Filet-O-Fish Hacks You'll Wish You Knew Sooner

One particular item sticks out on the McDonald's menu: the Filet-O-Fish. Ever since its inception in 1962, it has survived as one of the most popular and underrated sandwiches served at the Golden Arches. The idea came from a struggling McDonald's operator in Monfort Heights, Ohio, named Lou Groen. Since nearly the entire population in the area was Catholic, they couldn't eat meat during Lent and on Fridays. His solution was a tasty fish burger. 

McDonald's founder Ray Kroc almost shot it down from the start, as he was leaning toward an alternative called the Hula burger — grilled pineapple on a bun. Kroc finally agreed to a little competition: both burgers would debut on Good Friday in 1962, and whichever sandwich sold better would stay on the menu. The restaurant sold six Hula burgers whereas 350 Filet-O-Fish left the kitchen — and the rest is history. 

More than 60 years later, the Filet-O-Fish has withstood the test of time and is still a staple on the McDonald's menu. But today, fast-food hacks are the trend, allowing people to customize their meals to make the most delicious version of their favorite dishes, and the Filet-O-Fish is no different. We've compiled some of the best hacks out there for the succulent fish sandwich.  

It doesn't matter what you order from a fast-food restaurant, you always want to have the freshest, hottest food handed to you through that drive-thru window. Unfortunately, that's not always the case at these busy establishments. Every fast-food patron has waited hungrily for their food, only to be disappointed with a lukewarm sandwich that was probably sitting under a heat lamp for longer than ideal. 

Unfortunately, many McDonald's workers agree — especially when it comes to the Filet-O-Fish. "It's been 3 years since I worked there but I can promise you that filet of fish is not fresh by any stretch of the imagination," said one ex-McDonald's employee on a viral Reddit post. However, other employees came to the rescue with a trick to ensure you get the freshest fish sandwich possible. "At McDonald's just say you want a fish filet cooked to order. It will take ~5 more minutes but worth it compared to the filet that has been in the heated cabinet for hours," said u/Exiled-Biblu in the same post. 

If you're a bit shy and don't want to be so direct, you can tweak your order to make sure your Filet-O-Fish is fresh. Simply get the sandwich without cheese (or ask for any other modification), which will require the employees to make a fresh one for your customized order. 

Oh, the Surf and Turf wasn't enough for you? You want an even more hedonistic mash-up of sandwiches to satisfy your monstrous cravings? Enter the Land, Air & Sea sandwich. This is another feature of the fan-inspired hacks McDonald's promoted in early 2022. According to the McDonald's website, this item should check all the boxes thanks to the combination of a Big Mac, McChicken, and Filet-O-Fish into one enormous sandwich.

If you decide to brave this towering stack of different proteins, you can order the Land, Air & Sea by name at your local McDonald's, but again, you'll have to put it together yourself. The restaurant will give you a Big Mac, a McChicken, and of course, a Filet-O-Fish. To assemble, open up the Big Mac and layer on the McChicken and Filet-O-Fish patties. You'll be awarded with a monstrosity you'll barely be able to fit into your mouth. 

It's no surprise this thing has gone viral on social media platforms. One TikTok creator, @hungryoc, put the burger together and said, "It's like an explosion of flavors. Best of three worlds."

The magic of the Filet-O-Fish is in its simplicity. A steamed bun, a succulent fish patty, zesty tartar sauce, and a slice of cheese are all you need to make this cult favorite great. Well, some people think that, but others might find the sandwich a bit boring. 

One ex-McDonald's employee answered a Quora thread about the best McDonald's hacks. Her first trick inspired by the Filet-O-Fish was to request the Double Cheeseburger bun be steamed to help the cheese melt better. Her next idea was to transform the Filet-O-Fish into a more complete sandwich by adding lettuce to spruce it up.

Yes, it might be simple, but it's probably something many people have never thought of. You can just request additional ingredients on your fish sandwich to your exact taste. This includes tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, onions, extra cheese, extra tartar sauce, and more. Make the Filet-O-Fish your own!

If you're trying to get really weird, you can try YouTuber GoldenGully's Filet-O-Fish hack that racked up more than a million views. Apparently, this little trick came to him in a dream where he went through the McDonald's drive-thru, ordered a Filet-O-Fish, and manually inserted an apple pie into the mix — so that's exactly what he did in real life. 

After taking a bite of the apple-fish monstrosity, he said, "It's actually not bad. There's a lot of bread because of the apple pie crust and we got buns, but at the same time I don't see these two fighting with each other." He goes on to say he can taste both components on their own without one overwhelming the taste of the other. "It's almost like if you wanted to save time and you were craving a fish filet and also an apple pie, you could eat them both at the same time." To be fair, he admitted he wouldn't order it again. But you know what they say — follow your dreams!

We've all been there. One minute we're absolutely demolishing the slew of delicious food we ordered from our restaurant of choice, and the next, it starts to hit us ... our stomachs are rapidly growing uncomfortably full. Though our eyes may have been a little bigger than our stomachs, the problem is the meal tastes so delicious that we hate to waste the experience by turning it into leftovers that just won't be the same later on when we try to reheat them. In the case of the Filet-O-Fish, don't let the fear of the scrumptious sandwich being lackluster upon reheating force you to overstuff yourself. As it turns out, there exists a way to reinvigorate the coveted course that doesn't end in a dried-out patty and soggy bread.

Tinfoil is the secret weapon when it comes to heating up the chilled leftovers of the popular McDonald's fish dish. Start by wrapping the sandwich tent-style, encapsulating the entire thing and pinching nearly all of the edges shut. Then, using either a toaster oven or a regular oven preheated to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit, place your mummified cold sandwich in the heat for anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes. When it comes out, it should be warmed to perfection. More importantly, that delectable patty will have maintained its moisture, and the bun should still have a healthy amount of crisp. Voila — you have successfully avoided the flavor-leached sogginess your favorite sandwich would likely have inherited from the microwave.