Just like the Rolling Stones (I can't begin to count how many times they've announced farewell tours over the years) The McDonald's McRib is coming out of retirement for a limited time. According to Business Insider, McDonald's is bringing back the McRib to over 10,000 McDonald's locations across the United States starting Monday, October 7.
What is a McDonald's McRib Sandwich?
Introduced in 1981 as a limited-time menu item, the barbecue sauce-slathered Sandwich was actually invented by McDonald's first Executive Chef René Arend, who also invented the Chicken McNuggets a few months prior. Chicken sales were going through the roof and causing a chicken shortage. Chef Arend decided to create a pork patty in the shape of a slab of ribs as a new product to alleviate some of the chicken sales. At first, the McDonald's McRib Sandwich wasn't a surefire winner until in the summer of 1994 when the fast-food sandwich was added nationally to the McDonald's Menu as part of a promotion with The Flintstones film release. After that, the boneless pork sandwich was only released as limited-time offerings.
What's in a McRib?
The sandwich is simple: a boneless McRib pork patty topped with bbq McRib sauce, tart pickles slices, and slivered onions all served on a hoagie style bun.
This is the biggest release of the sandwich yet and McRib sightings have already started popping up on the McRib Locator, a website created by a fan of the sandwich. Since the sandwich doesn't always pop up in the same locations, McRib fanatics often need to hunt down the sandwich by calling or visit several locations. The website helps pinpoint which restaurants are part of the sandwich roll-out. According to the map at the time of writing, the closest McRib is two hours away.
If It's So Popular, Why Isn't it on the Menu Permanently?
Two words: supply and demand. Look at it this way, if the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks was available year-round, do you think people would make such a big deal out of it? Not a chance. Instead, businesses like Starbucks and McDonald's rely on limited-time items to bring in a burst of customers and because of that, the McRib will never be on the permanent menu.
There's no saying how long these sandwiches will last, so if you have a hankering for one, load up your gas tank and get going.
