Why KFC Discontinued These Saucy Ribs Fans Still Talk About Years Later

KFC is so synonymous with chicken, it's hard to imagine the restaurant serving other meats. Indeed, the only protein offered on today's menu is the chain's famous fried poultry — but longtime customers know that KFC used to serve ribs. Simple called Country Style Ribs, this item debuted in the 1970s and won over many hearts, only to disappear in the '80s.

These ribs were offered at least by 1975, though some sources say they debuted in 1973. KFC advertised thrifty family dinners starring the item, such as nine ribs with salad and rolls for $6.98. Like those famous 11 herbs and spices, the exact recipe for Country Style Ribs has never been confirmed, but self-professed former employees have shared how they remember cooking the dish. Pork spare ribs were dredged in KFC's signature seasoned flour, cooked in pressure fryers, tossed in barbecue sauce, and warmed or baked to let the coating set. These steps produced sticky, tender ribs that customers still crave and talk about to this day.

If these ribs were so well-liked, why are they now a discontinued KFC menu item we may never see again? Several sources (including employee testimonies) point to the pork shortage of 1973, which led the meat to steadily increase in price throughout the 1980s. The profit margin of KFC's ribs likely went down as pork prices went up, leading the chain to ax the item once it became too expensive to produce.

KFC's Country Style Ribs haven't been seen in decades, but this discontinued fast food item still has a cult following. Fans across social media have shared their memories of the dish, such as one user on Facebook who wrote, "Our summer maintenance crew at the high school hit up the local KFC for a post-work group dinner [...] featuring these ribs. More than once, we cleaned them out of that day's production." A commenter on the same post said of the ribs, "[KFC] would need to bring them back for me to ever go to that place again." The Country Style Ribs even had international popularity, with one Reddit user writing, "Ribs were my favorite thing from KFC when I was a little kid — this was in London in the early '80s."

Unfortunately, with an absence spanning over 40 years, we're skeptical that Country Style Ribs will come back, much like KFC's roast beef that completely failed. It seems like the Colonel has learned to stick to chicken. However, KFC has also discontinued plenty of chicken-based items that fans yearn for today. One dish that was similar to the chain's ribs (and also sold during the '70s and '80s) was Barbecue Style Chicken. The chicken pieces were seasoned with KFC's herb and spice mix and slathered in sauce for a "BBQ twang," as said in a commercial from 1976. This beloved menu item lasted a bit longer than the ribs, but sadly vanished sometime in the 1990s.