If you want a burger, you can get one anywhere, even at your favorite fast food place. If you want something different, head to Arbys and pick up a few of their roast beef sandwiches. Theyre delicious, but heres the thing: theyre weird.
People either really like or really dislike Arby’s roast beef because of the way it tastes and feels. While others were going after the lowly hamburger, they built their whole business on roast beef, which has set them apart for decades. Even though roast beef has helped them build an empire, it has also given rise to many urban legends and myths.
And, over the years, their roast beef has been a bit of a problem for them. So well-known for it that AdWeek says it was the main reason why their sales dropped in the 21st century. Customers didn’t know what they were getting besides roast beef, which is why Arby’s had to be completely redone. But that roast beef is still there, and theres a lot that most people dont know about it.
Arby’s roast beef sandwiches are a popular menu item at the fast food chain. But rumors have circulated for years that the “roast beef” is not actually real sliced beef but rather a meat-flavored paste gel or liquid that is shaped to look like roast beef before being cooked. As an Arby’s fan myself, I was curious about the truth behind this urban legend.
I did some digging online to try to verify if Arby’s meat comes in a paste or liquid form Here’s what I found out
The Rumors About “Liquid Meat”
A lot of people on forums and social media say they’ve heard that Arby’s roast beef comes in as a paste, powder, or liquid and is then turned into slices of roast beef in some way.
According to some posters who used to work at Arby’s, the meat was packed in huge plastic bags that were full of a gray liquor. Some people say that a friend of a friend who worked there saw bags of meat paste being opened in the kitchen.
Some people also say that Arby’s meat is made from a mix of chemicals and additives that make it taste like real meat. Essentially, some believe it’s a fake meat made from liquid.
Arby’s Response – It’s Real Roast Beef
However, Arby’s asserts that their roast beef is 100% real beef, no liquids or pastes involved.
On their website’s FAQ page, and in statements to fact-checking sites like Snopes.com, Arby’s insists their roast beef sandwiches contain only beef and a small amount of water in the packaging to keep the meat moist during cooking.
Arby’s states that the raw roast beef arrives at restaurants in airtight plastic bags, which likely causes the confusion. In the sealed bags, the beef sits in its own juices, so it may appear grayish and gelatinous. But it’s not a paste, powder or liquefied meat product.
Employees then season and roast the meat for 3 hours before slicing and serving. Arby’s is adamant their sandwiches are made from real cuts of beef, not any kind of liquid or paste.
Inside Info from Arby’s Employees
To help get to the bottom of this, I turned to Reddit, where a forum poster asked “Does Arby’s meat come in a liquid or gel form when shipped to the store?”
Dozens of commenters claiming to be Arby’s employees weighed in, confirming Arby’s version of events. The overall consensus was that the roast beef arrives in plastic bags soaked in broth or juices, but is still very much solid meat.
One poster said “I worked there as a young teen. It was a solid hunk of meat that we would stick on these long metal skewer things before oven roasting.”
Another commented “I worked at Arby’s slicing meat for about a year. It’s one solid piece of meat.”
Based on Arby’s statements and confirmation from people claiming to be employees, the roast beef does not arrive or get stored as a paste, gel or liquid. It arrives in solid form, albeit slippery and soaked in its own juices and broth from the packaging.
Why Does This Rumor Persist?
With Arby’s and its employees vehemently denying the roast beef is a liquid or paste, why does this rumor continue to spread?
A few reasons seem likely:
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The beef arriving in bags of broth and juices leads to assumptions it’s a liquid or paste.
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The meat can look grayish and unappetizing before cooking.
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People love a good urban legend about what’s “really” in fast food.
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Some employees may have mistakenly thought the juice-soaked beef was a meat paste.
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Rival fast food chains could be spreading rumors to hurt Arby’s image.
The Verdict on Arby’s “Liquid Meat”
After researching this extensively, I’m convinced Arby’s roast beef is real beef and not any kind of paste or liquefied meat, based on:
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Statements from Arby’s representatives.
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Confirmation from numerous apparent employees on Reddit.
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Lack of strong evidence for powdered or liquid meat sources.
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The implausibility of a major chain using fake pasted or liquefied meat.
While the pre-cooked roast beef may look unappealing, Arby’s has persuaded me it’s just good old fashioned solid beef. The liquid meat rumors seem unsupported by facts.
I’m no Arby’s shill, and some may still have doubts. But in my opinion, the stories of paste or liquid meat are likely just unappetizing urban legends with no basis in reality. Arby’s roast beef looks much better once it’s been slow-roasted for hours anyway!
So next time you bite into an Arby’s sandwich, rest assured you’re almost certainly eating actual roasted beef, not any weird meat substitute made from powders or gels. The “liquid meat” rumors just don’t hold water in my eyes.
What do you think – is Arby’s roast beef the real deal or some kind of fake meat? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a comment with your Arby’s experiences or opinions on this controversial topic.
Roast beef was chosen to attract a higher-end clientele
Leroy and Forrest Raffel opened Arbys on July 23, 1964, says Business Wire. They did it at a time when everyone else was doing burgers, and their original menu of fresh-sliced roast beef was considered something completely out of the box. (Fun fact: those curly fries werent added until the 1980s.)
Burger giants McDonalds and Burger King were still fairly new when the Raffel brothers decided to get into the fast food game. They had seen just how popular the fast food burger joint was, so why deviate? They wanted to offer something that would set them apart from the competition, but they also wanted to be the high-class fast food place.
“On the day we opened, the McDonalds hamburger was 15 cents and our sandwich was 69 cents,” Leroy Raffel told NBC. “So, you had to be a little more affluent to buy our sandwich.”
Decades later, their more expensive menu was cited as one of the major factors in their flailing business. In 2011, the joint corporation of Wendys and Arbys was looking at pretty miserable sales, which industry analyst chalked up to a combination of a menu thats more expensive than other chains and inconsistent performance (via QSR).
It’s cooked in the bag and sliced to order
In 2015, Arbys invested in redesigning their restaurants and their kitchens. Business Insider took the opportunity to go behind-the-scenes in one of the new locations before it opened, and got a peek at the processes that goes into serving up Americas favorite fast food roast beef. They found that while some of their meats — like the brisket — get to the store ready to slice and serve, the roast beef is slow-roasted in its strange bag for around four hours. Its only after that its put on the slicer and — surprisingly — is sliced to order only as customers are standing at the counter or sitting in the drive-thru.
Sounds unlikely, right? But its confirmed by numerous employees and former employees on Reddit, like this cook and cashier who replied to an IAmA thread by saying, “All of the roast beef is cooked daily and sliced to order just moments before it gets on the sandwich and into your hands. I know this sounds like Arbys propaganda, but its the absolute truth and one of the reasons why I was proud to work there compared to other fast-food.”
The Truth About Arby’s Roast Beef
FAQ
Is Arby’s roast beef emulsified?
Does Arby’s roast beef come in liquid form?
What does Arby’s put on their roast beef?
Why does Arby’s roast beef taste different?