Flavorful seasoned beef is piled high on a bun creating a quick and easy meal your whole family will love. You don’t have to be from Iowa to enjoy the classic Loose Meat Sandwich!
Yesterday I was at the grocery store picking up ingredients for Loose Meat Sandwiches, and, of course, some beer to wash it down. After giving my beer to the cashier she scanned it, looked and me and chuckled, “I’d say it is safe to say you are over 40”, then proceeded to laugh at the absurdity of her own joke, and clicked proceed on the age verification screen without requiring an I.D. Good thing I was buying some comfort food to sulk in. I’m 35.
What is a Loose Meat Sandwich
With my youthful pride in tatters, I went home and prepared this Iowa classic. It is commonly known as a Loose Meat Sandwich, however, locals will often refer to it as a Made-Rite instead, after a popular restaurant chain, or simply as a Tavern Sandwich, where they are also frequently served.
Primarily consisting of finely crumbled seasoned ground beef and chopped onions, a Loose Meat Sandwich is eaten like a messy hamburger. Traditionally this sandwich is served on cheap hamburger buns with pickles and mustard. However, I have it on good authority that ketchup and sometimes even cheese is added by locals.
I guess it is one of those things like the classic Wisconsin bratwurst. It is claimed that it is only authentically served with mustard, but I don’t know anyone in Wisconsin who actually adheres to that. Myself included… Beer Brat Sauce is where it is at folks! But, I am getting sidetracked…
Loose Meat Sandwich vs Sloppy Joe
So is a Loose Meat Sandwich just another name for homemade Sloppy Joes? No. The major difference between a Loose Meat Sandwich and a Sloppy Joe is the absence of a tomato-based sauce. Well, really a sauce of any kind. Rather than swimming in a seasoned sauce, a loose meat sandwich is simply dry crumbles of flavored ground beef served like a loose hamburger. However, if you are really craving a wet sloppy Joe that tastes like a burger, I got you covered! Check out my Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes recipe, I promise you’ll love it!
Loose Meat Sandwich – Roseanne
Though regionally popular in Iowa since the 1920s, Loose Meat Sandwiches owe much of their national fame to the TV show Roseanne. The sitcom featured Loose Meat Sandwiches at Roseanne and Jackie’s restaurant, ‘The Landford Lunchbox’. However, the restaurant was not completely Hollywood fiction, Roseanne and then-husband Tom Arnold opened their own real-life restaurant, ‘Roseanne and Tom’s Big Food Diner’ serving none other than Loose Meat Sandwiches.
How to Make a Loose Meat Sandwich
Making your own Loose Meat Sandwiches is incredibly simple and doesn’t require much time. Ground beef is browned in a saute pan, often with a little extra fat to assist with the browning, then the fat is drained, and onions and seasonings are added. If you want the extra richness of the fat, you are welcome to keep it in the skillet, but draining it is certainly healthier and still flavorful.
I enhance the rich flavor of the beef by adding Worcestershire sauce and beef broth, plus a touch of sweetness and tang from brown sugar and apple cider vinegar. Though initially soupy, simply continue cooking the beef mixture until all of the liquid has evaporated. The flavor will soak into the beef.
Loose Meat Sandwich
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground Beef
- 2 tablespoons Butter (oil or bacon grease can be substituted)
- 1/2 Onion (diced)
- 2 cups Beef broth
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
Serving
- Pickles
- Mustard
- 8 Hamburger buns
Instructions
- Melt butter in saute pan over medium heat and add ground beef.
- Cook the beef until it browns and is no longer pink, breaking it up into crumbles as it cooks.
- Drain fat from the pan and add onions, beef broth, Worcestershire, vinegar, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until all liquid has evaporated.
- Serve on hamburger buns with pickles and mustard.
Notes
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Clifford streckenbach says
Excellent keep up the great recipes
Tracee says
I use ground Bison instead of ground beef. I’m a Texan who loves loose meat sandwiches!
Lydia Rose says
Must have something to do with the flavor of ground beef. I have never heard of “loose meat burgers” before , but I have been fixing a version of this for umpteen years.
Being from the Southwest, New Mexico to be exact, I add salt, chopped onion, garlic and jalapenos. Cook it up, put it in a flour tortilla, top with cheese, a little extra fresh onion and salsa……roll it up……and wala….you got yourself a burrito!
marjorie Austin says
This was delicious! Thank you so much
Heath Jarvis says
The Lanford Lunchbox from the Roseanne TV show was based on a real restaurant in Ottumwa, Iowa called “The Canteen”. Ottumwa is just a few miles from Tom Arnold’s home town of Eldon, Iowa.
The Canteen opened (depending on who you ask) somewhere between 1928 and 1936. Their t-shirts say 1936, but others say it opened earlier than that. It is located in an alley in Ottumwa. Several years ago, when Ottumwa built a parking garage on the same block as the Canteen, they basically built AROUND the restaurant, to preserve its history.
The Canteen serves loose meat burgers, loose meat cheeseburgers (they use Cheez Whiz and it is awesome), and homemade pies. You can buy a bag of chips or a candy bar, but most people are satisfied with the sandwiches and pies.
This is one of my all-time favorite sandwiches, and your recipe is VERY close to what I get in Iowa!
Sara says
I’m a born and raised ottumwa Iowan and love the canteen definitely a hometown favorite!
Corey palmer says
This is my second time making this great dish. And as a single guy I love the leftovers they taste maybe even better!
Carmen Rudkins says
During the years1955 to 1957 I worked at the Tastee Inn and Out in Sioux City, Iowa and we served loose meat burgers and they were so good. I have been looking for the recipe so will try yours and then let you know what I think. Thanks!
Lynn says
I love that place! Best loose meat sandwich I ever had
Lynn says
Try wrapping them in sandwich or wax paper and steaming them before serving. That’s how the taverns that I had were served. Makes all the difference!
mike v says
just had loose meat and onions and celery with sharp cheader cheese with the leftovers i will put on pickles and mustard but only have spicy brown mustard
Thad says
Well I was born and raised in the hometown of the original Made-Rite sandwich shop. The owner added root beer to the mix, it gave it the sweet flavor that it’s known for. I don’t know what the original seasoning mix consisted of but root beer was one of the ingredients. If you step foot in one of the restaurants chances are that you will find a root beer on the drink menu.
Kelly says
My husband made these tonight after watching a rerun of Roseanne he searched for a recipe and came up with this one. I didn’t think I would be crazy about them considering we never had a loose meat sandwich in NY or NJ but we loved them! We added pickles, mustard and cheese and they kind of reminded us of a McDonalds cheeseburger. We will definitely make these again!
Phebe Snyder says
These are excellent! I have made them twice now, recipe exactly as written. The pickle and mustard are the icing on the cake. Even though I don’t choose pickles and mustard on my hamburger-they really compliment the flavors of this dish. These sandwiches are a hit with my husband as well.
Second time I made them I doubled the recipe. Served them as our first meal when the family started gathering for Christmas Holidays.
I do have a question. Have you made them in an instant pot? Was wondering about cooking time and release instructions?
Thank you and thanks again for the fun and tasty recipe.
Ryan dougherty says
delicious!! Definitely on the dinner rotation