Maid-Rite Burgers
1 lb Ground Beef
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp prepared mustard
6 oz beer (optional) or 6 oz water
Salt (to taste)
1 TBSP (to taste) Cola syrup (the “secret ingredient”)
Combine ground beef, pepper, sugar, mustard, salt in the top
of a double-boiler and add beer. Cover
top and heat for one-half hour, stirring occasionally. The longer it cooks, the more the flavors
blend together. Toward the end, uncover
to allow some of the liquid to boil off.
Use a slotted serving spoon to serve on hamburger buns with
mustard, dill pickles, and chopped onion.
Serves 6
I used this recipe to make Maid-Rite Burgers that I remembered from growing up in Illinois. This recipe came pretty close though I did have to do a bit of "taste and adapt" on the amounts of each seasoning and flavor. I 'seriously' doubt that this amount would serve 6 people.
I made a much larger amount than just one pound and made it in the crockpot, trying to give the burger the "steam" cooked quality I remembered. I used both beer and water but probably mostly water. Be sure to heat (not toast) the buns, to give them a steam-heated quality. Stir frequently to make sure the hamburger doesn't clump together. The cola syrup really does seem to be the secret ingredient because it makes a tremendous difference in the flavor; I added it a bit at a time until it reached the flavor that appealed to me and seemed most like the original Maid-Rites.
You can buy cola syrup at most supermarkets but if you cannot find it, drugstore.com has it in 4 fl oz bottles for a very reasonable price. It is also sold in large quantities, which will not be needed for this recipe.
Amazingly, there are still some of the Maid Rite sandwich shops around the country. For a location, check here: http://www.maid-rite.com
