Let’s face it–we all know that there are very few menu items McDonald’s offers that are good for us, but sometimes we can’t quite pass up the temptation of a Big Mac or McRib (when available). Unfortunately for McRib fans (and we know the sandwich has developed something of a cult-like following), someone posted a picture of a frozen McRib patty online, and it looks nothing close to tasty.

A lot of people who eat the sandwich when it makes its return each year probably already figured that the “before” version of the McRib was less than appetizing, if they ever allowed themselves to think of the McRib in that way. Now McRib fans have a nice little visual thanks to a friend of a McDonald’s employee posting the picture.

Here is the McRib sandwich we all know and love:

(image)

And here is the frozen McRib, a photo you will probably want erased from your memory Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind style if you like to hit up McDonald’s when the sandwich is available:

(image)

That doesn’t look so appealing, does it? To be fair, not many foods looks super yummy when they’re frozen, but it’s doubtful that most look like flavorless slabs of misshapen ice. The question now is, will this affect McDonald’s McRib sales? Probably not. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen what fast food looks like before it is cooked (or doused in sauce)–remember the pink slime chicken nuggets? It’s probably safe to say that parents are still buying such nuggets for their kids by the truckload.

At any rate, the gross factor never seems to hang around to keep us away for long. And for those of you who aren’t deterred by the image and are mainly wondering whether this means the McRib is back, sightings of the sandwich have been reported.

Will you eat the McRib now or stay away for a while? Respond below. It looks like some Twitter users have seen enough.

#nofilter because it's nasty enough. This is an image of a frozen mcrib that surfaced online. I have… http://t.co/6iMTpa8bI7

— C.R. Bauman (@crbauman) November 14, 2013

In other news, frozen #McRib looks like something kicked loose from the driveway in the last scene of Fargo. http://t.co/AoRWioDNMa #gross

— Billy Hawes (@billyverde) November 13, 2013

why are people surprised the McRib is frozen? how else would it get into that shape?

— Steve LaMonica (@stevelamonica) November 14, 2013

[Image via YouTube]