Yeah, I'm talking about the show with the lady who butchered the star-spangled banner, was married to Tom Arnold and had fake tv hubby John Goodman. I was never crazy town for Roseanne, but I was always drawn to the concept of loosemeat sammiches, as served in her diner The Lunchbox. (This was when the show started to go downhill-- remember the new Becky? Ugh. And that kid from Big Bang Theory was Darlene's skeezish boyfriend, David... ok, so maybe I watched Roseanne a lot.)
Every time I say loosemeat sammiches when someone (besides N) asks what's for dinner, I get crazy looks or funny responses. My friend Irene said they sound pornographic and Rick simply said WTF? My friend Sarah the Vegetarian got such a kick out of the idea that she went home and told her husband. The novelty of loosemeat sammiches, it seems, has no bounds.
But these are actual sammiches that have a place outside of an old sitcom-- they're actually quite common in the middle of the country and there's even a brand-name loosemeat sammich called the Maid Rite that originated in 1926 or so. (Google it.) My stepmother made them a couple times when I was growing up-- mostly because we were out of sloppy joe mix-- and when I started cooking on my own, I made my own variation.
I like to use ground turkey because it's leaner, but traditionally these sammiches are made with beef. Some recipes are very plain, and some are very sweet, and some don't sound very good at all. I keep mine pretty simple and basically made it up as I went along. Another friend likened it to a high-class white trash dinner, but I like to think any trash could make and eat this regardless of race or creed. ;-)
First, I dice some onion. If I'm feeling garlicky I'll mince some of that too, but usually I'll just add some garlic powder. Loosemeat sammiches are about lack of work, not chopping and dicing and mincing all night.
I sautee the onion in about a tablespoon of olive oil just until they start to color.
Then I add the ground turkey, salt, pepper, and some seasoning:
I like the slight edge the ground mustard gives-- and while some recipes call for vinegar and sugar, I don't advocate this method. I find that they sweeten and overpower the taste of the meat and add unneeded juicyness to the mix. Loosemeat sammiches are messy, but they shouldn't leave drippings running down to your elbows or be responsible for the use of several napkins.
Once the meat is browned, I don't drain it-- another advantage of using the ground turkey is that there isn't an excessive amount of fat to be drained. Woohoo! You can serve these on regular bread, hamburger buns or hot dog buns. Since we had some leftovers of both hamburger and hot dog buns (but no hot dogs or hamburgers) I used both.
The cell phone is not an ingredient.
I shred some jack cheese, spread mayo onto the bread receptacle and top the buns with meat. Then I mustard 'em up, liberally sprinkle the cheese and call 'em ready to eat.
I served these bad boys with roasted potato wedges and green beans.
Loosemeat Sammiches
1 lb. ground turkey 1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 sweet white onion, diced 1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
hamburger or hot dog buns mayo, mustard, shredded cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
No comments:
Post a Comment