Pork Jello Sandwich
Do you mean the McRib isn't actually made from real rib meat? Say it ain't so.
“99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.” - Steven Wright.
McDonald’s officially debuted its McRib sandwich in 1981 and anyone who has ever tried it should be able to tell that it’s made out of pork Jello.
It’s what the food industry calls “restructured meat.” And its gelatinous texture comes from connective tissues in the meat mix that release collagen, making it easy to mold into the shape of a rib slab.
A lawsuit filed just before Christmas claims the McRib also contains tripe and scalded stomach. McDonald’s denies this allegation, but so what if it was?
Americans would love it the same way they still love Twinkies and Sunny D.
An old urban legend in Australia, once claimed it was made from kangaroo meat, and Aussies ate it up anyway.
The McRib is only available on a limited-time basis, and McDonald’s has ingeniously crafted such a cult following for this dubious delight that not even RFK has declared war on McRib season.
Milestones In McRib History
1970s – McDonald’s began test-marketing a boneless pork patty in the Midwest.
1981 – McRib officially debuted on menus nationwide, topped with barbecue sauce, pickles and onions.
1985 – McDonald’s pulled McRib from menus citing disappointing sales.
1989 – McRib launched again, this time to better reception.
1994: The sandwich somehow achieved cult status with a tie-in to The Flintstones movie and other promotions.
2005 – McDonald’s announced the McRib’s permanent removal from U.S. menus, launching a “McRib Farewell Tour.”
2006 – The sandwich made regional and limited returns anyway.
2010 – McDonald’s brought the McRib back nationwide for six weeks with a “Legends of the McRib” contest. Over the next several years, it continued to enjoy limited runs.
2020 – McDonald’s announced the McRib was returning nationwide in the U.S. for the first time since 2012, calling it the “most important sandwich of the year.”
2022: McDonald’s announced yet another “McRib Farewell Tour”, its fourth. But limited offerings still followed.
2025: McDonald’s announced the latest McRib return in select U.S. markets for a limited time.
Read More: 10 Meaty Facts About McDonald’s McRib Sandwich (Mental Floss)
I texted former colleague of mine who has long held a curious fascination with the sandwich. I thought there was a part of him that liked it, but I must have misread him.
“I’ve actually never tasted McRib, but you don’t have to sample roadkill to know it’s terrible,” he wrote. “It is a symbol of all that is wrong with the world.”
Yes, but even stupid people need to eat.
So do lawyers.
That’s why over the years they have sued Subway for footlongs that weren’t quite 12 inches, Burger King for Whoppers that didn’t look like the pictures, and Buffalo Wild Wings for boneless wings that weren’t made out of wings.
The McRib lawsuit claims McDonald’s deceives consumers with the McRib’s crafty rib-like shape. But this like saying your Thanksgiving guests could be fooled with a turkey-shaped Jello mold. Nobody is going to think it’s turkey. No one says, pass the gravy.
If anything good comes from this lawsuit, it may be discovery motions that reveal what McDonald’s actually puts in McRib. But for now these ambitious lawyers have somehow lined up four plaintiffs who claim that they truly thought the McRib sandwiches were made from real rib meat.
Some of them even ordered McRibs more than once and still did not detect McDonald’s sneaky “sleigh of hand.”
Had they known it was pork Jello they “would not have purchased the McRib or would only have purchased it for a lower price,” the lawsuit claims.
So the thought of eating tripe, scalded stomach and God knows what can’t be so bad. It’s really just the price.
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