This Is Why the Tartar Sauce on a Filet-O-Fish Is Always Off-Center
Updated: Mar. 14, 2024
Is your fish sandwich from McDonald's a flop? There's a reason why the Filet-O-Fish always seems to fall apart.
There are the Big Mac lovers. The McNugget lovers. And then, there are the Filet-O-Fish lovers, the McDonald’s customers that can’t seem to get enough of that breaded fish sandwich with tangy tartar sauce. If you fall into the latter category, then you’re likely already aware of how the sandwich seems to be a little off-center every time you open the box. The tartar sauce or the cheese isn’t centered, and the fish always seems to be sliding out of the bun. Why?
Turns out, there are a variety of factors to explain why your fish sandwich never seems to be centered. From the way the tartar sauce is added to how it’s assembled, and even the ingredients used, McDonald’s employees explain why your sandwich is never perfectly straight.
Get Reader’s Digest’s Read Up newsletter for more fun facts, humor, cleaning, travel and tech all week long.
Why is Filet-O-Fish tartar sauce off-center?
It has to do with how the sandwich assembled and how fast the cooks are going in the back to prep your meal. Here are the secrets from McDonald’s employees that explain what’s happening.
The tartar sauce gun is wonky
McDonald’s employees on Reddit admit that the gun used to squirt the tartar sauce onto the bun for the Filet-O-Fish can be, well, a little wonky.
“I swear the tartar never comes out of the tartar gun perfectly from the center. I always put the thing directly over the bun and it shoots to the … top of the bun and gets in the box,” writes Reddit user u/TwoWeak9365.
“The tartar sauce launches to the side half the time when you put it on,” writes another employee.
Filet-O-Fish goes in a box, not a wrapper
Unlike most of the burgers or chicken sandwiches on the McDonald’s menu, which are sealed in a wrapper to keep things together, the Filet-O-Fish is put in a box. Not only that, but the sandwich is actually assembled in the box—hence, why the sandwich is typically off-center when you open up your lunch.
According to former McDonald’s chef Mike Haracz, the sandwich is assembled as follows: The two halves of the steamed bun are placed in the box. The bottom half gets the slice of cheese, the top half gets the tartar sauce. Then the sandwich is slid to the next employee, where the breaded fish is placed on top of the tartar sauce. The box is then closed and bagged up for the customer.
The size of the box also matters: It’s too big for the sandwich. “When we assemble it, we flip the bottom onto the top when we close the box. Since the box is too big for the bun/sandwich, stuff just slides around,” Reddit user u/WaluigiGoesWaa writes. “Really we just need a smaller box.”
Having to actually place the sandwich together would require an extra step. For a fast-food establishment that serves an average of 69 million customers a day across the world, that step seems time-consuming and unnecessary.
Haracz also points out that other sandwiches in boxes are assembled this way, which is why your Big Mac might be a little off-center too.
The bun is steamed
If this is such a problem, why not put the sandwich in a wrapper? The reason for using the box for the Filet-O-Fish has to do with the choice of bun.
“We can’t wrap it like a cheeseburger ’cause of the steamed bun,” u/WaluigiGoesWaa says.
With the combination of the steamed bun and the ingredients being added so quickly, it makes sense that some of those ingredients would slide right off. It’s a hot sandwich!
Now that you know this bit of insider wisdom about your favorite fast-food item, find out why Coke tastes better at McDonald’s.
