What McDonald's Employees Know About The Filet-O-Fish That Isn't Advertised

One of the facts about McDonald's Filet-O-Fish is that it was introduced when most Catholics didn't eat meat on Fridays, not just during the holy season of Lent. The creator, Lou Groen, introduced it in 1962 to save his Cincinnati franchise, whose clientele was mainly Catholic and would go elsewhere for pescatarian-friendly meals on Fridays. The sandwich was a sensation and remains on the menu because it is one of the few items that fits those diet limitations. However, some McDonald's employees have revealed that the sandwich is not always the freshest.

The freshness issue does not have to do with the type of fish in the McDonald's Filet-O-Fish changing from Atlantic cod to Alaskan pollock over the years. Nor is it because the filet is square for consistency purposes. Instead, it has everything to do with the sandwiches being made ahead of time. The fish burgers end up sitting in the warmer for hours at locations that don't sell a lot of them.

Some McDonald's employees concurred in a Reddit thread that questioned restaurant workers about what to avoid on the menu. One worker said, "Yep. Fish doesn't get ordered very often unless it is Lint. They cook it at transition, and then it stays there until they have sold it all. When I ran the shift I made them throw that [s***] away, but I didn't run the shift everyday so old nasty fish was sold far too often."  Fortunately, there's a way around your order being filled with an hour-old Filet-O-Fish.

While the aforementioned Reddit thread warned McDonald's patrons that the Filet-O-Fish is not the freshest menu item, some employees pointed out that it is not always true. One of them noted that "the McDonald's I work at sells a surprising amount of fish. On a busy day the fish won't last 10min." Another person agreed: "The McDonalds in my town sells more fish filets than almost anything else!" To be sure that you get a fresh sandwich, though, one worker's solution is to ask for it to be "cooked to order." It only takes about five minutes extra.

This phrase actually works for anything on the menu that can be freshly prepared. However, not all McDonald's employees seem to play by the rules. One fast food worker chimed in, "Idk if it's anything like the fast food place I work at we'll just dump an old one in the fryer for a few seconds to heat it up and tell you it's fresh." So, if you're skeptical about whether or not the staff at your McDonald's will actually cook your Filet-O-Fish to order, consider using a genius McDonald's Filet-O-Fish hack to customize the sandwich.

For instance, ask for Mac sauce instead of the standard tartar sauce, or have them add pickles and mustard. Other options include removing the cheese, adding more cheese, requesting an extra fish filet (or two), and adding lettuce and tomato. You could even make your own Royal-O-Fish, a European variation, by adding cucumber slices and lettuce and replacing the American cheese with cheddar cheese.