McDonald's fans shocked at what a McRib is really made of

McDonald's fans were left shocked after discovering what cut of meat the chain uses for its McRib.

The McRib, seasoned boneless pork dipped in tangy BBQ sauce and topped with chopped onions and pickles, makes sporadic and limited time returns to the fast food chain's menu. 

It has built up a cult following over the years, and its current return, which began on November 29, was anticipated by many.  

However, while the meaty treat is made of pork it is not actually a rib cut but actually pork shoulder, a fact that has outraged some of its fans. 

'It's spam!' one unamused consumer wrote on Reddit after discovering the type of meat used.

'I hate the McRib, ugh' another criticised, while a third said that explains the 'the hideous taste of the thing.' 

However, others were more willing to overlook the mismatched name: 'I don't really care what's in it, if it isn't going to make me sick, and it tastes good, what's the big deal?' one wrote. 

'This does not affect my opinion of the McRib at all; McRibs have always been awesome,' another agreed. 

McDonald's knows the McRib brings customers into restaurants and drive-thrus - useful at a time it is trying to boost sales, which fell in the summer for the first time in years.

McRib - which has been described as the 'fast food sandwich that went viral before viral was a thing' - debuted nationally in the UCooS in 1982.

It was discontinued in 1985 after low sales, but then returned in 1989 and was broadly available in the US and other countries until 2005. 

After that, it was then periodically reintroduced until disappearing again in 2012 for eight years. It didn't return until December 2020, when it came back for a limited time. 

At the time, it was a bid to lure back customers after the pandemic left its dining rooms sparsely populated or closed. 

The McRib is an elusive prize for fans, who scour the internet for reports of its surfacing at limited locations for a short amount of time. 

In the past, the McRib has been credited with bringing in customers and boosting sales for the chain.

For example, a 'farewell tour' for the cult favorite in November 2022 helped boost sales by double digits. 

Bosses said that would be the last time the McRib was sold. But it did come back again in November 2023 too. 

'Bringing the McRib back for a limited time will  spur some interest and foot traffic for McDonald's at a time when performance is flagging,' retail expert Neil Saunders, managing director of Global Data, told DailyMail.com recently. 

But he explained McDonald's only sells it for limited times - rather than having it as a permanent fixture on the menu -since 'the uplift is usually only temporary.'