McDonald’s Worker Exposes What A ‘Naked’ McRib Looks Like—And Now People Are Gagging: ‘Straight out the 3D printer’

There’s an old idiom that “no one wants to see how the sausage is made.” Sometimes, this can be taken literally.

For example, videos showing behind-the-scenes footage of people’s favorite restaurants are often filled with comments decrying the food-making process as everything from disappointing to gross.

Now, another video offering an inside look into the inner workings of a fast-food restaurant has gone viral. Viewers are pretty disgusted.

What’s Going On With This McRib?

In a video with over 11.7 million views, TikTok user @a_microwaveable_hamster0 shows a limp patty of uncooked meat on a counter. The meat is in the distinctive McRib shape: an oblong slab of ground pork molded with parallel ridges to resemble rib bones.

“In case yall ever wondered what a naked McRib looks like,” the TikToker writes in the video’s overlay text.

Over the video’s brief runtime, the TikToker picks up the patty. It’s limp and flops around in response to her movements.

“Apparently the restaurant purveyor just gave us a couple? Idk but they said it’s the actual McRib,” the TikToker adds in the caption.

Is This Real?

It’s true that this is what the McRib looks like when it’s uncooked. However, as previously covered by BroBible, the item isn’t usually prepared with a raw patty. Instead, the patties are placed onto the grill while still frozen, then compressed as they cook.

This isn’t the first time that imagery of the uncooked McRib has gone viral. Back in 2013, an image of an uncooked McRib was posted to Reddit. The image shocked viewers and even earned a feature on NBC News.

Why does it look the way it does? As far as the shape is concerned, it’s just the way McDonald’s designed the item to look. Tasting Table explains that the patty is made using a specialized meat press, similar to a hamburger press, that shapes the ground meat into its distinctive rib-like form.

Regarding its color, that may have something to do with the contents of the patty—which, it turns out, are the topic of a recent lawsuit.

What Is The McRib Made Out Of?

In January 2026, USA Today reported that a class action lawsuit had been filed against McDonald’s for the McRib. The reason? According to the filing, “the McRib does not contain any actual pork rib meat at all,” instead being filled with “lower-grade pork products such as … pork shoulder, heart, tripe, and scalded stomach.”

In response, McDonald’s assured diners that the product was made from “100% pork sourced from farmers and suppliers across the U.S.” While the “heart, tripe, and scalded stomach” details may be in dispute, many sources agree that the meat is not rib meat but primarily pork shoulder and other cuts.

These ingredients, plus the tendency of freezing to change meat’s color, may explain why the patty looks the way it does in the TikToker’s video.

As far as why it’s so flabby, it probably has something to do with the way the patty is formed. The Week speculates that the patty is formed using a process where the meat is cooked and mixed with salt and water. This extracts salt-soluble proteins that function like a glue to help hold the reshaped meat together.

Commenters Got The Ick

In the comments section, many users said that seeing the meat like this grossed them out.

“Straight out the 3D printer,” joked a user.

“That s— looks like cat food,” offered another.

“That looks Mcnasty,” declared a third.

BroBible reached out to McDonald’s via email and @a_microwaveable_hamster0 via TikTok direct message and comment.