The Way Subway Prepares Its Steak (Rightfully) Causes Customers Some Concern

Few people probably want to see "how the sausage gets made" (as the old saying goes), and peeking behind the curtain of your favorite restaurant, or the lunch spot where you love to pick up a quick snack, might just horrify you. This is what some Subway customers learned when TikToker @howfoodismade revealed how the deli sandwich giant prepares steak: It's pre-packaged, and it isn't pretty. In fact, it's rightfully causing some concern. 

The TikTok shows a meat brick, vacuum-sealed, which is a common way beef is delivered to restaurants. A staff member crumbles the meat and separates it into 2.5-ounce containers, which they then store in their prep table to be served to order. The meat doesn't look all that appetizing or fresh. Despite some commenters saying they're going to stick with pepperoni or other deli meats, one has to wonder that, if the steak looks like this, how appetizing does the deli meat look in its delivery packaging? And Subway's frozen, thawed, and long-sitting meatballs are the reason behind many consumers avoiding that Subway sandwich order. 

@howfoodismade

#food #fyp

♬ Bbl Drizzy – TokenAngel

There are several ways people react to learning how their fast food meat is packaged and delivered to thousands of locations. One is disgust, as evident in the comments of the revealing TikTok video, which has been viewed over 25 million times since its publication. Both former workers and customers weighed in. "As someone who worked there for two years, sometimes it's even more frozen than that," one said. Another commenter took a dig at Subway's slogan with, "We're not eating fresh, apparently."

Other Subways customers seem to shrug their shoulders, accept the fact that their meat may not be the freshest or highest-quality beef in the world, and move on. "Give me three scoops," one commenter posted. And there were plenty of others who didn't mind the packaged meat. "Delicious," one commenter wrote. "I will get it toasted with cheese, please." Ultimately, if the end product is desirable for someone, you might as well live and let live. "No one could make me hate you, Subway," one dedicated Subway customer added. 

It's up to your own determination of what food is suitable for your consumption, and it's clear that many Subway customers aren't entirely upset about the packaged beef. In fact, many restaurants that serve deli-style meats and sandwiches vacuum-seal their meat. One TikTok commenter put it all into perspective, saying, "I don't know what people expect the meat items at chain restaurants to look like. This is normal and doesn't freak me out."

So, no matter how you feel about the beef, you should continue your behind-the-counter education by reading about the ingredients in Subway's tuna. And let it be known that when we ranked Subway sandwiches, the fourth-place contender, the Outlaw, is made with the steak in question, and we enjoyed the sandwich.