The McRib made its debut in the United States in 1981, as a limited-time item. It was developed by McDonald's first Executive Chef René Arend, a native of Luxembourg who invented Chicken McNuggets in 1979. "The McNuggets were so well received that every franchise wanted them," said Arend in a 2009 interview. "There wasn’t a system to supply enough chicken. We had to come up with something to give the other franchises as a new product. So the McRib came about because of the shortage of chickens." It was his inspiration to shape the McRib patty "like a slab of ribs," despite the fact that a round patty would have been cheaper to manufacture and serve on standard hamburger buns. A packet of McRib Hot Sauce was also available when the sandwich was first being sold. The sauce was a clear liquid in a semi-chrome packet the size of a standard ketchup packet.