hello everyone this is running on empty Food review well hello ladies gentlemen and everyone
watching welcome one and all to this newest edition of The Running on Empty Food review
series I'm your host the report of the week I've been utterly devastated quite frankly
and it took a lot of composure to get here in front of the camera tonight as I'm sure you
could tell I mean obviously I'm I'm going with the the black suit today and it's for a reason
I I have been I guess as they say in a state this whole evening I've been crying my eyes
out continually I'm sure you've heard the news too the bad news the horrible news
McDonald's has brought back the McRib
and on top of that this is the farewell tour
for the McRib now it's not like they've said this five times already and it's not like they've done
this again and again and again and it's not like this is some sort of advertising pitch to try to
create a sense of urgency just to get people to rush out and buy something that they might
not necessarily buy otherwise no they're actually getting rid of it this time right
because obviously forget all the other times that they said they were going to get rid of
it and then they never did right this has to be it and I have been utterly devastated because of that
it's going away they said the McRib is going away
all right it's probably but I guess that's how they want you to feel about that to be
honest I mean I'm just the McRib reviews for me it's become like a yearly tradition
the first time I ever had a McRib was back in 2018 believe it or not and I tried it out in a review
I gave it a shot and obviously it's one of those items from McDonald's that has a lot of interest
to it it's usually a yearly release they bring it back pretty much every November or so and the
McRib it's been it's been around for decades it's pretty much a perennial release they just bring
it back for a couple weeks and they take it away and it comes back every single year and what it
is it's a pork patty that's kind of molded into this rib sort of mold so there are no bones in
it at least as far as I'm concerned and like I said it has that that's that pork patty on top
of the Patty is a Tangy barbecue sauce along with that are some Tangy pickles slivered onions and
then it's on a roll so it's a pork sandwich the McRib very iconic but like I was saying every now
and then they have these advertising campaigns and I know they did this in the mid 2000s too
and I'm pretty sure that they've done that before as well they'll have these sorts of announcements
and they did that this year and it drummed up a whole lot of hype and discussion and all of
that where they were saying this is the farewell tour for the McRib so they were clearly giving the
impression that we know we bring it back every single year and it's a limited release and then
it obviously comes back the next year they're giving the impression that this is going to be it
after 2022 it's done and it might be a huge seller it might drum up a lot of interest but
it's over after this it's never coming back I don't believe that for a single second quite
frankly now I understand though maybe this will be the time where it does happen I don't know we
know that in the last year or two there have been a lot of logistical issues with various companies
I know for a fact and I'm sure you've seen it too there are various companies out there that they'll
take away items that you like and you'll think how could they do that right isn't that a popular item
don't people like that Etc but it happens you've obviously seen that with Taco Bell they'll remove
some things from the menu that you'd think why would they do that and then sometimes they bring
them back sometimes they don't Starbucks did that with their almond croissant that was another good
item they took that away everyone was kind of scratching their heads they were wondering why
would you do that Everyone likes that so that's not to say that it's impossible that this isn't
the actual farewell tour for the McRib but I would say that I find it unlikely I think it's
a marketing strategy to try to create a sense of urgency but in the event that this actually winds
up being something different than what you've had in the past well I'm getting the word out about it
and as I said this has become a bit of a yearly tradition where I tried it out in 2018 and then
every year subsequently I've re-reviewed the McRib and it's just one of those yearly videos that I do
just for the fun of it it's interesting to see how the quality fluctuates because it certainly has
the first McRib I ever had back in 2018 was really good it was it was surprising
to me because I wasn't sure how I was gonna like it and I thought it was really good
last year's McRib not enjoyable at all so we will see we'll see if the farewell tour leaves
me in a sense of of disbelief that they're going to take this great item away or if it's going to
make me think thank gosh okay this thing is this thing's never coming back and I am glad
opening it up first I should mention there is the box
McDonald's logo and the Cucumber slices McRib
and now opening it up there it is
the McRib 2022 Edition
I should mention that the price for this McRib in and of itself is 5.70 cents
so five dollars
70 cents for it just for the the McRib no meal
and there you can see the
pork patty with the barbecue sauce the bun as well as the onion and the pickles
and it is a little lopsided this is just how I got it you could see it's not totally
evenly balanced I'll rearrange it slightly but just wanted to show you what it looked like
no let's do a little bit of reorganization here
like that I think that should be better now and again that's what it looks like the McRib
2022 Edition so as I mentioned last year I didn't enjoy it there were a lot of problems
with the one that I had but let's try it out let's see how it is let's see how it compares
to the one I had a year ago and go from there the McRib 2022 2022 Edition going in
foreign
take a sip of water
well
to give credit where credit is due it is slightly better than the one that I had
last year but to be honest based on what I got quality is still lacking a bit unfortunately
and if this is the farewell tour well I can't really say that they they concluded this all
on all that good of a note that's that's the truth right there
I think back in comparison to the previous McRibs that I've had over the years
and obviously it's a pretty simple sandwich there aren't a ton of ingredients here when I had that
first McRib in 2018 and even in 2019 when I really enjoyed them and I gave them outstanding reviews
thing about them that I really liked was number one
the pork patty wasn't as gross as I thought it was going to be because you know it just kind
of weirded me out a little bit and I wasn't sure how it was really going to be but it was
better than I thought it was it exceeded those expectations but what really made it what really
tied it all together was not only how flavorful it happened to be but all of that tanginess that
was in it it complemented the pork so nicely and it was it was an excellent accompaniment
the sauce was thicker it had this very powerful very potent Tang to it it just complemented it
very nicely is what I'm trying to say as did the pickles they both accentuated the pork and it was
a great blend the onions were sharp but like I said all the ingredients complemented each
other quite nicely the sauce was flavorful it had consistency and as I said it was a thicker sauce
so that's the sandwich that I had even in 2018 2019 and I really enjoyed it I gave them an
outstanding review last year on the other hand the problem that I had was that it wasn't that
flavorful it was actually a bit dry and I think if my memory serves me correctly and you know
just don't hesitate to check out the review that I did a year ago for the most accurate assessment
but purely going based off of memory I think I had a problem that was a bit dry and there
wasn't a ton of salts on it so that was an issue this time around it's not as dry which is great
here is the problem though they're substituting one problem for another and that's not good
main issue here it's not as flavorful as it used to be and the biggest problem in this case is the
sauce the McRib I think one thing that makes it so iconic is that barbecue sauce that goes on at
that Tangy BBQ sauce sadly what I noticed with the sauce here and the one that I got it seemed much
thinner than I remember it being and just because a sauce is thinner doesn't necessarily mean that
it's it's not going to be as flavorful but in this case not only did it seem like a thinner sauce but
it seemed very runny very watery very watered down and when that happens it's not as concentrated
it's not as flavorful and very lacking in that regard so even though there was some sauce on
this and you could obviously see it when I was showing the McRib to the camera you could see
that it was thoroughly coated in the sauce but when I bit into it could I really taste much of
that sauce sadly I couldn't definitely there but it was like very very watered down barbecue sauce
and that's disappointing because it's nothing like the one that I had in 2018 and if this really is
the farewell tour for the McRib which again I am not convinced on one single bit but if this is
what would a note to close things down on let me tell you likewise oddly enough in this case the
pickles weren't as Tangy as I thought they would be either as a matter of fact I remember the
one thing and I don't want to sound like a broken record here that was just so great in those first
ones that I had was how Tangy it was because that like I said it complemented the pork so nicely but
in this case sauce is almost flavorless it's just watery it's moisture with a very very tiny hint of
that barbecue sauce there but is it thick is it flavorful is it Tangy no I wouldn't necessarily
say that it is and oddly enough in this case the pickles first bite I had I ate the whole
pickle I think you probably saw that how did it complement the sandwich it really didn't it was
just there and that's utterly bizarre because most of the time the pickles are consistent
right you can't really mess up a pickle but somehow in this case it's just lacking in terms of
flavor the onions are still there they're sharp as ever but when it's missing those Tangy notes that
it used to have that definitely severely detracts from the eating experience likewise when it comes
down to the the McRib itself quality wise the pork at least seems a bit more tender compared
to how it was a year ago so that's good that's good definitely more moisture to it and I really
don't have much of a much of an issue with the pork itself consistency wise like I said it seems
pretty pretty tender pretty flavorful so at least as far as the Patty itself goes that's not really
a big problem and the onions are fine as well but when it comes down to the sauce and the pickles
and those Tangy notes that I think really made the sandwich the favorite that it is when those are I
just not there or they're severely lacking that's a problem and that is a disappointment so the 2022
McRib improved in some ways but it did go downhill in some other ways now mind you the consistency of
this can vary from one location to the next so if this is something of interest to you
hey try it get it while they're getting this good who knows if it'll be back next year or
not probably will but McDonald's assist acting and saying that it won't be so maybe go out try
it out see how it is for you and out of curiosity if you've already had the McRib in 2022 what were
your observations did you notice that the sauce was lacking as well or was yours a
good McRib as intended so I'm curious as to your opinion feel free to leave one in the comments
but yeah they uh they improved in some ways but they dropped the ball in others unfortunately
again five dollars and seventy cents for the sandwich itself out of ten I'm gonna have to
give the McRib this time around like I said there's some improvement but it's a big a big
issue when it comes down to the lacking nature of the sauce and those pickles and it's missing
that signature tanginess therefore out of 10 I'm gonna have to give the 2022 McRib A 5.6 out of 10.
that's all that I have for you and until next time I'm your host the report of the week