While you might be surprised to spot a famous chef during your fast food run, it’s certainly not impossible. Even the best cooks sometimes don’t feel like whipping up a five-star meal, or they simply get a hankering for some greasy, cheap eats just like the rest of us. Most of them are refreshingly open about this as well, with tons of celebrity chefs telling their fans their favorite fast food restaurants and even what they order from them too. For instance, “Fast Foodies” star Justin Sutherland is a fan of two different restaurants in particular, and he likes to combine items from both into one super delicious meal.
First, Sutherland heads to Arby’s and orders the classic beef and cheddar sandwich, which pairs its iconic roast beef with cheddar sauce and red ranch on a toasted onion roll. It’s great all on its own, but Sutherland takes it up a notch by heading over to KFC for a special accompaniment: gravy. He then dips the sandwich into it, to create an elevated version of the classic sandwich, which is obviously fitting since roast beef is often paired with gravy (such as in this recipe for German-style pot roast with beer gravy.) While it requires visiting two different restaurants, this makes for a richly savory experience.
Why KFC gravy is the perfect pairing for Arby’s classic roast beef sandwich
Although roast beef and gravy are a classic combination you can’t go wrong with, KFC’s gravy is a particularly great choice for Arby’s roast beef sandwich because their recipe includes “crackling,” aka crispy leftover bits of chicken that give it an extra kick of flavor. This means you’re blending a subtle chicken taste with the beef, making the entire meal even meatier and more delectable. It’s an ingenious idea from Justin Sutherland, which speaks to how popular both items are. In fact, even though KFC’s mashed potatoes were relatively low on Tasting Table’s ranking of fast food mashed potatoes from worst to best, the gravy itself garnered absolutely no complaints.
This means it might actually be even better on a roast beef sandwich than paired with the potatoes it usually comes with. It isn’t hugely surprising that Sutherland would come up with such an idea either, given his time recreating fast food meals on “Fast Foodies.” The celebrity chef and reality TV personality is accustomed to recreating and jazzing up fast food meals. In fact, this one would pair really well with Arby’s curly fries, which is a favorite of Sutherland’s “Fast Foodies” co-star Kristen Kish. So, pick up some curly fries, a beef and cheddar sandwich, and some gravy, and you’ll be set.
