Since Arby’s inception in 1964, the fast food chain’s roast beef has had the same ingredients: beef, water, salt, and sodium phosphates. If you have any doubt about the contents of anything sold at the restaurant, just check the detailed nutrition information list of all food items on its website. Still, rumors can be hard to beat, and people continue to guess whether or not the famous meat sold at Arby’s is real.
There has been speculation that the roast beef at Arby’s is actually imitation meat created from gelatin or liquid. Other consumers have thought that the delicious roast beef is actually fake deli meat. Finally, there have been urban legends claiming the signature roast beef came from horses (something that’s not regularly eaten in America). Well, Arby’s quality control team has denied these rumors. Although the sandwich chain doesn’t cut their meat off the bone at each store, Arby’s roast beef comes from real beef round roast.
Where did these rumors come from?
It’s the public’s misunderstanding of how these foods are shipped that has possibly fueled the rumors. Maybe the speculation sprang from how Arby’s roast beef arrives at its stores. Raw meat, like that which is found in a butcher shop, isn’t delivered to each franchise, cut, and then cooked on the spot. Instead, the beef — sourced from suppliers in the Midwest or even as far away as Australia — comes in packages containing a gelatinized broth. This liquid keeps the meat juicy during shipping, roasting, and slicing.
Most of Arby’s beef arrives ready to be slow-roasted for approximately four hours. But the beef isn’t cooked the same way you would do at home. Instead, it is prepared inside the same shipping bags. Only their brisket comes ready to slice and serve since this meat has smoked for 13 or more hours in Texas smokehouses. But overall, you probably don’t have to worry about the roast beef being a gelatinous mystery substance.
Is Arby’s roast beef considered to be processed?
But in case you were wondering, yes, the roast beef at Arby’s is technically “processed” in that the meat goes through a process to get it ready for shipping to individual stores. Excess fat is trimmed before being sliced into thin strips. The slices are placed into a tumbler-style oven where they are coated with Arby’s proprietary sauce — a combination of water, seasonings, and tenderizers. This step is necessary to produce the most tender meat the chain is known for.
When the beef arrives at the store, it’s time to slowly cook for four to five hours. Then it’s seasoned with salt, pepper, and paprika, and allowed to rest for approximately half an hour. All that’s left is slicing for orders. But generally speaking, Arby’s roast beef is still natural and fairly healthy. The high sodium content is the only real drawback to the chain’s sandwich meat. Of course, you could always make your own version of the famous roast beef sandwich and not worry about too much salt (or anything else) in your food.
