Arby’s legendary roast beef has made it the go-to for a quick sandwich piled high with thin, succulent cuts of meat. Even though Arby’s menu looks very different now compared to when it started, the famous roast beef that the restaurant chain has layered into so many of its offerings since the 1960s remains central to the brand. In 2015, a Business Insider story took readers through the process of how the chain prepared it and looked into claims of Arby’s using “liquid beef” — a rumor that has lingered since the 1980s. The rumor related to the liquid-filled bag that the beef arrives at the restaurant in; as it turns out, the bag contains a solid block of meat doused in basting liquid, with the final stages of the cooking process (where the magic happens) actually taking place in the restaurants.
The process is a long one. The beef is slow-roasted in an oven for several hours in a roasting bag along with a marinade. By around 2020, Arby’s had almost completely switched over to a new type of oven sourced from their regular equipment supplier, Alto-Sham (which is also why the meat-resting oven was often called a “sham” by Arby’s staff). In addition to being more energy efficient, these ovens save time and effort by acting as both cooking and resting ovens rolled into one, avoiding the hassle of moving the cooked meat from the oven to a holding cabinet to keep it warm. The (infamous) meat bag, however, still seems to be part of Arby’s roast beef cooking practice.
Arby’s roast beef is still cooked in a bag, and that’s a good thing
There are multiple reasons why the bag Arby’s roast beef is stored and cooked in works well. The beef spends a long time in a marinating liquid that prevents it from drying out, ensuring the flavor gets absorbed deep into the meat. According to several Redditors who claim to have worked at Arby’s, the beef is a compressed block made from smaller chunks rather than a single cut like a steak. The block arrives frozen to outlets in a bag containing the basting liquid, where it is first thawed in a cooler before being put into the oven to roast for over 3 hours.
Arby’s new ovens are highly automated and don’t require the restaurant staff to check the meat’s temperature multiple times during the slow roasting process. Instead, the meat bag stays in the oven as the beef cooks, after which the oven automatically switches off and keeps the cooked meat warm until it is ready to be sliced. Before it is placed on the slicer, the block of roast beef is finally removed from its bag. Each serving of sliced beef is then weighed to ensure it is the right quantity before being placed inside a sesame seed bun or onion roll, depending on the kind of bread that’s perfect for your roast beef sandwich.
