Arby's, just how is their roast beef made?

[cheri]

About twice a year I get a craving for a roast beef sandwich from Arby's, which makes me wonder, just what is in that roast beef loaf they use to shave the meat for their sandwiches and how is it made? is it then pressed or formed together somehow? Does anyone know how they do this? Is it then roasted or ............ ???

[jrvedivici]

I apologize in advance for this however after seeing the topic I just couldn't help myself.

Where do Pirates like to have lunch?

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhbbby's............!!

[HUNGRYMAN8]

I love Arby's!!!! Just wish that Wendys did not close down all the Arby's locations where I live. That is why I hate Wendys too, besides the crappy burgers with cold cheese and tasteless french fries.
Anyway I LOVE the ROAST BEEF! I'm glad it has gelatin mixed in and that it is processed into a loaf. Gelatin besides being very healthy adds a nice uniform texture and smoothness to the meat. I hate chewing meat that is stringy and tough. I like all my sandwiches and steaks to be fork tender like pot roast.
So those who make fun of the meat are only being stubborn to them selves. Because Arby's roast beef is delicious and tender.
I love Arby's so much that I duplicated their signature sauces spot on. Both their Arby's sauce and red ranch sauce used on the bottom of the beef&cheddar and super roast beef sandwiches respectively. Took me years to finally get the tastes correct. The flowing texture of most restaurant condiments is from corn syrup. Only hint I can give.
I had no choice but to make my own sauces, because the closest Arby's too me is 25 miles away!
Praise the lord and Arby's!

Now I can make my own beloved Beef&Cheddar sandwiches at home!!!

[hkap91]

Okay! I currently am a shift manager at arbys, I've worked here for 6 years. As was already stated, our roast beef is processed, yes. It comes is air tight bags and is roasted in those bags for 3 hours until it reaches 138 degrees. It then sits in a holding oven for half an hour, when it reaches 150 degrees. It remains in there until used, and our beef is always kept at least 150 degrees. We also have real roast beef sandwiches. Our Angus beef is a whole roast, and is cooked medium well. It is an all natural roast that only contains preservatives and has a peppercorn crusting on the outside. It is a bit more expensive, but is a better quality meat. Our roast beef is always sliced to order. Hope this clears up any misconceptions.

[riffjamer]

I've always liked Arby's. I'd rather eat there than McD's or BK.
If you like the taste of the food,eat it.if you don't GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.
don't over analize it.
to each his own.

[Concernedntn]

I was getting the rb sandwich w/o the bun since i can't eat gluten. I just started noticing how greasy it is and how processed it looks. It also is very salty to hide what's in it I guess. I wonder if how to get Brian Ross, ABC news to investigate as we can't find out on our own. And yes, I quit eating there.

[mrwilmoth]

Id like to see a picture of the loaf!

[kenn32]

Way back last century, about 1969, I went with some friends to a newly opened Arby's in one of the Detroit suburbs, late in the evening. There was a crowd out the door and it took a while to order. The sandwich I remember was totally delicious as it was still a bit on the rare side and the meat was actually juicy. I went to that same Arby's a few weeks later when the crowd was light and was totally disappointed. The meat was dry, not a bit of juice, just not enjoyable! So forever after, Arby's was never good. If I'm thinking about fast food, it's one place that I won't stop at. I'll think about my very first Arby's, how exciting it was, then I'll drive on by.

[KingSparta]

It is cheep beef formed and gelatin, It's crap lunch meat.

[buck99]

Its a Sausage! Chunks of beef with filler pressed together.
Its as much "roast beef" as you get a "glass" of Coke
these days in a container made of glass, or a packet of
Equal with "zero calories" (when it actually contains 4
calories as shown on the old truthful labeling).

To call Arby's Beef Sausage "Roast Beef" is a fraud on the
consumer. In truth it should be called "Roasted Beef
Sausage," but I guess if I was the FTC I would at least
insist on "Roasted Beef!"

[monkeyrotica]

There are three Arby's near me, and their roast beef is pretty vile. Green tinge, spongy texture, and an odd mouth feel. I'll still stop by to indulge my curly fries craving, but for real roast beef sandwiches, I will stop at the two Roy Rogers near me. Their roast beef actually tastes like beef and has the texture of meat instead of weatherstripping. Their roast beef sliders are quite good with a bit of salt and horseradish.

[sunshine842]

I've never been able to figure out why, but about the time I turned 30, I developed some sort of sensitivity to something in Arby's beef. Simply can't eat them; makes me ill. (which grumps me, because yes, they're pressed, but boy, they're tasty.)

But their peppercorn BLT's? Do they still even exist? Those were probably the one fast-food sandwich I've ever craved and driven out of my way for.

[twyst]

"Those were probably the one fast-food sandwich I've ever craved and driven out of my way for."

For me it was the chicken cordon bleu sandwiches from wendy's. I still crave those things all the time and they havent brought them back in at least 10 years (they used to be kind of like the mcrib in that they were usually available a few weeks a year)

[Old guy]

I stumbled across this subject and joined so I could add some first hand knowledge. In the late 60's and very early 70's Arby's actually roasted big hunks of round in enclosed glass infrared ovens on the countertops. Since the demand outpaced the ability of the ovens to keep up, cooked roasts were kept in warming ovens. A roast was always kept in the oven so people could see beef roasting.

The problem with a real slab of meat is that the cooked product has to vary from well done on the outside to pink on the inside unless the thing is cooked so thoroughly that it dries out. A significant number of people just won't eat any beef that has pink in it. One solution is to cook it through then soak it in au jus. Arby's chose to go to formed roasts that had enough internal liquid to stay relatively juicy when cooked uniformly brown.

I understand the business necessity of universal appeal but I sure miss the lovely medium rare sandwiches of 40 years ago.

[YoungstownBoy]

I did some digging on Arby's a while back. I hate and love them. Like a McDonalds, if you go at the exact right time, to the exact right place, and the exact right folks are assembling your food item, the results are actually "good"!

I grew up in Youngstown Ohio. Which is where the original two brothers who started the Arby's chain started their first restaurant.

They were already businessmen. The story goes, that on a trip to Boston, the one brother got a Roast Beef sammy at one of the local RB places that Boston area is justly famous for. It did not specify which one, but I kind of like to think it was that place that used to be open 24x7 next to Mass General hospital off the Red Line (the "T"). Right before the bridge.

Anyways, he was so impressed, he went back to Boardman Ohio and started up . The building for the original is still there. It is some kind of bird seed or pet food store on rte 224 right off of Market St.

Being over 50 years old, I can understand how / why they went to cheap meat. They really did, 40 years ago, roast whole beef roasts in the restaurant , and slice it up for the customer. I remember it being like nearly $3.00 (Three bucks! back then!) for a roast beef. But, man, were they good. We were VERY poor, but once a month, after church, Mom would take us to Arby's. The horsey sauce was much better then too. Much hotter, and with actual flecks of horseradish in it.

Kind of a childhood memory. In fact, I am going to go get an RB right now. I buy four of the value menu ones, take all the meat off of them, and put it into two nice sized sandwiches. It is that, or go across the street for the Indian food. But I figure, wait until tomorrow afternoon for the lunch buffet at the Indian place (Tandoori chicken and rice and all the Nan I can eat, yum!)

[Dax]

I think that was Buzzy's Roast Beef? The horseradish sauce was great with the fries.

[mrbigshotno.1]

The best thing about a Arby's "roast beef" sandwich is that you can leave it wrapped up on your dashboard for a week and it's just as good as if you ate it right when you got it!

[mucho gordo]

Whatever it is, my wife calls it the "green meat" and, she's right; it does have a greenish tinge to it at times.

[ML8000]

Ironically that green iridescent tinge reminds me of houseflies.

[mucho gordo]

Now that you mention it..................

[grammabobbie]

I believe it is ground beef, made something like Alton Brown makes Gyro's out of in this recipe.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/al...

[JeffereyAllen]

If you check out snopes, they will tell you that they are addressing the urban myth that the roast beef arrives as a liquid at the stores. They are correct that it does not arrive at the store in that state, however, the story does not look at the sourcing of the roast beef.

While it does not arrive at the store in liquid form, it does have a liquid (or more accurately paste) state during it's processing. What you are eating at Arby's is about 70% beef cuts, 12% fat, and and a whole host of chemicals that are mixed together, extruded, mixed with coloring shot through a metal tube in its liquid paste state into a form with hardening agents where it hardens into a meat type consistancy. It is then packaged in plastic with what is called "Self Basting Solution" and shipped to the stores where it must be cooked for 3 hours or it is unsafe for human consumption. If you want real roast beef, don't bother with Arby's, look at a real roast beef and then look at what is on your sandwich from Arby's, they are nothing alike.

[Dee S]

It's pretty much put together in the same manner as deli ham/chicken/turkey....think of the hams that fit into the oval shaped container. That's not a natural ham shape! Boneless sections of the originating animal are brought together under pressure with added water/solution and heat pressed to form the desired shape. The resulting meat product has a substantially even texture but unfortunately, doesn't retain the original texture of the meat. It's called "processing" and it is done with meats and cheeses.

Why is this a surprise? Anyone can tell by looking at the product!

[RealMenJulienne]

Yeah guys, it's basically a gyro-type emulsified product. I mean just pull a slice out of the sandwich and look at it, it's easy to tell from the lack of grain.

Damn I miss Arby's in China

[monkuboy]

Those new roast beef sandwiches they are showing in the commercials that are supposedly giving burger joints a run for their money look disgusting. They look more like shaved spam or thin sliced ham than anything resembling real beef. Yuk.

[c_porter88]

hello im a manager at arbys for the past two years and i was just looking around a bit when i found an interesting bit on snopes.com so i did a little more browsing and found this website where people post things about restraunts so i figured id put in my two cents.. if youve read the article on snopes youll find out our roast is not in gel form or liquid for that matter it actually arrives in cases 4 to a case they each weigh ten pounds so fourty pounds a case they are then cooked in 200 degree ovens for three hours enough time to let the middle get to a temperature of 140 degrees they are then moved to a holding oven called a sham to continue to cook for 30 minutes to let the temp reach 150 degrees and stays there untill time for it to come out onto the slicer wheras the article says its cooked cooled then sliced this is not true because if you let the roast cool it allows bacteria to grow it is the put on the slicer with a warming pad or heat lamps to keep the roast hot as most people see when they walk in they can see the roast being sliced the might not know what the warming pad lookss like so assumes its cooled. Anyway i just thought that id verify that arbys roasts are not gel form they even have packing and shipping routing numbers on each individule roast that we have to put that number on our "beef sheet" that way if a food bourne disease come in and people get sick the company will know what pasture that cow came from and stop recieving meat from that pasture until they resolve the issue so if you have any doubts about our roast you have nothing to fear, however our fries are not so healthy from the oil but thats another time thanks for reading this if youve made it this far lol, hope you have a great day and "Thank you for thinking Arby's".

[duckdown]

thanks for the post! hey, i'll still eat there

don't forget your 'enter' key next time ;)

cheers!

[podunkboy]

I don't believe it. I think that deep beneath the Earth in a secret cavern, there's this "Queen Arby" that deposits these beefy homogenized baby Arbies, that are then harvested, brought to the surface, and while still warm, sliced into piles of beefy deliciousness. That's what you MEANT to say, right?
And the curley fries...they GROW that way, don't they? Yummmmm.....

[Bobfrmia]

I'm bored, so I read this thread.
This is a great post. It sums up the fast food industry perfectly.

[Jen76]

It sure does. A coworker of mine (lovingly) refers to Arby's sandwiches as "butt meat and squirt cheese." And, FWIW, I never remember seeing this in an Arby's: "About 15 to 20 years ago you would in to Arby's and see actual beef roasts that they roasted in ovens on site."

[sbp]

Not a chance it hell there were actual beef roasts. I used to go as a kid -- 40 years ago. Even then, if you looked at a single slice of the meat closely it resembled beef headcheese. Odd shaped blocks of meat in a jigsaw pattern.

[CindysFarmStand]

I hope this is enough information to stop people from eating this product.

[acgold7]

Why? There's nothing there that even implies that this food is in any way unsafe or unfit for consumption. It's cool if you don't like it, but many people do, and for good reason. It's delicious.

Everyone oohs and aahs over Artisan Sausage. This is the same process, only bigger. It's certainly not as off-putting as Scrapple or Head Cheese, which are beloved by many Foodies.

[rochfood]

I love Arbys roast beef sandwiches. None of this information will change that. I will continue to go there and get their" MID" with Arby's sauce. Or their 5 for 5.95 to share with my family.

[monkeyrotica]

I just can't get past the texture of the stuff; it's so unnaturally spongy. Unlike, say, Roy Rogers real roast beet, which has an actual beefy texture and sinew. But then I love me some crispy scrapple and tart mustardy souse.

[twyst]

What? Nothing in the post you are referencing seems unhealthy to me at all.

[Redstone]

Well, it's always been a kind of "meat loaf" concoction, and I used to REALLY like it...I'd go WAY out of my way to eat there a couple of times a year (there are none close to where we live).

Something has changed, though. A new Arby's was built about 30 miles from here last summer, so we went there.

The texture of the beef has changed form vague (which was OK with me) to revolting, now including BONUS GRISTLE BITS.

And the flavor? I suspect they changed the marinade to include a healthy splash of kerosene, if my taste buds don't deceive me.

Redstone

[SW Florida]

Hi, new to chowhound, but very interesting. Found the site when researching how to copycat the recipe for Arbys Beef Sandwich (and the person who referred to "Snops" WOW!!!) Ending result, SCORE!!! A recipe @recipegoldmine.com/crockpotsand/betterthanarbysroastbeef.html. Didn't have to cook 24hrs, but turned out really good and it's real beef. Shredded not shaved, but you know what's in it. Even had leftover packets of Arbys and horsey sauses! RIGHT ON!!! Good Luck

[Mestralle]

welcome to Chow, and I hope you look at more of the boards. I find it interesting and somewhat disconcerting to hear replies about the chains, but it's not disconcerting enough to stop me from eating, for example, a Big Mac or a Beef and Cheddar when I get a craving. But you seem to care enough about food to get this far, so more power to you.

[Wes Mantooth]

I don't want to know... for the price, I'll choose to be blissfully ignorant.

[ipsedixit]

When you can get 4 for $5, do you really want to know??

[krez]

Exactly. Roast beef sandwich + Arby's sauce = yum.

[njmarshall55]

Actually, the ONLY thing at Arby's I ever enjoyed was the horseradish sauce.

[ccbweb]

From the Arby's website, under "printable ingredients list"
Roast Beef:
Trimmed Boneless Beef Chunks (Minimum 70%) Combined With Chopped Beef For a Maximum of 12% Fat. Contains up to 9.0% of a Self-Basting Solution of Water, Salt, Sodium Phosphate.

But heck, it tastes pretty good, especially on an onion roll.

[charlestonfoodiegal]

I knew good ol' ccbweb would have an analysis for us. For one who despises chains and fast food joints alike, his analyses are always on point.

[Muskrat]

"From the Arby's website, under "printable ingredients list"
Roast Beef:
Trimmed Boneless Beef Chunks (Minimum 70%) Combined With Chopped Beef For a Maximum of 12% Fat. Contains up to 9.0% of a Self-Basting Solution of Water, Salt, Sodium Phosphate"

The unprintable ingredients, we don't want to know about1

[operagirl]

Hah! Is "printable ingredients" common nomenclature, or does it indeed imply that there are unprintable things included too?

[LikestoEatout]

About 15 to 20 years ago you would in to Arby's and see actual beef roasts that they roasted in ovens on site. When you ordered a sandwich, someone would slice it off the roast in front to you and make the sandwich. Obviously that has changed!

[fara]

i don't get that. why would people accept a change like that?

[ccbweb]

Because many people value cost more than quality.

[ML8000]

...and Arby's seems to "butter" (or is it margarine) their buns and it gives you that extra taste of fat. It's also a good change from a burger.

[byrd]

the way the beef was processed then, is the way it's processed now, emphasis on processed.

[pescatarian]

I worked at Arby's 20-odd years ago, and it might have appeared to be a "roast", and yes they were sliced after cooked, but I remember seeing what those things looked like when they came out of the packaging before they were cooked. They looked like processed meat that had been formed into a roast, not a real beef roast.

[BRB]

I too worked at Arby's many years ago and for a very short period of time . . . but I recall the pre-cooked roast beef looked similar to a loaf of liverwurst, hardly solid and entirely unappetizing. That being said, I never minded the flavor of the beef once cooked.

[Just Plain Craig]

I worked there in the early 80's. It was regular meat. Once we were all chatting aboiut life and forgot to put the roast in the oven. Open at 10 with no meat.

[Shazam]

I went to Arby's over 20 years ago and don't recall that at all. Arby's is terrible anyhow.

[inuksuk]

This article on Snopes.com will not completely answer your question but might allay the worst of your fears. Arby's roast beef is not made from some sort of meat-flavoured congealed gel. I think, just my own guess mind you, that Arby's beef is just cheap round roast that has been tenderized with papain (or something) to its peculiar, almost gelatinous texture. http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient...

[ML8000]

I don't think it's pressed...or maybe sort of. I always thought it was cured like a ham, which then allows it to be sliced like paper.

[cheri]

What is curing exactly? I have seen cured and uncured pepperoni and was wondering then, and also now that you mention it in relation to Arby's roast beef.

[ML8000]

I think inuksuk hit upon it. When I mean cured, I mean with salt and sugar like the average supermarket ham or coldcut...not a real smoked/cured ham.