What's Really Swimming In Fast Food Fish?

You can't always take an advertisement at face value — particularly with fast food. Quite frankly, no business sector can hold a candle to the quick-service industry, at least when it comes to the tendency to mislead customers through arguably dishonest (if technically legal) marketing. In fact, while fast food chains may say that a seafood-based menu item is made with 100% real fish, savvy shoppers know there's more than just aquatic protein in their meal.

To be clear, that's not necessarily a bad thing. No one expects their Filet-O-Fish to be served sans additional ingredients, after all. Neither does it imply that fast food fish items are completely devoid of fish (there are some lines even big chains won't cross). But simply stating that a place uses seafood in its products leaves much to the imagination and rarely covers the overall composition of a fish sandwich.

Given the bounty of edible fish species that could be utilized by fast food chains, as well as the number of non-seafood ingredients commonly found in fast food fish items, many consumers may be unaware of what's actually in their order. If you're curious, we've got you covered (like we always do!). Without further ado, here are the answers to that eternal question: what's really swimming in fast food fish?

By and large, fast food fish sandwiches tend to include a white fish species like Alaska pollock as the main ingredient. But just as fried fish sandwiches aren't the only type of fast food seafood available, not all fast food fish menus use a run-of-the-mill, white-fleshed protein. As evidenced by Popeyes and its occasionally-available Shrimp Roll (or its now-discontinued Shrimp Po'boy), you might have shellfish swimming in your order, as well.

Of course, as fans of Popeyes' fried shrimp are aware, the chain's deep-fried popcorn shrimp isn't relegated to the occasional sandwich. Just like the bevy of shrimp-centric meal options offered by Long John Silver's, Popeyes' popcorn shrimp currently appears to be a year-round, full-time menu item.

Seeing how shrimp is almost always found in fast food fish items that promote shellfish as an ingredient, it's a fitting entry for this list. If a menu item in question is shrimp-focused, you can be confident in guessing it does, in fact, have shrimp.

To be perfectly honest, some readers may take issue with our decision to feature salmon among the various other ingredients found in fast food fish. By all accounts, it appears that the only fast food chain that offers salmon consistently (or at all, for that matter) is, as of this writing, Long John Silver's. But we're nothing if not thorough here at Mashed, and since Long John Silver's is arguably the quintessential American fast food seafood chain, we think it's fair game to highlight its salmon-based menu items when discussing fast food fish.

If nothing else, the rationale behind salmon's rare usage at fast food chains seems rather apparent. It's not what most folks would consider a cheap or cost-effective fish. While it's immensely unlikely any fast food company would use the exorbitantly-priced king salmon in a menu, it's also easy to imagine that a budget-minded customer would instinctively pass over anything salmon-based.

Since Long John Silver's uses keta salmon (otherwise known as chum salmon) in its grilled salmon meals, it's not nearly as pricey both for the restaurant and the consumer. Perhaps, salmon could still be destined to overtake the fast food fish market some day — but we won't hold our breath underwater while we're waiting.

Fish live in the water. Even a toddler who's yet to learn how to form full sentences knows that simple fact. Of course, while fish and water go together like birds and the sky, that doesn't mean you'd necessarily expect the basic liquid component to be found in a cooked seafood dish. But expectations don't always match reality and, thanks to the need to ensure an order retains moisture throughout the cooking process, there's a decent chance your fast food fish didn't simply come from water — it contains water, too.

There's no shortage of fast food fish items currently on the market that list water front and center (or, at least, right after the seafood itself) among the ingredients. Perhaps including this indescribably versatile building block of life in a crispy fish product might seem counterproductive from afar. After all, no one wants to eat a soggy, sloppy piece of fish.

But like so many other food recipes in the world, the addition of water doesn't remotely ruin the final product. After all, if you weren't aware of its usage, would you have ever guessed it was included in your fast food fish in the first place?

Just as many fast food chicken nuggets aren't made from 100% pure poultry, it stands to reason that no fast food fish item's ingredient list starts and ends with seafood. That's not a problem, of course, since there are very few single fast food item anywhere that are made out of just one ingredient with absolutely no additives. Consider how deep-fried fast food fish items don't come straight from the ocean caked in a rich, tasty batter. With that in mind, it's no surprise you're likely to find wheat flour included in your fast food fish.

Of all the commonly used fast food fish ingredients we uncovered during our research, none may have been more expected than wheat flour. Flour is essential to creating a crispy outer coating for any battered and fried food, after all. That holds true whether it's chicken, Twinkies, or fast food fish.

We don't think it's unreasonable to assume that nearly every fried fast food fish item on the market contains wheat flour in some capacity (outside of a gluten-free alternative, of course). So the next time you're wondering how the crunchy exterior of your fast food fish was formed, remember the power of flour.

We're not entirely sure how panko breadcrumbs became synonymous with fancy pants-style breaded and fried foods. But there's a reason yacht club staff members ask "how pank'd?" whenever members order panko-breaded delicacies (or so we hear). Regardless of the specifics, there's no denying many restaurants (particularly those within the fast food industry) attempt to project an upscale image when it comes to their fish-centric menu by utilizing panko breadcrumbs. However, words can be tricky, and the precise phrasing in certain instances makes it unclear how authentic some item's panko credentials truly are.

Take, for instance, both Burger King's Big Fish sandwich and Wendy's limited-time Crispy Panko Fish Sandwich. Now, we're not prone to calling any business or person a liar without solid proof to back our claim ... and we're certainly not doing that here. But we can't help but find something untoward when we see that both fast food companies describe their products as using panko breading instead of fresh and properly crispy panko breadcrumbs.

Are we being unnecessarily nitpicky regarding semantics? Most certainly. It's highly unlikely a fast food chain would risk its reputation by brazenly lying about using panko breadcrumbs for its fish. It's all but certain the Japanese-invented product will indeed be found in those fast food items, but we'll leave it up to you to decide if it's been used well.

Despite widespread misconceptions, not every processed food item in the 21st century contains added sugar. Still, we were sort of surprised to discover that many fast food fish products don't mention sugar among their ingredients (or in the corresponding nutritional facts). But that doesn't mean there's no sugar to be found in any fast food fish item — just ask the Filet-O-Fish.

To be fair, the Filet-O-Fish isn't the only fast food fish item on the market that lists sugar as an ingredient. But seeing how the international fast food giant mostly seems to offer products that are overloaded with fat, salt, and sugar — in hopes of hitting the brain's reward center after food hits a customer's palate — we can't say we expected anything less from Mickey D's seafood department. Sugar makes a person more apt to crave sugary products in the future, after all, and where else would the restaurant want those Filet-O-Fish fans to head when a craving strikes?

Of course, considering the way that sugar enhances the taste of many foods, no one can really blame those fast food restaurants that choose to add a spoonful of sugar to help the fish order go down.