Why McDonald's Filet-O-Fish Almost Didn't Make It On The Menu

The Filet-O-Fish is well-known for its crispy fish, flavorful tartar sauce, and overall unique taste. Even though it might not be the most popular food sold at McDonald's, compared to its burgers, the Filet-O-Fish holds its value with the chain selling about 300 million sandwiches each year. However, there are a few reasons McDonald's may not want you to order this iconic sandwich, despite its success.

Among the facts you may not know about the Filet-O-Fish sandwich, it's available and popular worldwide since it can be eaten by almost anybody. Across religions and cultures, there are fewer restrictions on fish than red meat. However, Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's, didn't originally like the idea of selling fish at the restaurant and resisted the idea of even introducing it. The fish (cod, at the time) was difficult to source, though the type of fish McDonald's uses in its Filet-O-Fish now has changed since its introduction. It was also hard to keep fresh and Kroc wanted to keep restaurant prices low and fish-smell free.

There was a compelling reason to offer a fish sandwich, though, according to Kroc. At the time, Catholics weren't allowed to eat meat on Fridays throughout the entire year. This meant sales at the first Ohio-based McDonald's, located in an 87% Catholic neighborhood, plummeted on Fridays. In 1962, Lou Groen, the Cincinnati McDonald's restaurant owner, created the fish sandwich to satisfy the demand from his customers for fast food on Fridays.

The Filet-O-Fish was a success and by 1965 was sold at all of the McDonald's locations due to its popularity. Ironically, in February 1966, Pope Paul VI removed the dietary restriction responsible for the creation of the fish sandwich in the first place, which Ray Kroc predicted would happen. Catholics were later allowed to eat meat on Fridays throughout most of the year, which made the push to create the fish sandwich seem unwise and caused added expenditures for equipment. The fish sandwich remained popular, though it's not as big of a seller as McDonald's other items. Nevertheless, McDonald's sells a whopping 75 million Filet-O-Fish sandwiches during Lent alone.

Filet-O-Fish sandwiches require special care to prepare. The fish is cooked in its own dedicated fryer, apart from other foods; this takes up extra space in the kitchen. Selling fish sandwiches also takes up real estate on the menu, which already has numerous items besides hamburgers. So, even though the Filet-O-Fish is a staple of McDonald's restaurants, there is cause to believe the main reason it remains on the menu is simply customer demand, especially during Lent.