Easy Loose Meat Sandwich without Bread

One pot dinners are easy to get on the table for a busy cook, and this loose meat sandwich (a Maid-Rite variation) is not only easy, but healthy and delicious. The recipe includes pickles and Georgia mustard (aka mustard-based BBQ sauce) to take it over the top in flavor.

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What is a Loose Meat Sandwich

Sometimes referred to as a Tavern Sandwich or a Maid-Rite, the loose meat sandwich typically consists of ground beef on a bun, mixed with sauteed onions, and sometimes topped with pickles, ketchup, mustard, and cheese. It is unlike a hamburger, because a tavern’s meat is cooked loose rather than formed into a compact patty.

I opt out of using bread, so my loose meat dinner is more of a one-pot skillet dinner. I do add the pickles, onions, mustard and cheese, but no ketchup. The addition of a tomato base ingredient like ketchup essentially turns it into a Sloppy Joe.

I also like to keep the onions raw and add them with the pickles for the extra crunch.

Loose Meat vs Maid-Rite vs Sloppy Joe

A loose meat sandwich (aka a Tavern sandwich) is essentially the umbrella term for a ground beef sandwich where the beef is not formed into a patty, but rather “loose”. I make mine without buns and serve it as a skillet dinner. There is a little sauce to hold the meat together, but it is not as saucy as a Sloppy Joe.

Maid-Rite is a loose meat sandwich that hails from Iowa. Since the 1920s, it has been made with sautéed (sometimes steamed) ground beef and onions, served on a bun and dressed up with ketchup, mustard, and pickles.

A Sloppy Joe is a loose meat sandwich that include a fair amount of a tomato base in the sauce that holds the beef together. It is typically more “saucy” than a Maid-Rite or a Tavern sandwich.

Substitute Ingredients in Loose Meat Sandwiches

There are many ways to make a loose meat sandwich. Because I practice a low carb diet, I don’t use buns or bread but rather make it as a skillet dinner. There are a lot of variations on this type of dinner. Here is a list of the ones I have heard of:

• Use Hawaiian rolls for the buns (it’s a sweeter bread).
• Include coke in the sauce (instead of water).
• Use Velveeta or other melting cheeses.
• Add cream of mushroom soup.
• Replace the water with chicken broth
• Add a packet of powdered onion soup mix

Loose-meat (aka Maid-Rite) Skillet Dinner

This is an easy variation on a Maid-Rite sandwich without the bread. It is a great low carb dinner that comes together fast and adds flavor with pickles and Georgia mustard (a BBQ sauce with mustard as the main ingredient)

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Servings 4

Calories 347

Author Dorothy Stainbrook

Equipment

• large skillet
• sharp knife

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Lb. ground beef
• 1 Teaspoon salt
• 1/2-1 Cup Georgia mustard any BBQ sauce with a mustard base
• ¼ Cup yellow mustard
• ¼ – ½ Cup water
• ½ -1 Cup cheese I used asiago cheese. My husband likes Velveeta!
• ½ Cup chopped pickles I used cornichons for extra pickle flavor
• 1 onion chopped (used raw)

Instructions

 

• Cook ground beef in oil over medium-high heat, breaking apart as it cooks. Cook until no longer pink (about 5 minutes)
• Add salt, mustards and water and stir together until combined. Add cheese and cook until melted in.
• Add pickles and raw onions and stir together (you are not cooking the pickles and onions, just combining the mixture)
• Serve in a bowl if you are low carb. Serve on a piece of toast if not.

Nutrition

Calories: 347kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 17gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 66mgSodium: 1273mgPotassium: 454mgFiber: 2gSugar: 13gVitamin A: -17IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: -45mgIron: 3mg

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