That’s a pic of me and Laura with a giant McRib! Backstory: A couple years ago, I wrote an article for Maxim that involved me seeking out McDonald’s restaurants that served the legendary, yet rarely-seen McRib. (It’s kind of like the Sasquatch of sandwiches.) Because of that road trip, Micky D’s invited me to Tuesday’s nationwide McRib relaunch event, where they were honoring a few dedicated McRib super fans. Yes, the event was great, but at the same time it was a little bit sad because it meant my life had just peaked.
So in honor of the honors, here are some little-known McRib facts that I learned while doing my McResearch:
1. The McRib was created by McDonald’s first head chef, Rene Arend. Admittedly, Arend’s largest contribution to McHistory would have to be the invention of the Chicken McNugget. When the McNugget debuted in 1979, demand was so high that McDonald’s couldn’t get enough chicken to supply all its franchises. So Arend had to create another menu item for restaurants who couldn’t get poultry. His creation? The McRib.
2. Despite being called the McRib, the sandwich actually contains little rib meat and is made primarily from pork shoulder.
3. When coming up with the sauce, the team began by tasting tons of store-bought barbecue sauces. They ended up patterning the McRib sauce off of KC Masterpiece.
4. When first creating the sandwich, Arend faced internal pressure to mold the meat into a standard round patty. It is only through his genius and his perseverance that the McRib looks like it has rib bones. Even though it obviously has no rib bones. God bless him.
OK, that’s all I got on McRib. If you still want to hear more about eating meat, may I suggest you try the video where Laura and I went zombie and ate a bunch of animal brains?
