Ahhhh…the McRib! This is one of McDonald’s restaurants’ special sandwiches that was put on the menu, removed, and then after a promotion later on, was popular enough to bring back for a short time almost every year after its re-introduction. From what I hear my friends saying when talking about it, people either love the McRib or hate it.
I was one of those who loved it, but there is just something about knowing what’s actually in it that dimmed the love-light for me. According to Wikipedia, the McRib meat is a restructured patty made from “primarily pork shoulder meat,” but also “lower valued trimmings” from parts of a hog that I feel nauseous just thinking about.
But what’s a person to do when she craves that heavenly barbecuey-porky taste but can’t stand the thought of what’s actually in it? Enter the copycat recipe! This is an original recipe by Todd Wilbur himself from Todd Wilbur’s Top Secret Recipes. And boy is it ever a winner! However, I maybe kind of sort of might have yes I did tweak it. I couldn’t help it; as I was making it, it was like a thunderbolt struck me and I just had to do it!
The garlic powder and onion powder are my addition to the recipe, and I really think it would have been too bland without them. I just know you’ll love this recipe, and the best thing about it is that it is made from real ingredients and you don’t have to wonder what all the preservatives and strange pork parts are doing to you. ;)
So, let’s get cooking!
First you’ll want to trim unwanted fat from the meat. I don’t totally excise the fat from it; let’s face it, fat makes things taste better! So I do leave a little on and don’t worry about it too much. I mean, seriously, I could die tomorrow and that little bit of fat I left on the meat isn’t going to matter at all. Let’s just hope that if that happened, I at least would have made and eaten these sandwiches tonight. ;)
Cut the meat into about 1 inch chunks.
Put the pork into a food processor, along with the salt, sugar, onion and garlic powders, and water. I also ended up having to add way more water than the original recipe; there didn’t seem to be any way around that, and my copycat McRibs turned out awesome. Puree the meat until fairly smooth, adding water by the tablespoon as needed.
Whatever you do, do NOT use a blender for this; it will burn out the motor. Use a food processor. But how would I know anything about that? I’d never do anything so goofy as that. ;)
*NOTE* If using ground pork, skip the above steps and omit the water. Just mix the ground pork with the sugar and spices.
Next, line a sheet pan with parchment paper. From the pureed meat mixture, form four patties, flattening and shaping them. I just looked at the rolls I had gotten for this and then just eyeballed it to make the right size.
Freeze. I let mine go overnight and made them the next day. This step is necessary to make them keep their shape during the cooking process.
Now, when you make the McRibs, you just sauté them on a griddle or in a skillet, with some cooking spray.
While the frozen formed pork patties are cooking, slice the pickles and Vidalia onions.
When the patties are cooked thoroughly, coat with your favorite barbecue sauce. I prefer a smoky flavored sauce over sweet. I just poured some onto a plate and used a fork to drag the patty through it, coating both sides.
Assemble the sandwich by placing the patty on the bottom of the roll, adding a layer of pickles and onions, and then topping with the other half of the roll. Simple as that. Enjoy! ~TMMF
Copycat McRib Sandwich
1 lb pork
(I used some of a whole pork loin
that I got on sale)
1 tsp sugar
¾ tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
3-8 Tbl water
BBQ sauce
pickles
Vidalia onion
4 6” sandwich rolls
(Philly cheese steak rolls are great!)
*NOTE* You can also just use ground pork and skip the pureeing process, along with leaving out the water.
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