Quick Hits: Arby's new Smokehouse Brisket Sandwich

I was driving home from work and saw a sign saying Arby's had a Smokehouse Brisket Sandwich and pulled in to give it a shot.  

I was skeptical.  A lot of fast food places have done BBQ themes this year, slapping some mediocre crock pot style BBQ pork on a burger.  There's also the infamous McRib.  But attempting to do brisket in a fast food setting takes some big kahones.  If anyone could pull it off, it would probably be Arby's since they make that freakishly delicious roast beef sandwich.  

Photo Credit:  Smokehouse Brisket Sandwich photo from Arby's website

The sandwich is priced at $4.99 and rings in at $7.49 for a combo.   It's a pretty tall sandwich of a slightly crispy bun, layers of brisket smoked for 13 hours, smoked gouda cheese, fried onions, BBQ sauce and mayo.  

The brisket was shaved thin and it had an obvious cure/smoke ring on the edges.  The brisket looked a little odd but maybe that's because I'm not used to seeing shaved razor thin like that. 

Grading this on a fast food curve, I'd give this a solid b or b+.  Trevor had one and agreed.  There was a strong enough smoke flavor from the meat, cheese, and bbq sauce.  If you're not a big fan of liquid smoke in your BBQ sauce, you might want to ask for Arby's sauce instead of the BBQ sauce.  I don't mind it if not too overpowering.  The meat was tender and the onions crispy, giving a nice overall texture.  It was good enough that I had another one for lunch today.

Hey look, fellow BBQ Brethren, Neil "Big Mista" Strawder is on their commercial!  

This isn't going to compete against a brisket sandwich from your local BBQ joint.  But as far as fast food BBQ themed items go, I think this is the best of the BBQ bunch and it's a good sandwich.   

That being said, I'd rather have a couple of the Arby's Classic with some Arby's Sauce and/or Horsey Sauce.   It's hard to beat the original.  

[Standard Disclaimer]  No compensation was received for this post.