamburger buns – the traditional Maid-Rite bread. Of course, you could sandwich a Maid-Rite between anything you want, really! (I wonder what it would taste like in a baguette?)
- toppings like ketchup, mustard, etc – are optional, depending on whether or not you want a “classic” Maid-Rite. Some people swear you’re not supposed to put anything on a Maid-Rite as I said. But you eat how you want!!
Maid-Rites: FAQs
It’ll make about 4-6 sandwiches, enough to feed a small family (or you and a group of your best friends)!
Less than an hour – about 35 minutes. Only 5 of that is prep, and the rest is cooking time!
You can freeze it for 3 months or keep it in the fridge for 4-5 days. Use an airtight container!
This may be the authentic way, and you can try that, and I’ve also heard people use root beer and canned soup. I think this recipe comes close to the flavor without all that!
Other recipes you may enjoy
Copycat Maid-Rites
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 small onion, finely chopped (optional)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- water
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 6 steamed hamburger buns, for serving
Topping ideas:
- ketchup, mustard, pickles, onions
Instructions
- In a skillet, brown and crumble the ground beef with the onion and salt over medium-high heat until the meat is no longer pink. Be sure to make the crumbles small as it cooks. Drain any fat, if necessary.
- Add the mustard, vinegar, and sugar to the beef mixture. Add enough water to just cover the meat. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low heat and continue to cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until most of the water has evaporated. Taste and then season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the meat mixture on steamed buns with desired toppings.
Notes
- For authentic taste and texture, it is important that your beef crumbles are very small and you allow the meat mixture to boil and steam.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally published on June 13, 2013. Updated on April 13, 2022.
My recipe from an owner of maid rite has beer in it and he cooks it in a copper kettle
My dad was from Iowa and my mom made these too but without the vinegar.
You are right about the ketchup my dad would never use it but I would put just a little bit on them because I love ketchup.
Thanks for this post this brings up a lot of memories of me eating these when I was younger.
Need to add a little cumin to give smoky flavor