Arby’s roast beef

[Oak Smoke]

I’m sure asking this question is going to shoot me down in flames, but here goes. I absolutely love Arby’s roast beef sandwiches. I want them plain with no sauce at all. We were in Abilene, Tx today which has the nearest Arby’s to me, 85 miles. I want to duplicate that roast beef, it would be incredible in my keto plan. I’ve read a few attempts on line but none sounded credible. One source describes it as highly processed. How would you duplicate it?

[Mosca]

IDK, try purchasing cheap deli roast beef and microwaving it. Seriously, that’s where I’d start.

Mrs Mosca loves it, too. She gets a beef & cheddar with no sauce. I think they’re okay enough, a big part of it is that onion bun.

[StrikeBBQ]

I recommend warmed up Hillshire Farm thin sliced roast beef. It comes in tubs in the processed deli meat section. It fairly close to Arby’s.

[jfmorris]

I love Arby's roast beef as well, and it probably is processed. You don't notice any grain to the meat in those thin slices like you will if you roast your own beef and slice it.

That said, I want to do a lean beef roast like bottom round for Baltimore pit beef or Italian beef, and break out my $49 Woot deli slicer to slice it as thin as I can, and see how it compares. I have to think in some ways that the meat will slice better if cold rather than hot, and I wonder if Arby's slices it hot, or if they slice it cold and then heat it.

[Bogy]

jfmorris we'll find out on the streaky bacon at the end of the week, and the back bacon next week. The streaky bacon is just 1.5 inches, but the back bacon is closer to 3, so it will be close. I was planning on giving my English son in law 5 lbs of back bacon for his birthday this weekend, but my surgery last week kind of threw things off, and it won't be ready to smoke til next week. My guess is that if it turns out well he's going to want the recipe. In his opinion, back bacon is real bacon.

[jfmorris]

Bogy I was thinking less about thickness and more about length of the slide of the carriage on these small slicers like I have. They don't slide far enough to put a normal slab of pork belly on the slicers carriage.

[Bogy]

jfmorris I can always cut the slab in half. We start off with half slices a lot of the time anyway because they fit better on BLTs or burgers.

[SheilaAnn]

At my old job, we made roast beef with eye of round. As for an arbys copycat? Little to no seasoning? Sorry, haven’t had arbys in forever. But I do recall nothing spectacular (sorry). Even the cheese sauce was meh.

[bbqLuv]

Arby's the McDonalds of roast beef.

[smokin fool]

Arby's are few and far between up here, I can't remember the last time I saw one but now you got me hankerin a sammie.
I could bathe in the horsie sauce.
Be right back, I gotta do some Gogglin.

[ddevine]

When the Arby's opened here, mid 60's, the beef was real beef. When you entered the store there was a huge glass case on the counter with stainless steel chains crisscrossed holding a huge hunk of real beef. It was lighted with heat lamps and the meat rotated in the heated case. They had large oven doors in a brick wall at the rear of that area and would take out meat and slice it for their sandwiches. Soon it became a long tube of processed beef that they sliced for their sandwiches. Too bad.

[McFlyfi]

There's an episode of South Park where one of the kids (Cartman?) spouts "I'm so hungry I could eat at Arby's".
I last had Arby's in 1983 when a girlfriend worked there and I got it for free.
My sliced roast beef is top round from Costco. Smoke it to 125IT, slice it, heat it. Pour a packet of the Horsey Sauce on it.

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

Yeah I get it, the roast beef is probably better than most other processed fast food style meat - but I'll be if you find a good technique and replicate it yourself, you'll find you like the Arby's style less and less over time.

Nothing wrong with that - we gravitate toward what we know - I know I don't eat BBQ out much anymore and when I do I am often kind of 'meh' about it. I like mine, and I make it the way I like it.

[hoovarmin]

I eat at Arby's from time to time and I'm 99.9% sure that the "roast beef" is processed. Hey, Julia Child loved McDonald's Quarter Pounders, so don't take any lip about your penchant for Arby's.

[TripleB]

Ohhhhh…..A Quarter Pounder with cheese and a large fries melts me. I tell myself, once a week, that I’m going to go and order it. And then chicken out cuz of the calories. Maybe next week…..I can dream can’t I?

[hoovarmin]

As a matter of fact, your post inspired me to eat lunch there and I had their ribeye cheesesteak. It was fantastic.

[Old Glory]

Here in North Shore MA Arby's are very rare. We have independent mom and pop places that specialize in Roast Beef sandwiches. They all call themselves "Famous" for some reason. Kelly's Famous Roast Beef. Billy's Famous Roast Beef, etc. Arby's says Kelly's was their inspiration. The article talks about the cut and cooking the beef.

Twice a week, Kelly's receives delivery of 25-day aged beef knuckle (sometimes known as sirloin tip). Doherty notes that this cut makes the Kelly's sandwich a standout in the region — it's a more expensive cut that competitors seem to shy away from.​ Others use Top Round.

https://www.eater.com/2015/9/4/92393...-massachusetts

Language warning (F Word) but typical Massholes talking North shore Beef

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eujrXbTpc9E

[RichieB]

When I worked in Boston we used to goto Kellys, sit by the water weather permitting and eat. It was a looooooog time ago but oh so good.

[Old Glory]

RichieB a rite of passage. Watch out for the seagulls!

[Clark]

The best thing I have eaten at Arby's is the Andes Mint Chocolate Shake! Good stuff. I also like their Reuben Sandwich, mainly because I haven't found one anywhere else around town.

[Oak Smoke]

The best Reubens are made at home with the pastrami recipe found on AR. I love those too.

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

I love the jamoacha shake - haven't had one in many years. Probably had my last one ever.

[Bob's BBQ]

I get the jamocha shake at least once every two weeks. Haven't had a sandwich there in a few years.

[Bogy]

We eat at Arby's fairly often. Congratulations to all of you who never have to resort to fast food drive thru food, but that's not us and in our area we consider it to be one of the better choices.

We've got a church dinner coming up in October where the traditional meal is Arby's sandwhiches. 30 or 40 lbs of meat and buns picked up that morning. Last year in October I had a bout with the affliction which must not be named. Main issue was I had no interest in eating for 10 days. That day I had barely made it through the service, with someone else doing the message. I sat down with a hogie bun filled with that meat, processed or not, and suddenly I had an appetite. Unfortunately, I regained the 15 lbs I had lost and they brought friends.

[tstalafuse]

So, you came here looking to replicate Arby's while not (or not I am not sure) getting shot down in flames... I have good tone, missile lock, and fire..

[Oak Smoke]

It was bound to happen. I’ll just keep on flying until I run out of air speed and altitude!

[Clark]

Oak Smoke You left out 'money.'

[Bogy]

Thinking about it, yesterday I smoked a rump roast that came out with much the same texture as Arby's. I sliced it as thin as I could, but with a knife it wasn't as thin as a slicer would get it. Started it at 28 IT, coated with stir fry sauce, sitting in a foil pan with more stir fry sauce and beef broth. Smoked it at 220 until it hit 120, then covered the pan and let it sit for half an hour. Wife loved it, and if I still had a slicer I think it would have been close.

[Oak Smoke]

Bogy Thank you! This is the kind of info that gives me a place to start. Stir fry sauce is good stuff, I’ll try this soon.

[HotSun]

Wow, sounds good Bogy .