Arby's Has Used A Seriously Unique Burger Cooking Technique In Fast Food

The fast food industry is built on innovation. For many chains, figuring out how to cook and serve food as quickly as possible while still maintaining a certain level of quality is an on-going quest, fueled by the need to constantly improve in an ultra-competitive field. So when Arby's set out to serve its first-ever burger, its research and development (R&D) team spent two years studying how to best prepare and present it. The answer? Sous vide — a technique not typically used in the world of fast food.

When Arby's released its Wagyu Steakhouse Burger in 2022, it did so without installing grills — which the chain currently has never had. With grilling the burger off the table, sous vide seemed to be the answer. According to Jason Truelove, manager of culinary innovation with Arby's (via Restaurant Business Online) "texture was the biggest hurdle" when developing the burger. Ground meat is not usually cooked sous vide, and the team wanted to achieve a juicy burger with a crispy crust, akin to a grilled patty.

For those unaware, sous vide, which means "under pressure" in French, is a culinary technique where food that has been vacuum sealed is immersed in a water bath. The water is circulated at a set temperature around the sealed item. This method provides an ultra-precise way of cooking as the temperature does not fluctuate, and the time spent immersed dictates any cooking variables like texture or doneness. (Crafty home cooks have even cooked sous vide using a beer cooler.)

Jason Truelove and the Arby's culinary team found that in order to deliver a juicy burger, the fat to meat ratio had to be perfect — hence why the R&D took so long. The burger was made from 52% American Wagyu beef and 48% other high-quality ground beef. The 6.4-ounce patties arrive at Arby's locations already cooked sous-vide. Kitchen staff flash-fried the patties in the deep fryer, which took less than two minutes and achieved the crispy crust.

Wagyu can be a confusing term when it comes to fast food (or when Aldi sells ground wagyu) as it's associated with premium, expensive beef. However, the difference between authentic Japanese Wagyu (which can only come from Japan from pure-bred cattle) and American Wagyu is what makes the burger possible without costing a fortune. American Wagyu comes from cross-bred cattle that are raised in the U.S. to different standards, which means the meat costs much less to produce.

But how did it taste? Arby's Wagyu Steakhouse Burger was a limited-time offer and received mixed reviews. It has not been made a part of the permanent menu, though other burgers were — the deluxe burger and the big cheesy bacon burger are currently available at most locations. Arby's has not made comments on how these burgers are cooked, so it's unclear if the chain is still using the sous vide method — which Chipotle has been using for years.