Why McDonald's Invented The McRib In The First Place

The McRib may be one of McDonald's' more unusual successes. Who would have thought a pork patty shaped like a miniature rack of ribs made with technology designed by the U.S. Army would have produced a cult following. Heck, it even spawned a folk song aptly titled "The McRib Song (McRib Blues)," just one of several unusual facts about the McRib. While the McRib may not be as popular as another McDonald's product, Chicken McNuggets, the McRib has the McNugget to thank for its invention.

Chef René Arend, who once cooked for Queen Elizabeth II, was responsible for coming up with both products. He developed the McNugget in 1979. The company began rolling them out in the early 1980s and they quickly became a hit, so much so that McDonald's couldn't get enough chicken to keep up with demand, leading to the necessity for a stand-in product: the McRib. "There wasn't a system to supply enough chicken," Arend told Maxim in 2009. "We had to come up with something to give the other franchises as a new product. So the McRib came about because of the shortage of chickens."

The McNugget came about at a time when McDonald's was looking to expand its product offerings beyond burgers amid health concerns around the overconsumption of red meat. The McNugget was a huge hit, but required time to be properly scaled up. While there were chicken supply issues for McDonald's, in Canada, the McNugget's popularity actually led to a shortage of chicken. In the meantime, Chef René Arend had come up with the McRib, based on Southern BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, to act as a sort of stand-in for the McNugget.

The McRib used military technology called restructured meat, which involves deboning, flaking, and reshaping the meat, among other steps. The McRib, which was released nationally in 1982, initially didn't see the same level of popularity as the McNugget and was derided as the McFlop before it began building up a following. Even so, by 1985, it was no longer available as a permanent menu item. It has come and gone since then, often returning for several weeks each fall.

By 1984, McDonald's had worked out all the kinks, and the McNugget was doing so well it led to the company making record profits. McNugget sales also helped make McDonald's the second biggest chicken restaurant in the world, behind Kentucky Fried Chicken (now known as KFC) that year. If not for the McNugget's success, the McRib may have remained one of Arend's failed and forgotten McDonald's product ideas — like his chicken pot pie.