The McRib: Enjoy Your Symptom
26th November 2013
Each year, the McRib makes a brief visit to Earth. Its arrival elicits reactions ranging from horror to awe. And for good reason: this would-be rib sandwich is really a restructured pork patty pressed into the rough shape of a slab of ribs, its slathering of barbecue sauce acting as camouflage as much as coating.
“Pork” is a generous term, since the McRib has traditionally been fashioned from otherwise unmarketable pig parts like tripe, heart, and stomach, material that is not only cheap but also easier to mold and bind into a coherent, predetermined shape. McDonald’s accurately lists the patty’s primary ingredient as “boneless pork,” although even that’s a fairly strong euphemism. Presumably few of the restaurant’s patrons would line up for a Pressed McTripe.
There are few paths to becoming a highly-compensated Voice of the Crust more sure than penning screeds making fun of what the Great Unwashed eat. That way the people who read the Atlantic and pride themselves on being Exemplars of Wealth and Taste. Never mind that under different circumstances they’d be the first to push Locally Sourced Tripe as the sort of thing that Authentic Native Peoples do, and so you have to try it.