It’s back.
After a 16-year hiatus, the beloved McRib sandwich, a cult favorite on the McDonald’s menu, returned yesterday to all 14,000 locations nationwide for six weeks.
The McRib — not the healthiest option at the fast-food chain with 26 grams of fat — consists of a formed ground pork patty drenched in barbecue sauce and topped with onions and pickles and served on a six-inch roll.
This sandwich usually appears on the menus of only a few select locations — hardly ever across the nation at once. In fact, there’s a popular McRib Locator, which tells fans where the McRib sandwich is being sold across the country. And people drive to find them, over hundreds of miles, driving for hours, trust me. (The iPhone and iPad app is coming next month.)
“We are excited to bring the McRib back to all its adoring fans in Hawaii who can’t wait to get another bite of the sandwich they love so much,” said Melanie Okazaki, marketing manager of McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii, in a news release. “It is always a popular item when we offer it to our customers in Hawaii, but to have the McRib come back across the nation all at once shows the fans’ demand for this sandwich is really strong.”
Ironically, the sandwich didn’t do well when it first came out in 1981 and removed from the menu four years later.
But since then the McRib gained legendary status, and fans starting creating Web sites, Facebook pages and other online communities to tout its greatness.
Even celebs like Stephen Colbert are singing its praises:
“As much as I love ribs, there’s one part that I hate: the ribs. Those bones are taking up precious meat space! That’s why I’ve always loved the McDonald’s McRib Sandwich. You see it’s shaped like a slab of ribs, but it’s just the good parts. And possibly the bad parts — I don’t know what’s in it, but it’s delicious … It’s like a phoenix rising from the ashes! Then being deboned, mechanically separated, and reformed into a tasty sauce-slathered McPatty.”
Admission: I’ve never had one. But after all this hype, I’m heading to McDonald’s before Dec. 5, when it will be taken back off the menu. I’ll let you know what I think.
Any McRib fans out there?
***
To read all of Cat’s blogs, visit www.nonstophonolulu.com/thedailydish. Follow Cat on Twitter @thedailydish or send her an e-mail at [email protected].
RECENT BLOG POSTS
Andy Irons dies; I’m in shock
How annoying is product placement?
‘Long hair not appropriate for grown-ups’
FUUD: Chef Mavro on King Street
Scare my costume off
ASK DR. DISH: Love those jerks
Ho, brah, I stay local now
Flush with frustration
FUUD: Tsukeneya Robata Grill near UH
Does that headache come on the side?
Love traveling, hate flying
‘H50’ no reality show
Top 10 best memories of Europe
28 Comments
McRib? absolutely. in college, i remember walking across campus, jaywalking across a huge busy street then walking another half mile or so (sometimes in the snow at night) to get a McRib.
Wow I haven’t had a McRib in years, maybe decades…probably around the time it first got to Hawaii. I remember thinking it was just OK, didn’t miss it when it left. Guess I should revisit it now since it’s a limited time offer!
I saw a McDonalds with a McRib when I went out yesterday. Even though I’m not a huge fan, the limited nature of it was tempting.
I’m not a big fan. For one thing, I SOMETIME eat while driving 🙂 but all that sauce makes that difficult to do. Need PLENTY napkin. As for flavor, it was ok. I’d rather have the Swiss Mushroom burger.
Ooooooo. McRib! Yes, I remember it. When McDonalds introduced it last time, the demand totally messed up the pork commodities market.
Okay Cat……you made me eat one for dinner tonight…….yum!
Awesome! For some reason, this sandwhich reminds me of those teddy bear shaped rib patties we used to have in school. Good stuff — I’m getting one!
With all the hype, I had to have one on the first day. For 3 bucks it is a good rib substitute. It is a better deal than the angus burger. I wish they would have a dollar version of it on the dollar menu and I would be in McDonald’s value menu heaven. Don’t be a snob and get it on the Fuud blog.
I’m lovin’ it!
I’m lovin’ it!
26g of fat? No wonder it tastes so good! I’ve always liked the McRib. I already had one since it came back this time. I think it’s the BBQ sauce that makes it so good.
@Konaish Only 26g of fat? C’mon McD, add more fat.
After watching Food, Inc…I’m not sure I can ever eat fast food again. 🙂
@nathankam thnku! after reading this i was just abt to run out and get one. i’m a huge fast food snob, for health reasons (that is not me u see in the drive-thru lane at midnite when there’s zero caffeine in the house) and u have saved my conscience!
I don’t quite get its huge popularity. The meat/fat/whatever part is ok. But that BBQ sauce just doesn’t cut it for me. It’s not like I don’t like BBQ sauce–I do. Just not theirs. Plus I always have to order it without pickles and onions. So I end up ordering it plain and taking it home to use my own BBQ sauce.
Did anyone see the YouTube video of the McD’s burger and fries go almost unchanged in a six-month, time-lapse photography? Can you imagine the preservative, cancer causing chemicals in that food? No thanks!
Interesting timing, considering jkretch just showed me an article about Happy Meals being banned in San Francisco: https://www.fastcompany.com/1699915/no-more-mcdonalds-happy-meals-for-san-francisco-kids
New is always intriguing, but the McRib won’t get me inside a McDonalds. The only reason I go there is for french fries and ice cream – separate or together. Did Hawaiians really love love the McRib? Is it worth me stepping into a fast food restaurant or should I stick with In-n-Out?
@JennaLanger Stay strong. Don’t be tempted by the special sauce.
@JennaLanger jkretch Ahhhh, you said a BAD WORD… In N Out!!!!!!! Jonesing for a DD (or two) even as I type this!!!
Alright, I just ate the ol’ McRib for lunch. My opinion of it is pretty much the same that I had all those years ago, which is…it’s OK. I expected the BBQ sauce to have a little more tang but it was just kinda sweet. The “rib patty” had a chewy McNugget meat-like texture to it. Way too many onions and sauce in the container, like some people said it’s a bit of a mess so take extra napkins. I probably wouldn’t order the McRib again on my next stop at McDonalds. But hey I had to try it again to confirm my memories of it!
@808marv what can i say, u are a true, unsnobbish foodie!
@nonstopmari Oh I don’t know about unsnobbish…for example I don’t know if I could bring myself to try that natto pasta from your izakaya post! One day I will try natto. Maybe. 😉
I remember my first McRib sandwich in 1978 while McDonalds was test marketing it in a few locations around the corporate headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois. It was edible, but through its regular run I had one occasionally but did not ever crave one. However, once they were gone, I really missed them. These days, I only eat McDonalds food occasionally for breakfast. With the knowledge that this odd food will probably not last long, I will give it another try.
i had one today in san rafael ca. i took a pic and uploaded it to twitter. there were three bites missing cause i was hungry and i almost forgot. i’ll probably go back to my old twice a week standard- the McChicken, side salad with vinagrette and a senior coffee. just like all the other old unemployed guys. did you know that in marin county, (pop 240k) there are over 1000 people over 100 years old?
I think I’m gonna skip lol
But yah, I always wondered why there was no McRib in the US while it is/was just normally available in several countries in Europe.
And lol, like some others, I cannot quite understand the hype about it either.. it’s ok in taste but not good imho.
Yikes… already had 6 McRibs since it debuted last week. Yeah… yeah… Oinker. I know how it’s made with “shaved pork” (just like the McNuggets), but it’s NOT A HAMBURGER, and I don’t have to wait long for a sandwich. The advantage (or disadvantage) of a Fast Food mecca.
The BBQ Sauce tastes different from the last cycle. The sweet tang taste is not there any more. The BBQ sauce tastes kind of flat now.
Maybe I’ll buy a few more before it disappears again.
@harrycovair yeah see I remember the sauce had more tang before, that’s what disappointed me the most this time around. Maybe McD’s should have a bottle of tabasco handy at their locations for the McRib ha ha.
@Harrycovair You’re not an oinker. You are merely gathering up a big enough sample size to analyze and memorize during this brief period that it will be out. Speaking of which, I need to go out there and start to collect McRib samples, too.