This week’s Sunday Musings query is simple… The legendary, almost mystical McRib sandwich re-mains the most divisive McMenu item ever. And the most unpredictable. Why do McRib’s hard-core fans love it so much? In spite of everything?
It’s baaaaack!
Again. With little warning, and few details in advance. If you’re headed for the UK this coming week, you can get one almost as soon as you land. If you’re staying home with the rest of us, take heart. The elusive but delectable McRib is coming back to the US – and possibly Canada, as well – sometime soon.
As usual, McD’s isn’t telling us how long it may be around, in either market. If previous experience is any guide, let’s be safe and assume it’s a ‘while supplies last’ appearance.
Are you a ‘lover’ or a ‘hater’?
Besides all the either extremes attached to the McRib, there’s the ‘lovers or haters’ controversy. In fact, the simple pressed pork patty may represent the apex example of the proverbial polemic.
Some folks I’ve talked to love the sandwich, but won’t buy one again until after McD’s puts it back on the permanent menu – and promises to keep it there. That’s a passive-aggressive, right-of-centre movement which may constitute the ‘silent majority’ on the McRib opinion spectrum. These folks were among its most dedicated boosters – until McDonald’s removed the sammy from circulation for 5 years in 1985, and again in 2005. After runs of varying duration on the regular bill of fare.
We explained why they did that in our post last week. But from the fan perspective…
A matter of taste?
Or is your negative impression of the McRib literally a matter of taste? Some ‘haters’ have always maintained the McRib BBQ sauce is applied too generously (the patty is actually dipped in it) and is too sweet. That makes the thing both messy and cloying. And not really like genuine BBQ, in their opinion.
Still other non-fans say they the finely-mulched, mechanically de-boned pork in the McRib patty is just too-far removed from the real, bite-it-off-the bone experience for their liking. It’s just not ‘real’ ribs to them; not ‘real’ BBQ…
Social media unsociable…
A Reddit sub titled ‘r/unpopularopinion‘ headlined its ‘seed’ post: “The McRib from McDonald’s should be buried 6 feet underground never to see the light of day.”
Among the responses to that inflammatory assertion:
“The sandwich is flat out gross.”
“[T]he McRib was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever tasted.”
“Bury them deep please. […] Let them rest closer to hell where they belong.”
Another Reddit sub styled ‘r/NoStupidQuestions‘ asked: “Why is Reddit hating the McRib so Much?” Commenters didn’t hesitate to share their opinions…
“Personally, it is my favourite McDonalds items, but you can only eat it a few times before you get tired of it,” one observed.
“I dislike the McRib’s [flagrant] artificiality,” another chimed-in. “[T]he McRib is scraps of pork pressed and formed into a shape that vaguely resembles ribs. It’s not ribs. True, as a sandwich there’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s just unappetizing to eat something so phony.”
Basic economics…
Yet another ‘ambivalent lover’, brought up an important point: “I hate [McRib] because I can get the exact same thing at the […] store cheaper.”
It’s true. I just checked… The exact same thing (as far as I can tell) is just $2.25 per (frozen) patty from the most expensive source in my neighbourhood. Add a (baked in-store, deluxe) bun for another buck and a half plus toppings and condiments you already have at home, and you’re grilling your way to boneless ribs bliss for just $3.75. Compare that with an average (Canadian) McRib price of $6.39 + tax = $7.22.
My take
My favourite comment came from the first of the two threads shared above:
“The McRib is the deadbeat dad of sandwiches: it disappears for months on end, yet we’re supposed to be all excited when it shows back up for a week or two…”
My questions to you:
Are you a McRib lover or a hater?
If you’re a lover, why are you so reticent about commenting on social media, compared to the haters? (Yah. I know. I have to live here (i.e.- on this planet), too…)
Muse on that…
~ Maggie J.