McRib Sandwich Officially Back at McDonald's for Holidays
McDonald's has officially brought back its infamous McRib sandwich.
The fast food chain initially announced that the McDonald's McRib would have its seasonal debut in October. However, due to extremely warm weather conditions, the company stated that it was forced to push back the date. The next date was announced for sometime in mid-December.
On Monday, the sandwich that has become famous for its rib-like shape was released. The McRib, which is made of pork, is a "restructured meat product." Its full list of ingredients include a mix of "tripe, heart, and scalded stomach," according to Yahoo Finance.
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"The McRib is made in large processing plants- lots of stainless steel, a number of production lines, and these long cryogenic freezers," Rob Cannell explained during a 2009 interview with Maxim. "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."
It was first developed after the popularity of Chicken McNuggets created a chicken shortage due to an unexpected increase in demand.
"The McNuggets were so well received that every franchise wanted them," Rene Arend, McDonald's first executive chef, now retired, told the magazine. "There wasn't a system to supply enough chicken. We had to come up with something to give the other franchises as a new product."
The sandwich was inspired by the flavors of Southern Barbeque after Arend had made a trip to the South, where he had consumed a tasty pulled pork sanwhich.
"I had just come back from Charleston, South Carolina, where I ate sandwiches made from pulled pork," Arend remembers. "I said to myself, Something with that flavor should really go over."
While the sandwich was successful, it was apparently not successful enough to make it on the year-round menu. Instead, the fast food chain brings it back once a year for the holidays.
