My Love for Fast Food
Everyone who knows me knows I love fast food—junk food, whatever you want to call it. Despite trying to eat healthier, a drive-thru indulgence after a long workday always lifts my mood. There’s something about fries, a shake, and a main dish that brings a sparkle to my eyes. Given my love for fish, McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish often becomes my go-to choice, especially when paired with a McDonald’s Coke.
The Peculiar Tartar Sauce
If you’re a Filet-O-Fish fan, you might have noticed the tartar sauce is always off-center. It’s never neatly placed and always slides around in its little cardboard box. Curious about this odd presentation, I did some digging and discovered the reason behind it, thanks to candid revelations from McDonald’s employees on Reddit.
The Delicious Filet-O-Fish
By fast food standards, the Filet-O-Fish is delicious. The lightly breaded fish fillet, topped with a slice of melty cheese and that infamous off-center dollop of tartar sauce, all sandwiched between a soft, steamed bun, is hard to resist. But why is the tartar sauce never centered? It’s all about the assembly line in McDonald’s kitchens.
The Assembly Process
The process is simple yet efficient. The sandwich starts with two halves of the bun placed in a specially designed box. The bottom half gets the slice of cheese, while the top half receives a blob of tartar sauce. However, the sauce isn’t applied with a typical squeeze bottle or spreader. Instead, McDonald’s uses a tartar sauce gun, which is designed for speed, not precision.
The Role of the Sauce Gun
Employees, rushing to serve a long line of customers, quickly squirt a dollop of tartar sauce onto the bun. Given the rush and the nature of the tool, it seldom lands in the center. After the sauce lands, another employee places the breaded fish fillet on top. Because the bun halves are already in the box, sliding the fish fillet onto the sauce can shift things even more. Finally, the top half of the bun is flipped onto the fillet, and the box is snapped shut, ready to be bagged.
The Purpose of the Box
Why the box? The bun is steamed, making it too soft and potentially messy to handle without support. A wrapper wouldn’t do—the bun might stick or tear. The box keeps the sandwich’s structure intact and accommodates the somewhat messy, sliding components. The box is also a bit too big for the sandwich, aiding speedy packaging but allowing the contents to slide around.
An Eye-Opening Discovery
Learning this was eye-opening. It highlighted the small flaws and complexities that make this sandwich more interesting than just another fast food item. The next time you open your Filet-O-Fish and notice the slide, remember: it’s about the ballet of speed and function in the fast food world. And, if nothing else, it gives us something to ponder and chuckle over as we enjoy our fish sandwich, perfectly paired with a sip of Coke.
For me, whether the sauce is off-center or not doesn’t matter. A good meal after a long day is what I need, and the Filet-O-Fish always delivers.
