Arby's

According to polls, these fries are considered the #1 or #2 best fast-food fries in America—they flip-flop with McDonald's for the top spot. 

Much of what I know about how Arby's makes these fries comes from an episode of Food Network's Unwrapped that reveals what the potatoes go through during the automated prep process at a ConAgra Foods processing plant in Southern Washington. The potatoes are sliced at high speed, then they rush down a conveyor where they are blanched in hot water for 20 minutes to deactivate an enzyme that turns them brown and to help create the perfect texture when the potatoes are fried. The potatoes are then battered, par-fried for 30 seconds, frozen, and shipped to each Arby's restaurant, where the cooking process is completed with a final frying step.

My process at home is simple and incorporates all these steps, but you'll need a curly fry slicer if you want your fries to look like they came from Arby's. The one used here in my Arby's Curly Fries copycat recipe is from Progressive, which makes perfect curly slices and costs around 30 bucks. If you don't want to pay for a slicer, you can still use my recipe with fries sliced on a mandoline or by hand. They won't be curly, but they'll still have the same fantastic flavor and crispiness as the original curly fries. 

Find more famous french fries copycat recipes here.

Source: Top Secret Recipes Step-by-Step by Todd Wilbur.

It was in 1991 that Arby's saw a market for a selection of sandwiches that weighed in with very little fat. The chain was able to create three sandwiches that had 10 grams of fat or less, with whole wheat hamburger buns, light mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomato. Of the three selections, it is the Roast Turkey Deluxe that has the least fat, with only 6 grams per sandwich.

Now you can make a clone of that light creation, with deli-sliced roast turkey breast that you can pick up at any deli counter at your local supermarket. You can also find the turkey in pre-packaged portions near the luncheon meats.

Nutrition Facts
Serving size–1 sandwich
Total servings–1
Calories  per serving–201
Fat per serving–6g

Source: Top Secret Recipes Lite by Todd Wilbur.

Even though Arby's has diversified its menu over the years with toasted subs and deli-style sandwiches on sliced whole wheat bread, it's the thinly-sliced roast beef piled high on hamburger buns that originally made this chain famous. Since roast beef and horseradish go so beautifully together, Arby's created this delicious mayo-based horseradish sauce as a spread for the roast beef sandwiches. It also happens to be great on your homemade sandwiches too, but it just isn't cool to hoard handfuls of those blister packs to take home with you. So, with the help of my Arby's Horsey Sauce recipe, you can clone as much sauce as you want. First step: get out the blender. You'll need it to purée the horseradish into the mix so that the sauce is smooth and creamy like the real deal.

You might also like my Arby's BBQ sauce recipe.

Source: Top Secret Recipes Unlocked by Todd Wilbur.

The beef sandwiches from Arby's would be very hard to duplicate, since they are made from specially processed hunks of beef that are then thinly sliced with a deli-style meat slicer. However, the sweet-and-tangy BBQ sauce can be cloned easily. You can make my copycat Arby's sauce recipe with just a few basic ingredients and add it to a variety of homemade sandwich creations, even barbecued ribs or chicken. 

If you love Arby's Horsey sauce, Bronco Berry Sauce or the Jamoca Shake, you can get those recipes here. 

Source: More Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur.

This sweet and spicy jelly sauce comes on the side, in little 1.5-ounce containers, with Arby's battered jalapeño and cheese Side Kickers. But, you know, you just never get enough of the good stuff in those little one-serving dipping packs to use later with your own home-cooked delicacies. And isn't it odd that the sauce is called Bronco Berry when there's not a berry to be found in there? Sure, the sauce is bright red and sugary, but you won't find a speck of fruit on the ingredients list. Nevertheless, the sweet and spicy flavors in my Arby's Bronco Berry sauce copycat recipe make this a great jelly sauce that has many uses beyond dipping quick-service finger foods such as jalapeno poppers, chicken fingers, and eggrolls. Use it as a delicious substitute for mint jelly with your next batch of lamb chops.

Find more of my copycat sauce recipes here.

Source: Even More Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur.

Arby's famous Jamocha Shake was one of the first frozen coffee drinks to gain popularity, even before Starbucks pummeled us with Frappuccinos. This thick drink is actually more milkshake than coffee drink, but if you like the original, you'll love my easy-to-make Arby's Jamoca Shake recipe that serves two.

Think of all the popular drinks you can make at home! Click here to see if I hacked your favorite.

Source: Top Secret Recipes: Sodas, Smoothies, Spirits & Shakes by Todd Wilbur.

Here's an awesome kitchen clone for a selection off of Arby's 3-item "Light Menu." As other fast food chains were zigging by creating giant gooey burgers with fat grams in the 40-plus range, this 3,100-outlet roast beef sandwich chain opted to zag, offering a selection of scrumptious sandwiches with only 6 to 10 grams of fat each.

The secret to recreating the special Arby's taste in the Roast Chicken Deluxe is the marinade. Let your chicken soak in it for several hours, or even overnight. It also helps if you have a meat slicer to get that paper-thin, deli-style cut to the chicken. If you don't have a slicer, do what I do. Use the "poor man's meat slicer," otherwise known as a very sharp knife and a steady hand. 

Nutrition facts
Serving size–1 sandwich 
Total servings–4
Calories per serving–201
Fat per serving–6.5g

Source: Top Secret Recipes Lite by Todd Wilbur.