The Fast Food Restaurant That Cooks Its Beef In A Plastic Bag

When you think of cooking beef, you probably imagine the sizzle and aroma of meat on a hot grill. As such, you can understand our surprise when we discovered a restaurant that takes an entirely different approach: cooking beef in plastic bags. Before gasping in horror, consider that you've likely enjoyed this very beef without ever questioning how it was prepared.

The restaurant? Arby's. However, the process makes more sense than it first appears. The chain's roast beef arrives prepackaged in a plastic roasting bag containing both the meat and a self-basting marinade.



The bagged meat comes frozen and, once thawed, undergoes a three to four-hour roasting process before being cooled and sliced to order. This is the same roast beef you'll find on several of Arby's sandwiches, including the classic roast beef, bacon beef'n'cheddar, and French dip and Swiss. While cooking beef in plastic bags sounds off-putting, the results speak for themselves.

Consumers love Arby's roast beef, and this meat contributes to some of the entries on Daily Meal's round-up of best Arby's sandwiches . And since this cooking method has several benefits, the chain might actually be onto something! Why, exactly, does Arby's cook its beef in a plastic bag? Meat isn't the only thing in those plastic bags. Jim Lowder, Arby's LLC quality assurance representative, explained to Snopes that the bags also hold a "self-basting solution, which contains just enough water to keep the product juicy throughout our restaurants' three-hour roasting process and during slicing.

" Arby's roast beef boasts a simple ingredient list of beef, water, salt, and sodium phosphates (to preserve freshness). These minimal ingredients are one of the reasons the classic roast beef sandwich topped our list of the healthiest items at Arby's . But since much of the flavor comes from the beef itself, maintaining optimal moisture is crucial — which is where the self-basting solution comes in.

A large part of consumer satisfaction is developing a consistent product. As Lowder explained, "This [method] ensures that we will deliver the quality that our customers have come to expect from our famous roast beef sandwiches." Following such strict procedures helps the fast food chain produce the same taste and flavor across all its stores, including the world's largest Arby's restaurant (check out our article to find out where that is) .

Plus, the method sounds convenient. In-house staff don't need to prep and baste the meat or deal with raw beef. They merely need to place the package in the roasting oven and let the heat work its magic.

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