McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish has been on the menu for over half a century, going mainstream alongside the other standard offerings in 1965. The fried fish filet with tartar sauce served on a Mickey D’s bun comes with a very strange addition — half a slice of cheese. Not a whole slice, only half a slice. Which sounds like a bit of an el-cheapo move by McD’s, but there’s actually a valid reason behind it.
Way back in 2012, a Canadian customer asked about the half slice, and a McDonald’s representative answered: “We only use half a slice of cheese because that’s exactly the perfect balance for the tangy tartar sauce and crispness of the Filet-o-Fish coating.” The rep continued to say that “anything more than that would throw off the mojo of the sandwich and overshadow the delicate flavour of the pollock.” The argument is that a full slice of cheese would overpower the other flavors, but McD’s has firmly stated that should a customer want a full slice, all they have to do is ask.
Interestingly, when the Filet-o-Fish was first created, it didn’t have cheese on it at all. It was made with fried halibut and tartar sauce only, served on the bun. But as happens with cost-conscious businesses, McDonald’s HQ asked that the halibut be replaced with a cheaper fish when the dish took off in popularity. Ever since, very little has changed with this much-loved little sandwich.
Filet-o-Fish beat its competitor for a place on the menu
The Filet-o-Fish was first created in the ’60s by a McDonald’s franchisee, Lou Groen, as a way to attract customers who abstained from eating meat on Fridays. Around 87% of the customers in Groen’s area in Cincinnati were Catholic and observed meatless Fridays, which saw the outlet making only around $75 a day on the last working day of the week.
Execs at HQ weren’t all that thrilled at the idea of a fish sandwich, but they came around to the idea when the numbers spoke: Filet-o-Fish sandwich sales exploded past McD’s founder Ray Kroc’s non-meat idea, the pineapple-based Hula Burger. A test day was run to see which burger would gain the most sales, and Groen’s restaurant sold 350 Filet-o-Fish sandwiches. Only six Hula Burgers were sold. So, Kroc, being the astute businessman that he was, put the fish sandwich on the menu. There was a trade-off, though: Halibut was quite pricey, so HQ instructed Groen to switch out the type of fish in the Filet-o-Fish. Today, the chain uses Alaskan pollock. Groen claims the original switch was from halibut to Atlantic cod, which prompted him to add that half slice of cheese for extra flavor.
A little tip — if you want your sandwich super fresh and hot, ask for it without cheese. This is considered a custom order, so the kitchen will prep it on the spot. Regular menu items are usually pre-made, and then either heated or kept hot under a heat lamp. Of course, if you want to make your own at home, you can always get inspired by chef Kristen Kish’s Filet-O-Fish.
