I love a good tavern sandwich and here in WI there are taverns in towns with a just a few hundred people.
A loose meat sandwich is best made in cast iron to get the crispy bits that makes this sandwich so tasty.
Tavern Sandwich Recipe
Make this with good ground beef – it is needed to achieve the best flavor.
1 lb ground chuck beef
1 TBS butter
2 tsp sea salt or kosher salt
onion, finely diced
1 TBS yellow mustard
1 TBS vinegar
1 TBS granulated white sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Garnish
yellow mustard
sliced dill pickles
Heat a cast iron pan on medium heat and melt the butter spreading evenly throughout the pan. Sprinkle the bottom with salt.
Break apart the ground beef with your hands and put in the pan. Add the onion and continue break apart the big chunks while stirring to cook everything evenly. When ground beef is done, drain well and return the meat back to the skillet.
Add the mustard, vinegar, sugar and just enough water to reach the top of the meat. Simmer until all water cooked out of the meat.
Meanwhile, butter the buns and toast them top-side-down in another pan on the stove. Spread the top bun with mustard.
Build the Sandwich
Add loose meat to the bottom bun and top with dill pickle slices and then the bun. Serve with french fries or potato chips.