CLOSE McDonald's is bringing back the McRib for a limited time. The boneless pork sandwich first debuted in 1981 and has since amassed a huge cult following. USA TODAY 
 
 McDonald's announced Thursday that the McRib is back for a limited time at more than 9,000 restaurants nationwide. (Photo: McDonald's) 
 
 Christmas has come early for McRib fans. 
 
 The elusive McDonald's sandwich is back for a limited time at more than 9,000 U.S. restaurants, the burger chain announced Thursday. 
 
 The McRib – seasoned boneless pork, barbecue sauce, onions and pickles on a hoagie-style bun – was last on menus in November 2017. 
 
 It first launched in 1981. 
 
 “While McDonald’s has ushered in many new items this year – such as fresh beef in our quarter-pound burgers – we know our fans love this limited-time classic,” McDonald’s chef Mike Haracz said in a statement. 
 
 A McRib has 480 calories, 24 grams of protein, 45 grams of carbohydrates, 22 grams of fat and 890 milligrams of sodium, according to the company. 
 
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 For McDonald's customers who prefer cow over pig, you're in luck, too. On Wednesday, the Chicago-based company also unveiled its new value offering – the $6 Classic Meal Deal. It launches on Nov. 1 for a limited time at participating restaurants nationwide. 
 
 The $6 Classic Meal Deal is comprised of one of four McDonald’s menu items – Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Big Mac, 10-piece Chicken McNuggets or Filet-O-Fish – along with any size soft drink or sweet tea, a small fries and a seasonal or apple pie. 
 
 CEO Steve Easterbrook alluded to the new deal during the company's third-quarter earnings call on Tuesday. He also hinted at new breakfast menu items, which the company formally announced that evening. 
 
 Triple Breakfast Stacks are sandwiches made with two slices of American cheese between two hot sausage patties and topped with Applewood smoked bacon and an egg. Customers may choose what they want that protein served on – a McMuffin, biscuit or McGriddles cakes. 
 
 "We will continue to introduce things to our restaurants, because that's what our customers expect," Easterbrook said during the call with industry analysts. 
 
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 Follow USA TODAY reporter Zlati Meyer on Twitter: @ZlatiMeyer 
 
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 October 25, 2018 
 
 The McRib is now available via McDelivery with Uber Eats, check the McDonald’s Finder app or the Uber Eats app for information on participating restaurants 
 
 This month, the craveable and delicious McRib returns for a limited time and will be available in more than 9,000 U.S. restaurants nationwide. Fans can order the McRib at participating U.S. restaurants and through McDelivery on Uber Eats. 
 
 A sandwich that has had fans clamoring for more than 35 years, the McRib is made with seasoned boneless pork and slathered in tangy, delicious barbecue sauce – it’s topped with slivered onions and tart pickles on a hoagie-style bun. 
 
 “While McDonald’s has ushered in many new items this year – such as fresh beef* in our quarter-pound burgers – we know our fans love this limited time classic,” said McDonald’s Chef Mike Haracz. “That’s why we wanted to bring the McRib to as many fans as possible this year. With the McRib also now available via McDelivery on Uber Eats, we’re excited to make it more accessible to customers with the speed and convenience they expect from McDonald’s.” 
 
 The McRib’s most loyal fans can download the McDonald’s Finder app to find participating restaurants offering the limited time sandwich, and swap McRib-themed stickers. Customers can also download the Uber Eats app to find the nearest participating McDelivery restaurant in their area. 
 
 The iconic sandwich last appeared in participating restaurants in November 2017. 
 
 *Available at most restaurants in the contiguous US. Not available in Alaska, Hawaii and US territories. 
 
 About McDonald's 
 
 McDonald’s USA, LLC, serves a variety of menu options made with quality ingredients to nearly 25 million customers every day. Ninety-five percent of McDonald’s 14,000 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by businessmen and women. For more information, visit www.mcdonalds.com, or follow us on Twitter @McDonalds and Facebook www.facebook.com/mcdonalds. 

 Photo: David Paul Morris (Getty Images) 
 
 The McRib is a shadow: It’s there or it’s not there, depending on the position of the sun. It always follows you. For now—until it’s not—the McRib is back at most (but not all) McDonald’s, the chain announced. And just as quickly it will disappear... until it reappears. 
 
 
 
 First released in 1981 as a limited-menu item, the McRib has inspired rabid fans who can’t get enough of the BBQ-sauce-drenched, rib-shaped-but-ribless pork patty, described on the McDonald’s website as “a tasty fan favorite, slathered in tangy barbecue sauce and topped with slivered onions and tart pickles, all on a hoagie style bun.” With as many farewell tours as Cher, McDonald’s has insinuated many times that the McRib’s existence is fleeting, even though it always would come back, and this only served to stoke this demand. 
 
 Then 2010 saw the first nationwide release of the McRib since The Flintstones’ movie promotion in 1994, and fans have been conditioned to expect fall releases of their fave fast-food pork sandwich (despite a few skipped years) ever since. For its 2018 comeback, the sandwich will be available in 9,000 of McDonald’s nearly 14,000 U.S. locations. To help fans out, there’s even a McRib locator to report helpful McRib sightings.
– The on-again, off-again McRib is back on again. McDonald's announced Thursday that its fan-favorite boneless pork sandwich, last sold a year ago, will be available for a limited time at 9,000 of 14,000 restaurants nationwide. The 480-calorie McRib first launched in 1981, with The Takeout snarking that it's now had "as many farewell tours as Cher." This year it's also available through McDelivery. Not a fan? McDonald's $6 Classic Meal Deal with four entree options launches Nov. 1, per USA Today. (Burger King has a wild claim about its new burger.)