My god…that TV show is awful. Does the host mock every regional food he encounters, or is he just being a rat bastard to those nice Iowans?
I’m not sure I see the appeal, either. I like sandwiches that don’t need a clean-up afterward with a spoon. But I still want to try one.
I will definitely cook chopped onion in with the beef; adding the beef broth will be considered, to try to keep the mega-loosity under control.
Never heard/seen of the show, just found a reasonable example of what the real deal Maid-Rite is like.
I was surprised by the inclusion of ketchup. If you describe your local specialty as “a sloppy joe without tomato,” why introduce tomato into the equation? But my plan will include dill pickle and yellow mustard (Plochman’s), by god!
[shakes fist at the heavens]
The key to making them at home is to cook the beef to the point of dryness. There should be no liquid in the meat at all when it is scooped onto the bun.
The key to eating one is not to unwrap it all the way, just like a Mission-style burrito.
Well, the ketchup is added after the fact, like a normal condiment, instead of being interspersed in the meat. I mean, come on, you gotta put something on that sandwich, and I don’t think just mustard and pickle cuts it. Just dress it like a normal burger. Besides, a sloppy joe is more than just tomato. It’s more like ground beef in a tomato-based barbecue sauce (which is why I assume they call them “barbecues” in parts of the upper Midwest.)
Speaking of Iowa, the best regional burger-type concoction I had there was something called a Carmichael Burger, and I only saw it in Dubuque. It’s a double cheeseburger of some sort with a strong onion flavor to it, and reminded me of a White Castle hamburger in “grown up” form, but I mean that solely in terms of flavor. Must be the onions. There’s very little about it on the Internet. I only get hits to about three or four places in Dubuque that serve them, and that’s about it.
How did it differ from an ordinary “slider” with onions?
If you’re ever in Custer, SD (and why would you be?), you have to try a “Hot Granny.” A hamburger with bacon, cream cheese, fresh jalapeños, and green salsa. Blow your mind.
As for the loose meat sandwich in my future, I plan to season the HELL out of the beef and onions, which should make the onion, pickle, and mustard sufficient. We’ll see.
I wish I had kept notes and perhaps my half-drunken memories of that night are making the burger seem better that it was, but I just remember it being a normal cheeseburger (actually, I’m not entirely sure if it was a double cheeseburger anymore), but it had a very distinct, oniony flavor that I associate with White Castle and pretty much only White Castle. For all I know, maybe they use rehydrated dehydrated onions like White Castle does. Usually, when I’m through Iowa, I’m trying to eat my way through the state’s various pork tenderloin sandwiches, and that is why I ended up at this particular bar. The year I went it (must have been around 2008 or 2009) was voted second or third best pork tenderloin sandwich in Iowa by the Iowa pork council or whatever the hell organization it is that gives out these kinds of awards. Anyway, I had my pork tenderloin sandwich, then I saw a carmichael on the bar menu and curiosity got the best of me. For all I know, it may just be that particular bar’s version of the carmichael. Looking at other menus, the carmichael seems to come in various incarnations there.
Ah, found it. The place I went to was Happy’s Place, 2nd place in 2010 for Iowa pork tenderloin, and it’s the Iowa Pork Producers Association who hand out the award.
Unfortunately, the only info about the Carmichael in that article is: “Another very popular sandwich is Happy’s Carmichael which consists of seasoned ground beef, Swiss cheese and grilled onions on a bun.”
I also found this write-up that adds “The Carmichael is an exceptionally flavorful specially seasoned beef patty usually accompanied by grilled onions and Swiss cheese.”
I’m actually a bit surprised that in this day and age of everything being on the internet that I can’t even find a picture of the darned thing anywhere.
I’ve lived in Iowa for 40 years now. I think I’ve eaten 2 Maid-Rites. That’s enough for me. I don’t see the attraction at all.
Stick to real sloppy joe’s. Maid-Rites are dry, flavorless and messy. I don’t care at all about the messy part.
I don’t want to hijack my own thread more than necessary, but I want to know more about this whole “pork tenderloin sandwich” thing.
I’ve only had one, in rural Illinois, very good, and from what I understand it’s really made out of a cutlet of pork LOIN, beaten thin, floured, egged, and crumbed like a wienerschnitzel. So why called “tenderloin” ?
Why does it hang out of the roll so flagrantly? Are you supposed to nibble off all the naked cutlet before you start on the sandwich part of the sandwich?
What condiments are usually employed?
Well, those sandwiches can be tenderloin or loin (but most of the time they do seem to be loin). I don’t know the history of them, but I assume they’re called pork tenderloin sandwiches because that’s how they started out and the name stuck for all variations. I also assume a lot of people don’t know the difference between the two and use the terms interchangeably.
Anyhow, as you note, they are essentially pork schnitzels on a bun. I assume that’s their ultimate origin–from German immigrants. I seem to recall having read that somewhere, but don’t quote me. Indiana and Iowa are the two states most associated with them and there’s perhaps a little bit of friendly competition between the two states as to whose is better.
I don’t think there’s a wrong method to eat a tenderloin, but I do nibble at the overhang first. Depending on where you’re getting your sandwich the overhang can be something sensible like one to two inches outside the bun, to silly stuff like this.
I like mine with pickles, onions, and mustard. Ketchup is also used commonly, but that just seems like all sorts of wrong to me.
To answer the OP’s question: we do! But since I find them pretty much tasteless made the normal way we have used Chicken Gumbo soup (Campbell’s) to add a little flavor to the loose meat (browned first and then simmered with the soup and half the amount of water that the can says to use until almost dry).
It’s been a while since I had a tenderloin sandwich but only because we just avoid fried foods now. But back in the day that was a “must” when going to a Fair. Pickles and mustard (yellow) are about all that was needed to dress one.
Former President Obama bought the “rival” to a Maid-Rite when he was campaigning: a Magic Mountain. Road Tips: Ross' Restaurant - Bettendorf, IA (I prefer the Volcano… same as the Mountain but with chili added.)
Huh. That looks like Bettendorf’s version of a Springfield horseshoe sandwich. (Except a horseshoe is made with a hamburger patty, not loose meat.) I may have to stop there next time I’m through the Quad Cities, but usually my tradition is to stop by either Harris, Frank’s (in Silva, so not technically Quad Cities) or Happy Joe’s for some Quad City Style pizza. Which now reminds me: those places also do a weird thing with their sausage pizzas, in that the sausage is applied “loose meat” style. Like, it’s not chunks of sausage or slices of sausage–it’s like crumbled little tiny pieces of sausage. You can see a video of it here. What’s up with “loose meat” in that part of the world?
It doesn’t have to be. The hamburger patty is the most common, but a horseshoe can be made with other meats—including, yes, pork tenderloin.
(ETA: Warning: You could get a heart attack just looking at the picture in that second link.)
I did know about the tenderloin variant, but not the Maid Rite variant. Well, there ya go. Wonder which came first, the Iowa or Springfield version.
And is it just me, or is he saying “Sang-wich” instead of “Sandwich”? I’ve never heard it pronounced like that,anywhere. It’s right up there with Benedict Cumberbatch and the “Peng-weens”.
A loose meat sandwich sounds just like a Philly cheesesteak, but with the beef ground instead of shaved. And that whole lack of cheese thing, but you get my drift. It’s hard to mess up with beef and green pepper.
Yes. It’s fairly common in some American accents. You here occasionally here in Chicago. Here’s a little bit from a radio show about the word and its various pronunciations.
Green pepper? What kind of communist puts green peppers in a loose meat sandwich?
