A Maid-Rite Is Not A Sloppy Joe — Here's The Difference

If you ever find yourself in the Midwest, a classic comfort food you need to try is the loose-meat sandwich. This dish is exactly what it sounds like — seasoned loose meat, most often ground beef, stuffed in between two pieces of bread. The sandwich style is especially popular in Iowa. And it has many names depending on who's making it and what's in it. Examples include the tavern sandwich, Nu-Way, Steamer, Tastee, Maid-Rite, and sloppy joe.

Without looking it up right now, could you describe the difference between a Maid-Rite and a sloppy joe? Both have ground beef between hamburger buns. Both can be messy to eat as meat crumbles tumble out of the bun when you attempt to pick up the sandwich. These two creations even feature some of the same ingredients. However, sloppy joes and Maid-Rites are characterized by different condiments, toppings, and textures. The sandwiches' backstories also set them apart.

A Maid-Rite is a form of Iowa's signature loose meat sandwich, acting almost like a deconstructed burger. It hails from the Hawkeye State and was popularized by a restaurant with the same name as its famed offering. According to Maid-Rite, during the mid-1920s butcher Fred Angell spent some spare time experimenting in the kitchen and ended up creating his version of the dish after grinding up beef with specific spices. The name allegedly comes from a customer saying, "This sandwich is made right."

A Maid-Rite starts with a filling of crumbly, seasoned ground beef that's drier than a sloppy joe's meat. The recipe varies, but typical ingredients include beef broth, onion, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt, and pepper. Some people use more seasoning for more flavor. That all gets cooked up in a skillet before being stuffed in a hamburger bun.

Toppings make a Maid-Rite, too. The sandwich commonly contains pickles and onions, as well as mustard and ketchup. Some folks even put cheese on their Maid-Rites. So the sandwich really is much like a burger.

In comparison to the Maid-Rite, a sloppy joe is, well, sloppier in terms of both its ingredients and history. The origins of the sandwich are debated, with some folks alleging it also came from Iowa after somebody added tomato sauce to the state's beloved loose meat sandwiches. Others claim the sandwich came from a bar in Florida called Sloppy Joe's or a bar in Havanna, Cuba, owned by José García. Whether or not the sandwich even came from a guy named Joe is up for debate.

The recipe for a traditional sloppy joe is only somewhat less debatable. It always features a key ingredient that distinguishes it from a Maid-Rite: ketchup or a tomato-based bath. The signature condiment joins brown sugar, garlic powder, mustard, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire in dressing the ground beef. Some people also add vegetables like bell peppers and onions, chili powder or cayenne for a slight kick, or tomato sauce for an extra tomato-y sloppy joe.

You can stick the meat mixture on a soft hamburger bun and serve as is, no toppings required. A sloppy joe, then, is like a Maid-Rite's sweeter, saucier cousin. It's not sopping wet with liquid, but it has more sauce than a Maid-Rite, as well as a distinct tomato flavor.