Did You Grow Up With Loose Meat Sandwiches?
I guess alot of us associate loose meat sandwiches with growing up in the midwest. Remember when Rosanne ran a little loose meat sandwich place? Well, that got me thinking about Tavern sandwiches from a place in Sioux City, Iowa that was a few blocks from my grandparent’s home.
I remember that they were called Taverns, and they were delicious, but I do not remember the exact name of the cafe. I can recall walking there with my mother when the other adults were off doing whatever it is that they did.
Note that these are not Sloppy Joes. Those have a tomato sauce base, and these do not. Otherwise, they are similar.
My mother let me ask the waitress why this particular variation of ground beef in a bun tasted so much better than anything else. And I recall she told us that she told us that all that was added to the meat was salt and pepper. Now, I am not sure if this is exactly true. Perhaps the waitress never cooked, and did not know what went into these wonderful treats, or maybe she was guarding a dark secret.
Anyway, I found some recipes that claim to be the original Tavern recipe, and I will publish my version here. It was very good, and it reminded me of a Tavern loose meat sandwich. Of course, I used spray on oil instead of liberal amounts of lard or Criso, and I selected a low fat ground meat. So the one thing mising from my version is dripping grease. I have nothing against dripping grease, and I think it tastes very good! But my doctor has me watching my cholesterol, and I am too old to think that warnings like this only apply to other people.
So bear with my “leaner” version of a classic midwestern favorite.
Updated Loose Meat Sandwich Recipe (Just double everything if you want to increase the recipe. It’s not like I ever really measure anyway.)
- 1 Lbs. Ground Beef
- 1 Tablespoon vinegar (I’m sure this “makes” the sandwich, and you may want to add more, depending upon your taste).
- 1 Tablespoon Mustard
- Cooking Spray
- Salt and Pepper
- 1/4 cups chopped onions
- Minced garlic clove or a couple of shakes of garlic powder.
- More Mustard, Pickles, and Buns for Serving.
The ground meat filling is really simple. Mix the onions, garlic, and meat together. Just spray the oil on your pan and brown the meat. Mine was so law fat, I did not really need to drain it, but I would suggest that you drain fat if you see it. After the mixtures starts to brown, add the vinegar and mustad.
Then add salt and pepper to taste. The distinctive flavor, in my opinion, relies on the liberal use of vinegar and salt. But I don’t want to send anybody’s blood pressure up either.
Let it simmer until the onions are a little soft and the meat is done.
The Buns – Purists would just warm the buns, but you can toast them if you want to. I would spread a little extra mustard on each bun, add a few pickle slices, and then pile on the loose meat. Again, I really like this recipe, and I found myself splurging on 3 of them the first time I made it.
Do you have a better loose meat sandwich recipe? We’d love to read it, and you can register and post in it in the comments!
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We tried these, and they were pretty good. I don’t think 1 tablespoon of vinegar is enough, though that may be our taste. And yeah, using Pam or another cooking spray does lose a bit of the drippy, greasy experience….but we have to be sensible sometimes.
Hi there tavern or loosemeat lovers from Sioux City! There are several places in Sioux City that bring back such pleasant memories for me regarding taverns or loosemeats. One, Ye Old Tavern, was right down the hill from Central on the corner of Jackson and 14th Street. It was such a great place to go for lunch if you were lucky enough to have enough time for lunch period during a day of class at Central High. The other place with good loosemeats was and still is, I believe, Miles Inn in Greenville. The “Charlie Boy” sandwiches there are pure ground beef simmered for hours, seasoned with a bit of garlic salt, salt and a butt load of black pepper, served on a bun along side of a big, heavy, icy, frosted goblet of beer. On my infrequent trips home to visit my family, I like to stop by and pick up a few to take home to my folk’s home for lunch. It is such a treat. And then there is Tastee-In-and Out!!! Their loosemeats were the bomb!!! And the ONION CHIPS!!!! OMG!!! Nothing like em!!. It is funny, I was sitting here in Columbia, Missouri, thinking about what to fix for dinner and the thought of Taverns came to my head. I called my sister who lives in Sioux City and asked her if she remembered how we used to fix them when we were home. We talked about using Chicken Gumbo Soup in a batch of loosemeats. I hate Manwich, just not the same! I even remember having Pizza burgers at North Junior and Central and they were great!!! Anyway, hope this helps, if anything, gives your mind a tweak of nostalgia and makes you start salivating!!!!!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I lived in Cedar Rapids and loved the loose meat sandwiches (think they were called Maid Rites), not to mention the tenderloin sandwiches @ the Safari (wonder if it’s still there) – Again, thanks so much, gotta go…….time to eat!