With the 2023 US McRib Release days away, I wanted to share a few details I have collected over the years about McRib Assembly.
Each McRib should have between 8 and 12 slivers of onion.
Each McRib should have 2 pickles, and should not overlap each other.
The McRib sauce temperature is considered one of the critical parts of assembly. Too hot, and the sauce will not stay on the patty as well. Too cool, and the store will use more sauce than expected per sandwich.
McRib patties are submerged in sauce shortly after the time they are cooked on the grill and remain there until they are included in sandwich assembly.
The McRib bun has a max freezer shelf life of 60 days, but only 48 hours at room temperature. There is a balance of not enough available per day to pulling too many out of the freezer. If too many were thawed, the store may run out of buns later in the season.
Related McRib Assembly photos
Titu Doan Double McRibMcRib On Burger Bun via Danny PMcRib SauceMcRib SauceMcRib on a biscuit
A quick 2023 US McRib release update today. I have been calling stores around the United States to try to find out more certainly when the McRib is likely to return to participating locations. While many locations had nothing certain, there is enough confidence that I can share the following details.
When
Based on the stores that were able to share a date, it appears most locations that will offer the McRib will be offering it starting around November 13, 2023. Past store optional releases have shown that generally stores that offer will begin selling around the same time, with some markets up to a week or so later. Additionally, oftentimes the date on the calendars is the advertising start date rather than the date the McRib returns to menus. This means some locations are likely to see the McRib making a soft return to menus in the days leading up to the 13th.
Where
The next question you are probably wondering is if the McRib will be near you. Many of the locations called were not 100% sure the McRib would be back, which is not super surprising at a little under a month away. I would expect more employees will become aware of the McRib returning over the next week or two, which is why I did not start calling sooner to stores. Reviewing past data from years with the store optional releases yields the following map of states most likely to offer the McRib this season.
Help others find the McRib
If you find a McRib make sure to report it at http://mcriblocator.com/report.html and send us a photo of your receipt. Make sure your receipt shows the location and date purchased as well as your McRib order. Send your confirmation photo to photos@mcriblocator.com . Thank you!
The 2023 Central America McRib season has kicked off. The McRib returns with again 3 different takes on the McRib sandwich, the “Classic” McRib, Bacon McRib, and their new Jalapeño McRib which replaced the Onion Ring McRib offered in previous releases. Below are some of the advertising they are using per country.
Guatemala
This year’s tour is featuring the Classic McRib as a limited time option. The “Most Anticipated Tour” that you do not want to miss is now being advertised in their mobile delivery app and on their Facebook page.
Honduras
Here, the McRib is featured on their main webpage as well as on their Facebook page.
El Salvador
The McRib is featured on their main webpage as well as on their Facebook page. Note here the standard McRib does NOT include the “Classic” naming as in other countries. It appeared that the promotion here is from October 13 through November 27.
Nicaragua
The McRib is in their mobile delivery app and on their Facebook page. Note here the standard McRib does NOT include the “Classic” naming as in other countries.
Happy October! It is that time of year when we start thinking about if the McRib sandwich will be back anywhere in the United States. Below is what we now about the 2023 McRib season thus far.
Today.com is reporting that they have had confirmation from McDonald’s that the McRib WILL BE BACK in November 2023! While this is great news, they have been told that the McRib will be back at limited participating locations instead of a nationwide release. No specific information as provided to how long the promotion would last. That said, we expect it will be longer than the limited release last year. Earlier, Snackolater had reported the McRib will be back as well. There was however some confusion to their information as the image shared had a past release date.
We will soon be starting our efforts to track the availability to which locations will potentially offer the McRib. As employees typically have a more limited release plan, calling too soon can result in conflicting results. Now that we are in October, we are getting close enough that we have more certainty to the information collected. More details about the 2023 McRib release in the US will be shared as we have them.
Don’t forget as the McRib returns to share where you had a McRib on our webpage! With a more limited release again this year, fans in McRibless markets will be looking to make travel plans.
I have been thinking about how quickly this season has been and decided to take a look back at previous decade to see if this will be the shortest McRib season we have recorded.
For this exercise, I focused on confirmed Fall McRib season sightings. I consider the Fall Release months to be September through February. Also for simplicity, I rounded duration to half months. Keep in mind that this data is not specifically availability nationwide, but rather any availability in the US.
Year
Duration (Months)
2012
3
2013
4.5
2014
4.5
2015
5
2016
4
2017
3
2018
3
2019
4
2020
2
2021
4.5
2022
TBD (Currently ~1.5 month)
Average
~ 3.75 Months
McRib Fall Season Availability 2012 – 2022
It would appear that if McRib sales stop now, we will indeed have had the shortest McRib season of the past decade. Long time McRib fan Robert B. reported that his store thought they would reach their promotional end date of December 3rd, so we know some locations had planned to exceed the national November 20th release date.
If you are already starting to think about what a limited release might mean, back in 2017 we compiled some information about which states were most likely to bring the McRib back when releases are not nationwide.
How you can help
As we close in on the end of the 2022 season, please be on the lookout for the McRib. With the potential for a limited, or perhaps no, release next year, some fans are going to really want to grab a last McRib meal. If you find the McRib, please drop a report on our map. If you purchase the sandwich, please send us a receipt showing the date, store, and price of the McRib sandwich at your location. Thank you in advance!
We are now reaching the final days of the 2022 McRib release season in the US based on the advertised November 20th marketing completion date. At this point in the season, components of the sandwich start to run out. Stores are left to find creative ways to deliver some form of the McRib. We have our first reported incident from Danny P where his McRib was served on a hamburger bun. While better than no McRib, these late season builds are always entertaining to see. If you find a “last chance” McRib build, please share your photo with us. It may be interesting to others to see how each stores solves this problem.
Danny P sent us this photo of a McRib offered on a hamburger bun
Merchandise
The McDonalds McRib merchandise sale arrived and sold out of all products very rapidly. November 15th those lucky enough to make purchases are seeing shipping details being sent. Personally, my order shows an arrival of November 19th. This gives me under a day to show off my McRib related items before the McRib is gone from menus for the year.
Creative McRib Builds
We asked on Facebook for some unique McRib customizations, and here are a a few of the responses we received.
Mike Peters and the McRib PizzaJoey Ferrigno McRib With BaconJason Long Spicy Chicken McRibJaime Ortega McRib With American CheeseGreg Oreiro McRib With Onion RingsAndre Moberg McHappyFamily : McChicken, Filet-O-Fish, 2 Burgers, and a McRibNikölai Suszczewicz McRib MacTitu Doan Double McRibSean Sanchez McRib Egg Sandwich
Looking to 2023 in the US Market
There are a lot of questions regarding if the McRib will be leaving US Markets forever as the current marketing would suggest. Some conversations have suggested the issue is that the McRib sauce is hard to maintain. Some store managers have said from the start that they were certain this was the end, while others say it is unlikely to be the case. I still am leaning toward next year the McRib will return. However, I think the 2023 release may be a more limited scale of stores offering the sandwich.
Globally
It appears that now Germany and Malta are the only other global markets where the McRib is still available. While the McRib is on a farewell tour in the US, there is no indications it will be leaving menus in Germany. Perhaps an uptick in flights to Germany will be noted if the McRib does not return in the US for 2023.
How you can help
As we close in on the end of the 2022 season, please be on the lookout for the McRib. With the potential for a limited, or perhaps no, release next year, some fans are going to really want to grab a last McRib meal. If you find the McRib, please drop a report on our map. If you purchase the sandwich, please send us a receipt showing the date, store, and price of the McRib sandwich at your location. Thank you in advance!
