# Is the McRib really worth eating? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [December 17, 2024, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749 "2024-12-17T07:26:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/1 "2024-12-17T07:26:39Z")
I am seeing as touting that the McRib is bring brought back again temporarily, as they do periodicalky - to much fanfare. It’s at least 20 years since I’ve tried one, and I don’t recall that it was all that memorable. What’s the big deal? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/2 "2024-12-17T07:33:25Z")
Just some processed meat with BBQ sauce on it. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/3 "2024-12-17T07:52:39Z")
It’s an OK sandwich. The fact that it’s only available once a year is what gives it its mystique - it didn’t sell well when it was a permanent menu item in the early '80s, but if you know you won’t get another chance to eat one until next year, people will go for it. If you want one out of season, On-Cor sells frozen pork patties that come in the same shape, in a TV dinner tray with the sauce. Heat them up and slap one on a pub roll with onions and pickles, and there you go. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/4 "2024-12-17T08:12:48Z")
As food, no. As FOMO, well, that’s up to you. My wife has a severe case of FOMO. She has a Stanley cup, an Ember mug, etc etc. If an influencer brandishes it, she wants it. So she would definitely want to try the McRib, just to say she’s tried it. Me? Not so much. Your mileage, as they say, will vary. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/5 "2024-12-17T08:24:32Z")
People like BBQ sauce. This is mystery meat with BBQ sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/6 "2024-12-17T08:25:08Z")
Perhaps a rookie question, but the only time I ate a McRib around the end of the 20th century I was surprised that it was bone-free. Can a rib be a rib without a rib bone in it? PS - I was thoroughly underwhelmed by the meat and the sauce as well - I thought it was one of McDonalds’ crappiest products. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/7 "2024-12-17T08:33:09Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > So she would definitely want to try the McRib, just to say she’s tried it. > > Me? Not so much. IIRC, aren’t you in Luxembourg? Wikipedia says it’s a permanent menu item there. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/8 "2024-12-17T08:46:38Z")
Well, let me clarify — if we ever went to McD’s (which we don’t) and she noticed it, she would want to try it. There are much, much better burgers here, including fast food. McD’s is just not on our radar as any kind of option. (And looking at an **[online menu](https://www.wedely.com/restaurant/15251-mcdonalds-strassen)**, you’re right, it’s apparently a permanent fixture.) ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/9 "2024-12-17T08:47:52Z")
I think boneless ribs are actually strips of pork shoulder steak, that have the customary shape. The only reason I know is because I’ve cooked them in a crockpot tented in foil. I like 'em that way because I can add some herbs to their sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/10 "2024-12-17T10:06:56Z")
Yea, I saw a news report that it is not rib meat, but shoulder. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/11 "2024-12-17T10:16:48Z")
[![](https://preview.redd.it/fb7eodv8sg361.png?auto=webp&s=354b5b97d1a7edd225bc79c443fddab293f8bd5e) ](https://preview.redd.it/fb7eodv8sg361.png?auto=webp&s=354b5b97d1a7edd225bc79c443fddab293f8bd5e) ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/12 "2024-12-17T10:17:43Z")
> Contrary to what its name implies, there is very little actual rib meat in a McRib. “Primar­ily, it’s shoulder meat,” explains Rob Cannell, director of McDonald’s U.S. supply chain. “The McRib is made in large processing plants—lots of stainless steel, a number of production lines, and these long cryogenic freezers. The pork meat is chopped up, then seasoned, then formed into that shape that looks like a rib back. Then we flash-freeze it. The whole process from fresh pork to frozen McRib takes about 45 minutes.” > [The Cult of the McRib](https://web.archive.org/web/20101117153600/http://www.maxim.com/amg/humor/articles/70280/thecultofthemcrib.html) ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/13 "2024-12-17T10:26:29Z")
I actually have a difficult time finding actual ribs that I truely enjoy eating. The McRib is everything unholy and wrong with the worst of ribs joints. Its McDonald’s, its processed rib like food for children and adults with no taste buds and only short term memory. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/14 "2024-12-17T11:48:12Z")
I used to like it, way back when, but the last time I tried one I was disappointed. I don’t know whether the sandwich has changed or my tastes have. One thing it has going for it is its uniqueness: as far as I know, no other major fast food chain sells anything like it. (Whereas there are _lots_ of places you can get a burger or a chicken sandwich.) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/15 "2024-12-17T12:00:59Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > …you won’t get another chance to eat one until next year Old joke: If I were on death row, my last meal request would be a McRib and a Shamrock Shake. mmm ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/16 "2024-12-17T12:26:19Z")
It’s just low grade processed goop, but for a limited time only! ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/17 "2024-12-17T13:30:26Z")
As someone who’s often taken pulled pork or leftover rib meat from a BBQ the day before, which I had slow-smoked over a period of many hours, and piled the meat up on a toasted Kaiser or onion roll with some thinly sliced pickles, red onion, and a dollop of top-notch BBQ sauce, and thoroughly enjoyed for lunch, I’ve never had much of a desire to try the McRib. > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Old joke: > > If I were on death row, my last meal request would be a McRib and a Shamrock Shake. Ha, good one. I’d ask for a Taco Bell enchirito-- they bring it back for like 2 hours every 10 years or so. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/18 "2024-12-17T13:34:03Z")
I ate one once. It was very fatty, and the taste was mediocre at best. Haven’t had one since. If I have to eat there, I’d much rather have the spicy, crispy, chicken sandwich or an egg McMuffin. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/19 "2024-12-17T13:39:43Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > This is mystery meat with BBQ sauce. Exactly. Is the McRib really worth eating? Short answer: no. Long answer: Nooooooooooooooooooooo! ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2024, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749/20 "2024-12-17T13:45:06Z")
Funny! I have never tried one. I’m not missing anything. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-mcrib-really-worth-eating/1011749.md?page=2)