McDonald’s McRib Review (2023) – How Does It Taste?

WayneDang

McDonald's McRib

McDonald’s has brought back the McRib for the Holiday Season of 2023?

What a shocker!

I remember last year McDonald’s had this whole big celebration and going away party for the McDonald’s McRib saying it was the last time it was going to be on the menu and will be disappearing for good. And I actually believed that because I really thought that was the last we would see of the McRib.

But little did I know, McDonald’s was only fooling around and wasn’t being serious.

Because earlier today, I saw that McDonald’s has in fact brought back the iconic McRib for everyone to try.

Seeing this, I was so confused and kind of happy at the same time. Mainly because I wasn’t expecting the McRib to ever return back to the menu. I firmly believed that I would never be able to try the McRib ever again.

However, it’s back now for a limited time only and you best believe we are going to go buy it and do a Food Review on the McRib.

So with that being said, lets go buy our McRib!

Buying The McDonald’s McRib

I drove to the nearest McDonald’s near me and fortunately for me, that took only a few minutes as it’s literally right next to my house.

I got into the drive-thru lane as it was empty and looked at the menu. Right in front of me, I saw what I been looking for and that was the McRib beautifully being advertised as if it had never left.

Immediately I told the employee through the speaker that I wanted a McRib Meal with a small fry and large coke zero. Then drove straight to the window to pay for my food.

The price for the meal was a bit more expensive than I remembered. In fact, the total price for the meal came out to around $10.49 after tax. Which surprised me as you know McDonald’s is usually known for serving cheap foods at an affordable price.

But this McRib Meal was definitely up there in cost.

Either way, I hoped it tastes good so I paid for the order and waited about 5 minutes before they handed me my bag with the food in it.

It was time to do the McDonald’s McRib Review~

What Does McDonald’s McRib Look Like

McDonald's McRib In Box

Taking the McRib box out of the McDonald’s Bag, I noticed it came in its iconic McRib Box which had a nice color of purpleish red mixed with brown. It also had what I’m assuming two pickles drawn on the box which I don’t really understand why, but hey if it works it works.

I then opened the box and I felt as if the holy light from the heavens was shining on me.

Right in front of me was the iconic McRib that has made appearances each and every year. And I had to say, it definitely did not look beautiful. But it did smell incredible.

McDonald's McRib

Immediately you could smell a robust smoky type of scent coming from the sandwich which was great.

But as for the looks, McDonald’s could probably improve on it a bit.

The sandwich itself looked hastily put together as there was sauce literally everywhere around the box and the sandwich itself. Heck, when I opened the top bun of the sandwich, I noticed most of the ingredients were barely holding onto it.

It felt like they just threw the items on the sandwich as fast as they can before the items could even get a hold properly to settle down. There was onions and pickles all sliding off the McRib which was kind of funny to see. But one thing I was happy about was that the patty itself was coated in that delicious sauce.

As messy as it looked, it did look tasty so I couldn’t wait any longer. Lets get to eating!

What Does McDonald’s McRib Taste Like

McDonald's McRib Opened

Grabbing the McRib, I noticed it was a bit hard to hold as there was so much sauce that it made the patty so slippery as it was sliding around. I had to hold it with a firm grip and then took a massive bite out of the sandwich.

And just like previous years, it tasted just as good and the memories of me having the McRib before came flooding into my mind.

I loved how simple this sandwich is as it’s literally just bun, onions, pickles and the the pork meat patty. The bun was soft and fluffy while the onions gave a nice crunch with a bit of sweetness coming out of it. The star of the show which was the pork patty was soft and tender although not to juicy, it was flavorful.

The sauce covering the pork patty had a strong tangy sensation that was thick with a bit of a smoky feel and also had a slight sweetness to it as well. But what made it even better was actually the pickles as the acidity in them kind of cut back on the oily feels of the pork and made it a very enjoyable bite.

McDonald's McRib Sideview

Plus, each bite that you take out of the McRib sandwich, it kind of has this bouncy texture which is very fun to see.

However the one thing I noticed was that the McRib pork patty actually seemed a lot thinner than it was from previous years.

In fact, if you look at it from the side, it’s like barely a centimeter thick, maybe even less.

McDonald's McRib Bite

Which got me to thinking, they upped the price on the McRib sandwich but gave us less of the McRib. This didn’t really sit right with me as I remember the McRib being a very meaty sandwich that delivered in every aspect.

Sure the flavor was there and it tasted like it originally did, but seeing as how we got less meat in our sandwich this time kind of made me disappointed once I knew about it.

But either way, flavor was good and that was the most important thing.

How Can McDonald’s McRib Be Improved

The McRib sandwich in general is a very simple item, having just a few different ingredients and that’s it.

But what made the McRib so iconic and beloved in the past was that the patty itself was actually much bigger and meatier. Meaning each bite you took, you got a good ratio of bun to meat to veggies.

This new version seems to have the ratio a bit off as the meat itself was a lot thinner than before. If McDonald’s made the McRib patty back to the original size and gave us that thickness that we wanted, it would definitely be a lot better.

Other than the thickness, nothing else should be changed as the McRib sandwich still tasted just as good as it did before.

The price should be slightly cheaper though.

Overall Thoughts

At the end of the day, the McRib Sandwich from McDonald’s is an iconic item to have. Although they increased the price of the sandwich and also gave us a thinner patty, it’s still something that everyone would love if they tried it.

If I was rating it purely based off the flavor, I would definitely give it a really high score. But in doing this review, we need to factor the entire experience. The price, the texture, the appearance, and flavor. And when you take everything into account, I have to give it a bit of a low score.

After all, they raised the price quite a bit and gave us a thinner patty? Come on McDonald’s.

Overall Rating: 6.5

Welp, lets see how long they keep it in stock this time before its gone for another year.