{"id":20896,"date":"2016-11-29T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-11-29T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/?p=20896"},"modified":"2021-01-07T20:44:17","modified_gmt":"2021-01-08T06:44:17","slug":"review-arbys-venison-sandwich","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2016\/11\/29\/review-arbys-venison-sandwich\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: Arby\u2019s Venison Sandwich"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Arby\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

Note: This guest review was written by our internet buddy Russ Shelly from What’s Good at Trader Joe’s<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Tension and anticipation filled the cool early morning, day after Thanksgiving air. The nervous glances and small talk only added to the edge. The crowd was gathering, just moments before opening, and we all knew what we there for. The only question was, who would be first, and who would be left empty-handed. There were just limited quantities, after all. We all knew it.<\/p>\n

Slowly, the manager approached. The door was going to be unlocked. This was the moment. We all pressed in, just waiting for that click…<\/p>\n

The kindly manager opened the door, nervously smiled and cheerfully said, \u201dWelcome to Arby\u2019s!\u201d<\/p>\n

What, you thought we were lining up at Macy\u2019s on Black Friday for $50 off an at-home hair removal kit? Don\u2019t be ridiculous, this was all about the Arby\u2019s Venison Sandwich being testmarketed at select stores only.<\/p>\n

Gotta say it: For this sandwich, Bambi\u2019s mom has got it going on. It\u2019s a very simple construct: A 5.5-ounce slab of marinated deer steak, a semi-generous splash of juniper sauce, and onion straws all held by the typical Arby\u2019s star cut bun used in their other specialty sandwiches.<\/p>\n

\"Arby\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s break it down, starting with the obvious star: the venison. Apparently from farm-raised deer in New Zealand, the meat is marinated in a simple spice blend of garlic, salt and pepper, with the pepper being the strongest element. The steak is slow cooked, sous-vide style, for several hours resulting in a tender, medium-well cooked steak that is lean without any elements of stringiness or chewiness. If you\u2019re not familiar with venison as an edible meat, think high quality beef, and that\u2019s a decent enough approximation for the uninitiated. There\u2019s not a lot of inherent gamey flavor, which some will see as a plus.<\/p>\n

\"Arby\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

The sauce and straw sidekicks really add to the overall appeal. It\u2019s a sweet-style barbecue flavor for the sauce, with juniper berries adding a unique, slightly sweet yet tart tinge. Maybe the berries were my deer\u2019s last meal. That\u2019s…perhaps morbid. But it\u2019s a good thing, as the berry flavor adds a \u201cwild\u201d dimension that a typical BBQ sauce wouldn\u2019t. The onion straws put in a clean, crispy bite, with a little grease, with the onion flavor helping bridge the gap between the garlic and pepper of the deer and the sweetness of the sauce. In a lot of ways, the onion straws are like Lebowski\u2019s rug: easy to overlook, but they really tie it all together. No cheese or lettuce or tomato here, and none are needed.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s a weak spot for the sandwich, it\u2019s the bun. Not that it\u2019s bad bread – it isn\u2019t. But it\u2019s much bigger than the deer steak, and while it\u2019s up to the task of holding it all together without getting overwhelmed, the overall feel of the sandwich is that it\u2019s a tad too bready. Where the steak was a little thinner, or there wasn\u2019t as much onions or sauce, the bread really took over and dampened the much more flavorful elements.<\/p>\n

The Arby\u2019s Venison Sandwich was rolled out in a testing phase in only 17 Arby\u2019s locations nationwide, most of them in popular hunting areas. Gathering by the amount of camo in the crowd, and the fact that I had only about the fourth most impressive beard (male division), it\u2019s a hit. Within twenty minutes, the store I was at (Bellevue, PA) had sold out of at least 75 percent of its allocated inventory…and that is slow sales compared to other restaurant sites. But then, again, it was 10:20 a.m. on the day after Thanksgiving, so much of the nation was either a) shopping for $5 off electronic toothbrushes or b) recovering from riding the turkey-and-gravy train from the day before.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll admit I wasn\u2019t even hungry when I sat down to eat the sandwich, but when my first was polished off, it was good enough for me to consider having my second right then and there. I settled for taking it home and reheating for dinner, which worked better than one would expect.<\/p>\n

Gauging by the enthusiasm of the rest of the dining room as well as the friendly Arby\u2019s managers roving around asking for input, there seems to be a good shot of the venison sandwich catching on as a much wider release. It\u2019s superb meatcraft, and I already can\u2019t wait for the commercials with that deep gravelly booming voice.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s to hoping that in 2017 the venison will be coming to an Arby\u2019s near you.<\/p>\n

(Nutrition Facts – Not available.)<\/small><\/p>\n

Purchased Price:<\/b> $5 (test market price)
\nSize:<\/b> N\/A
\nRating:<\/b> 9 out of 10
\nPros:<\/b> Expertly made venison. Awesome sauce. Being lucky enough to eat not one but two of these before any of you even had a chance.
\nCons:<\/b> A bit too bready at points. Reliving the death of Bambi\u2019s mom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Note: This guest review was written by our internet buddy Russ Shelly from What’s Good at Trader Joe’s. Tension and anticipation filled the cool early morning, day after Thanksgiving air. The nervous glances and small talk only added to the edge. The crowd was gathering, just moments before opening, and we all knew what we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1440],"tags":[1515,1477],"class_list":["post-20896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-arbys","tag-fast-food"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":55254,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2023\/03\/06\/arbys-cinnamon-roll-fried-pie-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":20896,"position":0},"title":"REVIEW: Arby\u2019s Cinnamon Roll Fried Pie","author":"Julie","date":"March 6, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Rule #1 of being a junk food fan: when you hear that a test product is available in your area, you give it a try. 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Those sandwiches evoke the savory side of the festive meal, but the restaurant has a brand-new item inspired by one of the all-American desserts of the all-American holiday meal, the Apple Pie Shake. Arby\u2019s has The Meats,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Arby\u2019s Apple Pie Shake Cup","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/arbysappieshake1-521x800.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2717,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2009\/03\/17\/review-arbys-bacon-cheddar-roastburger\/","url_meta":{"origin":20896,"position":2},"title":"REVIEW: Arby’s Bacon Cheddar Roastburger","author":"Marvo","date":"March 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Arby's is one of those places I continually forget still exists, like Radio Shack, The Disney Store, Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood. Maybe it's because Arby's isn't like other fast food places. They don't inundate me with weird Burger King ads from advertising superpower Crispin Porter + Bogusky or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/arbysbaccheroburger-600x450.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/arbysbaccheroburger-600x450.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/arbysbaccheroburger-600x450.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":73213,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2025\/10\/15\/arbys-steak-nuggets-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":20896,"position":3},"title":"REVIEW: Arby’s Steak Nuggets","author":"Marvo","date":"October 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm wholly disappointed that Arby's Steak Nuggets aren't beef chunks coated in some kind of breading to give them a crunchy exterior. 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Arby's Turkey Rachel features roast turkey, swiss cheese, Thousand Island dressing, Swiss cheese, and Arby's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fast Food News"","block_context":{"text":"Fast Food News","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/fast-food-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Arby s Turkey Rachel","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Arbys-Turkey-Rachel.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Arbys-Turkey-Rachel.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Arbys-Turkey-Rachel.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46475,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2021\/04\/27\/arbys-crinkle-cut-fries-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":20896,"position":5},"title":"REVIEW: Arby’s Crinkle Cut Fries","author":"Tiffany","date":"April 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"What are Arby\u2019s Crinkle Cut Fries? 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