The McRib May Be On Its Farewell Tour, So We're Showing Love to the Birthplace of the Beloved McRib
The McRib is back. It's news that's being blasted on social media sites and gaining traction this year -- not just because it's back for a limited time, but some are speculating it could be back for the last time.
Before we get into the fact this just may be the farewell tour for the McRib Sandwich, let's travel back to the birthplace of the McRib. According to the University of Nebraska, researchers within the Meat Sciences Department actually created the McRib. The credit goes to Roger Mandigo, who created the technology for the McRib Sandwich.
In the 1970s, the National Pork Producers Council asked Mandigo to create a product with pork trimmings, one that could be sold by a fast-food chain (The U.S. Pork Checkoff wasn't established until 1986.). That's when Mandigo went to work in the lab. While the technology was advanced, it can be simplified to almost the same process as making sausage. The meat scientist used salt to extract proteins from the muscle, and those proteins then helped hold the smaller pieces of meat together.
Mandigo says McDonald's actually chose the shape, but it's the technology that was essential in creating the McRib that's credited to Mandigo. In fact, Mandigo earned induction into the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for his invention of "restructured meats."
100 Years of Meat Science at University of Nebraska
The fact the University of Nebraska was such a key piece of the McRib phenomenon doesn't come as a surprise to Gary Sullivan, associate professor of Meat Processing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL).
"The University of Nebraska has a strong tradition of meat science," says Sullivan. "Our first meat scientist was Professor (William) Loeffel, and the meat lab we're standing in today is actually named after Professor Loeffel. He started here at University of Nebraska in 1919, so we have over 100 years of tradition of meat science."
Sullivan says the goal of the meat processing focus at UNL is to "help promote that the industry can solve problems and add value to the whole food chain." While the history of the department dates back more than a century, researchers are still working to not only remain relevant, but uncover tastes that could become popular around the world.
"We have a long tradition of meat science research here at the University of Nebraska," he adds. "The technology behind the McRib was developed at the University of Nebraska, identifying the flat iron steak, those are a couple things that some of my predecessors from our department worked on."
The Farewell Tour for the McRib?
Now, let's get to the newest portion of the news: McDonald's says this will be the last season the fast-food chain offers the McRib seasonal sandwich. The sandwich was put on pause in 2005 but then was brought back. The restaurant issued a press release suggesting it could be the sandwich's final hurrah.
"Get one while you can because this is the McRib Farewell Tour," McDonald's wrote on its website. "Enjoy our famous pork sandwich as if it's your last!"
The McRib made its debut in Kansas City, Kan., in 1981. When McDonald's brought the McRib back in 2019, it first returned to 10,000 of McDonald's 14,000 U.S. locations. Then, in 2020, it was reintroduced nationwide.
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