McDonald’s McRib is back, baby!
Tuesday is a happy day for fast-food barbecue lovers — McDonald’s popular McRib sandwich is back on the menu after its threatened “farewell” tour in 2022.
Introduced to a national audience in 1982, the seasoned, boneless pork sandwich made its debut as a limited-time item in Kansas City, Kan., in 1981 to combat a chicken shortage. It’s the saucy culinary brainchild of Luxembourg native Rene Arend, the same executive chef who invented Chicken McNuggets in 1979.
Dipped in a tangy barbecue sauce and topped with slivered onions and pickles on a toasted hoagie-style bun, the McRib today has a cult fan base. But its general appeal has always been kind of iffy. The sandwich was removed from the menu in 1985 due to poor sales, reintroduced in 1989, then removed again as a permanent item in 2005.
Over the last two decades, the McRib made additional limited-time appearances in various parts of the U.S. before once again landing on the national menu in 2020 as a limited-time offering. This year’s reintroduction aims not just to get people talking and drive restaurant sales — the goal of all limited-edition fast food items — but no doubt also to speed McDonald’s recovery from an E. coli outbreak this fall that was linked to contaminated onions on Quarter Pounder hamburgers.
The sandwich has “captivated fans [with] its limited availability, sparking social media buzz, and igniting a flurry of anticipation each time it makes its triumphant return to McDonald’s restaurants,” read a company release. “Its reemergence on the menu has consistently resulted in long lines and enthusiastic outpourings on social media platforms from devoted fans, excited to savor its irresistible flavors once again.”
Here’s a fun fact if you don’t already know the pleasure of biting into the piquant, iconic sandwich: While it is shaped to look like it includes a miniature rack of ribs, it doesn’t actually include any bones — it’s made from ground pork shoulder that’s been “restructured” into a shape that looks like a piece of meat.
Not to be a spoilsport, but the McRib isn’t the best choice if you care about what you put in your body; in addition to being packed with 28 grams of total fat, it also includes 890 mg of sodium and 13 grams of total sugar. But hey, at least you also get 24 grams of protein along with that signature barbecue flavor.
The price for the 520-calorie sandwich varies depending on location (it’s $5.69 at the McDonald’s on Ohio River Blvd., in Bellevue) and customers should be able to find it for at least the next couple of weeks at locations all around town. Along with drive-thru and on-site dining, fans can also order a McRib via the McDonald’s app.
To celebrate the sammie’s seasonal return, McDonald’s for the first time offered customers a chance to recreate the sandwich at home by selling a limited number of 64-ounce containers of its “A Whole Lotta McRib Sauce” online on Nov. 25. Proceeds benefited Ronald McDonald House Charities, a nonprofit that provides support to families who travel long distances for their child’s medical care. The $19.99 jugs quickly sold (no surprise!) but you can find a few random bottles on eBay for prices ranging from $100 to $1,500 if you’re bent on lovin’ it.
Want to know where to find it? Use the McRib Locator, which shows you where the sandwich has shown up on menus, not just in Pennsylvania or the U.S., but across the globe.
And if you’re headed to Europe any time soon? The sandwich is available year-round at McDonald’s restaurants in Germany and Luxembourg.