McRib Returning to McDonald’s Menus Nationwide for First Time Since 2012

The years-long wait is finally over. For the first time in nearly a decade, McDonald’s is bringing the famed McRib back to menus nationwide. Set to return to menus for a limited time beginning Wednesday, Dec. 2, this will mark the first time the mouth-watering pork sandwich has been on menus across the country since 2012.

Available for a limited time only at all of its 14,400 US restaurants, the McRib is described “saucy, tangy, tender and shamelessly delicious.” It boasts a seasoned boneless pork slathered in tangy barbecue sauce and topped with slivered onions and tart pickles. It is easily one of the most famed menu items at the chain, one that has McRib regulars and “first-timers” across the country declaring “I’m lovin’ it” each time they take a bite.

“The McRib has been a beloved menu item at McDonald’s since its inception nearly 40 years ago,” Vice President of Menu Innovation, Linda VanGosen, said in a press release. “There’s nothing quite like the taste of the McRib. To our customers, it’s become more than a delicious, saucy moment… it’s a season, and it’s taking the internet by storm. That’s why this year, we’re proud to serve the McRib nationwide for everyone to enjoy.”

Friday’s confirmation of the McRib’s nationwide return came just a week after the beloved fast food chain sent fans into a frenzy, and earned a little backlash, when they poked fun at customers’ incessant nagging about the sandwich. In a tweet, McDonald’s wrote, “it’s always ‘when is the McRib coming back’ and never ‘how are you doing person who runs the McDonald’s account.’”

Although McDonald’s goers in Germany are lucky enough to feast on the famed sandwich year-round, those in the U.S. aren’t quite as lucky. First debuting on menus in the States back in 1981, the McRib has come and gone, making only brief annual reappearance on the menu at select locations. The sandwich is so popular that McRib Locator app was even created, and, according to a previous report from the Entrepreneur, three farewell tours for the sandwich were thrown in 2005, 2006, and 2007. The sandwich returned to the national menu from 2010 to 2012, and in 2019, it enjoyed its largest release when McDonald’s brought it back to 10,000 of its 14,000 U.S. restaurants for a limited time.