Aye, no' since the theft o' the great six-foot hairy caber of Clan MacReekie by the Sassenach English has there been such a crime!
Sure'n the thievery of the treasure of the cursed clan of Dumbarton will make the very hair tremble on yer backside! For naught less than the very Treasure o' Clan McRib has been stolen!
An' it's said he who dares open the chest o' the McRib clan faces a frightening, fearsome fate!
Cursed or not, the McRib sandwich has returned! McDonald's announced that stores across the fruited plain would once again feature the pork barbecue delight, and indeed it proved the case at our very own branch.
The McRib may be the most divisive offering McDonald's has -- people either love it with a devotion that inspires a worldwide McRib tracker, or hate it with the heat of a white-hot sun. The latter people are wrong. Or thus says my family -- for me and mine, we'll have the McRib! And fries, thanks.
Yes, it's a barbecue patty shaped like ribs, with fresh onions and half-dill slices. If it were available all the time, I suspect opinions wouldn't be quite so ferocious. Although these days everything seems to spark ferocious fighting. That's why I'm not on Twitter.
Most people who are old enough to remember do agree on one thing, though -- that the McDonald's fries are not as good as they were thirty years ago. That's when the company yielded to pressure from proto-Karens and took the beef tallow out of the formula. As if any vegetarian really wanted to eat at McDonald's but was stopped by those doggone meaty fries.
If you are one of those who remember the original McD fries, or are just tallow-curious, I recommend Luke Fater's article "My Hunt for the Original McDonald's French-Fry Recipe" in Atlas Obscura. Fater's obsession led him on a voyage of discovery, God bless him, which eventually brought him to what he says is a home version of the original long-lost corporate recipe for McDonald's fries.
I would try that. I might yet.
But to be honest, if the McRib recipe were lost, I don't think I'd try to re-create it. I like the McRib a lot, but any barbecue sandwich will quell the hankering. McD's original fries, though -- they're worth going to trouble for.
This is awesome, Fred! I'll have to share this and the McRib locator with sis-in-law. She's been known to drive 50 miles out of her way in order to have one, she's that devoted. Or maybe it was really a ruse to have a little extra free time away from her 11 kids!
ReplyDeleteI tried a McRib once and my reaction was "meh". On the other hand, I tried cocaine in college and that did nothing for me either.
ReplyDeleteOTOH every so often (around Easter?) Wendy's sells a fish sandwich that is most excellent.
Back in the late 60's my friend next door's family would hit Burger King for Whoppers, and then stop at McDonalds to pick up french fries and chocolate shakes. Back when McDonald's fries were cooked in beef tallow .. mmmmmmm.
I don't even know where to get beef tallow around here. Might have to steal a cow.
ReplyDeleteMost soaps are made from beef tallow. Might not be quite the same, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteThe McRib came out when I was in high school. I didn't get one at McDonald's then, but the school cafeteria had a McRib type sandwich available in the a la carte line. The day I decided to try one, some goofy blond-haired kid thought it was funny to punch the top of it. The danged thing squirted barbecue sauce on my white shirt!
ReplyDeleteThe sandwich was meh, and I slightly regret not countering the assault on my food with escalated violence.
Never had a McRib. But yes on the beef tallow. How many vegetarians ever eat at a McDonal's?
ReplyDeleterbj