This Roseanne’s Inspired Loose Meat Tavern Sandwiches recipe is the perfect meal for weeknight dinners. Toasted hamburger buns loaded with a juicy ground beef mixture and topped with chopped dill pickles and yellow mustard is the ultimate comfort food. Your whole family is going to request these simple sandwiches weekly!
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Roseanne’s Loose Meat Tavern Sandwiches
Loosemeat sandwiches, maid rite sandwiches, tavern sandwiches, elevated sloppy joe’s. This sandwich goes by many names. But if you’re familiar with the late 1980’s early 1990’s sitcom, “Roseanne” starring Roseanne Barr, you might have heard of Roseanne’s small restaurant called, “The Lanford Lunch Box.”
Jackie Harris, Roseanne’s sister, was talking to Roseanne about those “loose meat things from Iowa”. Jackie mentioned there was nothing around their area that served delicious sandwiches like these, so Roseanne eventually agrees to the idea of the tavern sandwiches. The family got to work and began replicating a similar recipe in which, Dan Conner, Roseanne’s husband, delightfully replied, “Fruity, yet bovine. Bingo!”
Jackie’s at-the-time-boyfriend mentions that it’s kind of hard to eat, which is 100% correct. The sandwiches are super juicy and the meat tends to fall out. But Roseanne’s reply is, “See, therein lies the beauty. You drop half of it on your lap, and you’re forced to buy another one!” And that’s where the inception of this little diner began!
These delicious Roseanne Inspired Loose Meat Sandwiches are savory and comforting, making them a popular choice for a quick and satisfying meal. This easy ground beef recipe cooks in under 40 minutes, making it the perfect weeknight dinner! Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the printable recipe card.
The Players for Roseanne’s Loosemeat Sandwiches
Ingredients:
- Olive Oil – We’ll be using some extra virgin olive oil to saute our vegetables in.
- Onion – I’m using half a white onion, but you can use brown or yellow if you prefer.
- Garlic – Using fresh garlic will add lots of flavor to our inspired maid-rite sandwich, but you can use garlic powder in a pinch.
- Ground Beef – I’m using 85% lean, 15% fat organic ground beef for this original recipe. Having some fat on our unseasoned ground beef will give this sandwich flavor.
- Beef Broth – Use low-sodium beef for the meat mixture to simmer in.
- Worcestershire Sauce – Worcestershire sauce adds some depth and a slightly tangy, salty flavor.
- Mustard – Yellow prepared mustard is used in both the beef mixture and on our toasted buns.
- Sugar – Just a dash of sugar (or brown sugar!) is needed.
- Pickle Juice – This ingredient adds a tanginess to our beef mixture. The acidity in pickle juice can help balance the flavors. It can also cut through the richness of fatty or heavy dishes, adding brightness to the overall flavor.
- Salt & Pepper – Use salt and pepper to taste.
- Brioche Buns – While not original, I love using brioche buns for this best loose meat sandwiches. They are super fluffy and compliment are loose meat mixture. You can certainly use hamburger buns for this recipe too!
- Cheese – To make this a Cheese-Rite (which we always do!) add a slice of cheese to these delicious sandwiches. You can use sliced cheddar, provolone, or American cheese.
- Pickles – Using dill pickle slices or pickle chips will complete your loose hamburger sandwich!
Tools:
- Skillet – You’ll need a fairly large skillet to make these loose meat tavern sandwiches. Along with a separate skillet or flat griddle pan to toast your buns on.
How to make Roseanne’s Loose Meat Tavern Sandwiches
In a large skillet over medium heat, add your olive oil and saute your diced onions for a few minutes. Cook the onions for about 3 minutes until the onions are soft. Add in your minced garlic and saute for an additional minute. To the skillet, add in ground beef. Take a wooden spoon and begin to crumble and brown ground beef. This should take about 5 minutes. Drain off any excess fat or grease from your skillet.
To the skillet, add in your beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard, sugar, pickle juice, salt, and pepper. Allow the mixture to come up to a simmer. Once the beef mixture simmers, lower the heat and allow the beef broth to be cooked down by half. This should take about 25-30 minutes. Be sure to stir your meat every once in a while so that the ground beef doesn’t stick to the bottom of the skillet.
If you still have some liquid in the skillet after 30 minutes, no worries! We’ll be using a slotted spoon to place the beef onto our golden brown toasted buns.
On the bottom half of the bun, pile meat onto the bun along with a slice of cheese, chopped pickles, and a squirt of mustard. Top with the other half of the bun and enjoy!
What’s the Difference between Sloppy Joe’s and Tavern Sandwiches?
Sloppy Joe’s are known for their flavorful tomato sauce which is thick and saucy. Loose meat sandwiches contains no tomato sauce or ketchup and focus on the seasoned and crumbly texture of the cooked ground beef without the thick sauce.
Side Dishes to Serve with Loose Meat Sandwiches
Aside from your classic sides like french fries or potato chips, a delicious Creamy Broccoli Salad would pair nicely! If you want a more comforting, homey-type of side dish, check out my Easy Creamy Stove-Top Macaroni and Cheese. You can make it while your meat mixture is simmering on the stove. Super easy!
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If you try Roseanne’s Inspired Loose Meat Tavern Sandwiches, leave me a comment! I would love to chat with you.
Looking for other tasty meal ideas? Next time, give these recipes a try!
Roseanne’s Inspired Loose Meat Tavern Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp pickle juice
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- 5 brioche buns or hamburger buns
Toppings
- sliced cheese
- diced pickles
- yellow mustard
- diced onions optional
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add your olive oil and saute your diced onions for 3 minutes. Add in your minced garlic and saute for an additional minute.
- To the skillet, add in the ground beef. Take a wooden spoon and begin to crumble and brown ground beef. This should take about 5 minutes. Drain off any excess fat from your skillet.
- To the skillet, add in your Worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard, sugar, pickle juice, beef broth, salt, and pepper. Allow the mixture to come up to a simmer. Once the beef mixture simmers, lower the heat and allow the beef broth to be cooked down by half. This should take about 30 minutes.
- On the bottom half of your toasted bun, using a slotted spoon, pile meat onto the bun along with a slice of cheese, chopped pickles, and a squirt of mustard. Top with the other half of the bun and enjoy!
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