Loose Meat Sandwich Recipe
This Loose Meat Sandwich Recipe will be a surprise to you if you haven’t had one before, because it seems like it would be so much like a sloppy joe, or hamburger – but it’s not! I loose meat sandwich is a sloppy joe WITHOUT the sauce, a hamburger that’s “LOOSE”, etc. Although the actual inventor of the loose meat sandwich is debated, it’s roots that trace back to rural IOWA are not. I can only imagine that this sandwich recipe was created because somebody wanted to actually taste the meat, without a tomato base, but cook it in a way (in a diner) where you could cook mass quantities of it in batches without having to make it to order like a burger. In any event – try this recipe, and you will probably be as shocked as I was how good it is (as simple are the recipe is). I didn’t even want to make it, and my oldest son wouldn’t shut up until I did…now I want to make it again!
Ingredients for loose meat sandwich:
- 1 lb GOOD ground chuck (not cheap hamburger)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsb yellow mustard
- water to cover the meat
You want a heavy skillet, cast iron is best. Cheap pan = bad recipe. Put a little salt in the bottom of the pan, add the ground beef – cook on med-high heat. Add the onion once it’s about half cooked. Chop meat up with a spatula finely. When fully cooked, drain meat in a strainer in sink (don’t rinse), then place back in pan on low heat. Add your vinegar, sugar, mustard, and just enough water to cover the meat – and cook 15-20 minutes by simmering, until the water has cooked away, but DO NOT cook so long that meat sticks to the pan or the liquid is complely gone.
Traditionally these are to be served on steamed buns, or at least lightly toasted in the oven. You eat them with the meat alone on the bun and some mustard – and it’s sheer BLASPHEMY to add ketchup (or cheese)! Trust me, try this recipe one time, and you will love it!
No comments yet.