The original Maid Rite franchise has a manual which I read part of years ago. I live in Greenville, Ohio and there has been a Maid Rite here since 1933. They have refined the recipe down to a point that the line is up the street most of the day. The first major thing is NO CATSUP.

The meat should be very lean, bull meat if possible. It should be cooked but not browned. Before all of that, soak in Worchestershire sauce over night if possible. White pepper, salt and a bit of sugar should be added as it cooks. When finished put into a crock pot and steam as long as possible adding water if needed. Taste occasionally and correct the taste as needed.

Thanks for your advice Bob. The Maid Rite in Greenville is the only one I have ever been to and that is the taste I want to duplicate now that I am too far away to stop by anymore.

I've lived in Iowa all my life. Love me some maid rites! I make them once a year. I use 5 pounds of 93% lean ground beef, 2 tablespoons of salt, a packet of Lipton onion soup mix, 2 tablespoons of mustard, 1 can of beef broth and 4 tablespoons of name brand Worcestershire sauce. I use half of a 2 liter bottle of coke. Mix it all together and simmer in medium heat for 3 hours. Stir every half hour. During hour 4 you can Cook on medium to high heat to finish steaming all the juices and add your own taste. You want more of the Worcestershire onion smell than anything else. If you take a maid rite and one of these and eat them under a blind test. You cannot tell which is which!

I had the original Maid-Rite years ago when I was in Iowa setting up a REX TV store in a mall there. Absolutely loved them. I'm actually close to Greenville but never went there to get a sandwich, maybe I should.

We have a local Dairy Queen that makes their version and they are real good, they call them Burg-Rites. Think I'm going to try the recipe with coke and see what happens.

Boil the meat to get the grease out. Drain. Put the meat back in the pan. Chop up white onion and add 8 oz. of Coca Cola per 1 pound hamburger. Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Cook on low heat until all the Coke has soaked into the meat and onion is soft. Serve with mustard and butter & pickles. I think the Coke is the secret ingredient.

Hi Mary, have you done this in a crockpot? Sounds delicious!

Thinking about making Maid Rites for my friends here in Arkansas, but would like to them in my Crock Pot, what do you think?

I am orginally from Greenville. I have lived in Mississippi for the last 30 years now. Every time I come home Maid-Rites is my 1st stop if they are open. I have tried to make them for years but still have not got it right. I hope this one gets closer.

Hi Lorinda, I am from Greenville and have lived in Jackson for 30 years. We just ate Maid-Rites in Greenville and looked up recipes. Where do you live in Mississippi?

We used to "cruise" through the parking lot of a Made Rite back in the 60's. The Made Rite sandwiches were my favorite. Now living in Minnesota I have found two Made Rite restaurants. I also like to make these delicious sandwiches at home using this recipe. I do replace ground beef with ground turkey with satisfactory results.

Yes sir. Used to cruise St. Germain in St. Cloud back in the 60's. Good thing about it back then was you could pull in at 2 in the morning and they were opened.
No Made-Rite in So California ))-:

Great recipe!! Gotta love maid-rite's. BTW, good LEAN hamburger doesnt come from bulls, its all about how you process it. By from the midwest if you want the best!! good luck maid-rite eaters:)

Haydust, you are right about the bull meat. In fact the original recipe said to use a commercial grade of meat. My dad worked at the meat packing house right behind the Maid Rite and they always ordered bull meat, usually a quarter at a time and boned and ground all the meat themselves. They also chop all the onions there as well.

I grew up in rural Illinois where Maid Rite was a real treat for us. My grandmother insisted the cook had confided to her that the secret ingredient was Coca-Cola--stewing the ground beef in Coke seems to do the trick!

To the person who mentioned Coca Cola... absolutely right! We've added a can of regular Coke for the stewing process on a tip from a Maid Rite guru here in Iowa, and it was absolutely the missing ingredient. They're awesome!

Interesting about the Coke, I have it from an "insider" it's Root Beer. LOL, Tastes great with the Root Beer though.

I'm from Muscatine, IA (the original Maid-Rite location). I keep seeing Coca-Cola and beer but my mother swears it is Root Beer. There you have it, the perfect combo. Eat up and enjoy!

Excellent maid rite. For what I can remember from about 10 yrs ago. I did add 1/2 can Coca Cola. Very good.

I worked at the Maid-Rite in Aurora, Colorado when I was 17 and make the beef every single day. There is no cola or root beer or any weird crap like that in the meat people. It's just seasoned beef cooked on a steam table. Instead of wasting your time arguing about it. Just make your version the way you like it and quit worrying about what other people think. Good grief. It's a freaking loose-meat hamburger. If someone wants to put ketchup one theirs, who are you to judge?

Evelyn, Love your comments and think I'd love to have a beer with you!

It's no wonder you ended up in the haven for grunge and unhinged stupidity. You're the only person on this thread that is arguing.

Welcome to the internet Evelyn. :)

Yes, seasoned beef... but WHAT IS THE SEASONING???

I was really enjoying reading all of the comments until I got to yours. You must be a very lonely person. That was just tacky to say. Those people were just commenting on their experience, don't believe there was any worry except on your part.

That's telling Evelyn, I love Maid Rites too, buy 'em every chance I get. But it's a loose meat steam burger, if your gonna make your own, make it the way you want it, use soda or not, put ketchup on it or don't. I prefer ketchup, mustard, fresh chopped onions, & dill pickles on mine & I don't cook it in soda.

Well I'll say that this is not the original recipe at all. My father worked there as a young man when it was just one mom and pop restaurant. There was no Worcestershire or cola in that original recipe. He taught me and swore me to secrecy. But yes... no catsup (tho sometimes I like catsup on it)... but you could have onions...mustard and a dill chip a must. The secret is two Asian ingredients...one common and one you'd never guess. That's all I can say without him coming back from heaven to smack me down. I'm kinda wondering if those ingredients became hard to get in bulk. Maybe that's where Worcestershire and cola came in?? Maybe...

Theri, I agree. Worcestershire, Cola, or beer were never used. If anybody bothers to visit Maid-Rite.com, they say their technique is to steam the beef, braise it in their secret sauce and steam the bun as well. I think I know the 2 Asian ingredients you mention but I won't say what they are. One sounds like Coy Coss and the other sounds like Lice Binegar. Those give the beef its umami taste along with the minced onion, mustard, chicken broth and brown sugar.

One ingredient is a touch of soy sauce and touch of rice vinegar. No root beer or coke, just meat simmered in water salt, pepper. Served on hot bun, wrap in paper let steam then add mustard, chopped onion, side of pickles. Enjoy!

I did live in Ohio, now live in Idaho. when I was in Ohio I had ate at the Maid Rite a few times an yes the burgers were great. Had to wait in line for a table. So I got to watch them make the burgers. I'm hoping this recipe is like theirs or close to it. Do miss the burgers.

Please message me the original recipe from Iowa.

So glad I found this site... I'm from Missouri and all the local maid rites are closed now but I had my first one before I was even born lol.. Mom and grandma went to maid rites to celebrate after the doctor told them I was on the way. Here I am 52 now. I keep hoping that they will come back to area. Thank you for sharing the recipe.

Vicki, there is a Maid Rite in Rolla, Mo. I live in Rolla, and it's been here since the late 50's.

This is the way I make Maid Rites: 1 pound of ground beef and 1/4 cup chopped onion cook in 1 cup of water -- chopping to break up the beef into crumbles. When done drain well. Put back in the pan. Dissolve 2 beef bouillon cubes in 1/2 cup of HOT water and stir into the cooked beef. Cook until the water disappears. Serve with ketchup, mustard, pickles -- on hamburger buns. :)

From a gal that worked in the Maid Rite in the late 50's. In the Maid-Rite there was only the hamburger, water to steam it with and salt, if I remember correctly. Why do you ask? There is a gal here in Grinnell that adds just a little bit of flour to thicken it a little and a few seasonings, but that's all I remember we did to it when I worked there.

My grandparents started the Maid-Rite in Grinnell, Iowa and my parents eventually took it over. I have asked my mother what makes a maid-rite and Garry is correct. She said buying a high quality of ground beef was the most important part. Onion, salt and steamed is all you need! It's always a real treat to go back to Grinnell although I am disappointed they dropped the franchise name.

Really would like to know which of these recipes is the original. Sounds like Maid-Rite restaurant's in different parts of the country may have had their own special recipe instead of all of them making the meat the same way. In fact, 4 or 5 different recipes have been mentioned here in these comments. So, for those of you who use Coca-Cola or Root Beer, I've heard that Pepsi is used. Anyway, I really would like to know the recipe that the Canton, Illinois Maid-Rite used. The last Maid-Rite sandwich I tried in Peoria, Illinois, didn't seem to taste the way I remember them.

Lloyd, Canton IL is where I had my Maid Rite, when we would go visit my grandmother. Had to have a Maid Rite. I'm going to try one that has bouillon, onion, soy sauce and steak sauce. I'll let you know if it tastes like the real thing.

Did you ever find a Made Rite recipe like you could get in Canton? I grew up outside Canton and we were always getting sandwiches there. I've been looking for the recipe for years, too. Thanks!

I remember eating Maid Rites in Albert Lea, MN, Lake Mills, IA, Mason City, IA, seems most towns around had a Maid Rite. It was a very common place to eat in almost every town. I remember no matter where you ate, they all tasted the same. According to a past owner of a Maid rite, she said the there was just one recipe and it was to be kept secret. I also remember 4 for a dollar Maid Rites and 4 for a dollar fries. Now the nearest thing to a Maid Rite is a crumble burger place in Austin, MN, it is close but not the same. All the Maid Rites are now gone, replaced by restaurants that no one will remember when they are gone. If there is a head office for the Maid Rite chain, please bring them back!

There is still a Maid Rite restaurant in Marshalltown. A few years back someone franchised several in the Des Moines area. The only one I know is still open is inside the Merle Hay Mall (as of 2021).

There's also a small Maid-Rite (am sure it's the original Maid-Rite sign), just off Main Street in Cedar Falls, IA.

Not ALL the Maid-Rite Sandwich shops are gone... Springfield Illinois still going --- 2024 it marks 100 years there and most if not all of those 100 years was in the caboose. That's my hometown and with all the crooks being grown in Illinois I am glad this little mom/pop shop still exists!! I took my grandson there, making 5 generations going there for the same sandwich, homemade fries, and homemade root beer in frosted mugs. I am planning on taking my great-grandchildren soon, making it 6 generations! Go to Springfield Illinois - for that only LOL

The Maid Rite in Lake Mills, Ia was the best! I also remember the 4 for a dollar specials!!! Also a quarter chicken special with fries for 1.25. Back in the day it was a special treat for the weekend! Loved the Maid Rites kept in the big rectangular steamer in the middle of the serving area, your choice of toppings. It was a local mainstay for the whole town. Had many friends who worked there after school and on weekends. They also had a great steak sandwich! Spent many hours of my youth hanging out there!

Years ago I worked at maid-rite, the seasoning came in a jug from the company.

Maid Rite was started in Iowa in the 1920's, they are not sweet, and never have ketchup on them.

Scott Northup is right. My dad grew up in Muscatine, Iowa where they were first invented (made rite). I was there in 1959. Grand Dad retired from Ralston Purina in Muscatine.

I have made this recipe many times on stove top and slow cooker. It tastes real close to the MAID RITE that I was raised on

In the 1930's my family would travel from Waterloo, Iowa to Des Moines to visit my granmother, stopping in Marshalltown to eat MaidRites. All they had on them were steamed hamburger (cooked with salt) chopped fresh onions and mustard on a steamed bun. To this day I still make them that way except I use a double boiler to cook the beef.

Betty you are right about the MaidRite in Marshalltown. I grew up on a farm north of Conrad, IA but had to go to MaidRite for lunch whenever we were in Marshalltown shopping. Cooked the way you described. You could get them dry or juicy which meant more grease to run down your arms. They had delicious malts (not shakes) but made with malt powder. AND it was the ORIGINAL and was opened in the 1930s.

I have used this recipe. I think it is pretty close to the maid rite we used to stop in Trenton, Mo and eat. We would go to Spickard, Mo to see my grandmother. We would always seem to be in Trenton at the right time to stop. Miss that place.

My family is from Mercer. Ate at Trenton a few times as a treat.

Our Uncle Bob ran the Maid Rite in Trenton.