McRib
The most successful disappearing act in fast food. A boneless pork patty pressed into the shape of a rack of ribs, soaked in sweet, tangy barbecue sauce, with onions and pickles on a long roll. Taken seriously it is a slightly ridiculous sandwich. That is not how anyone takes it: people track its return dates, drive between towns to find it, and buy three at once.
The story
McDonald’s executive chef René Arend, the same man behind the Chicken McNugget, developed the McRib in the early 1980s, reportedly because chicken supply could not keep up with McNugget demand and the chain needed another new product. It launched in 1981, sold poorly and was pulled a few years later. Bringing it back only for short runs turned a flop into an event.
What’s inside
- boneless pork patty
- barbecue sauce
- slivered onions
- pickles
- long toasted roll
Make it at home
My copycat first, then everything I built on top of it.- My copycat
McDonald's McRib (Copycat)
The McRib on YouTube
Everyone who has cooked, copied or taste-tested it on camera.
Similar burgers at other chains
Built around the same things as the McRib.- Big Fernand · pork and barbecue sauce
SignatureLe Bartholomé - Steers · pork and barbecue sauce
Ribster - Goiko · pork and barbecue sauce
Kevin Costner - BDP Burger · pork and barbecue sauce
La Tejana
More from McDonald's
About McDonald's
Nobody sells more burgers. McDonald’s began as a single drive-in run by Richard and Maurice McDonald in San Bernardino, California, and became a burger machine in 1948, when the brothers threw out most of the menu and rebuilt the kitchen like a production line. Ray Kroc, a salesman who sold them milkshake mixers, started franchising it in 1955 and later bought the brothers out.
More than 40,000 restaurants in over 100 countries.
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