Why McDonald's Keeps The Filet-O-Fish On The Menu

The humble Filet-O-Fish can feel a bit out of place on McDonald's menus, which are otherwise dominated by an array of burgers, French fries, and fried chicken. And although the Filet-O-Fish might not be everyone's favorite fast food fish sandwich, it's remained on the regular menu for generations, thanks at first to an enterprising franchisee and his predominantly Catholic customers.

It was 1962, and at the time, Catholics traditionally avoided eating meat on Fridays as a form of penance for their sins and a way to honor Jesus Christ, the thought being that as Christ sacrificed his flesh for humanity, humans in turn can sacrifice eating fleshy meat on Fridays. In the then heavily Catholic city of Cincinnati, OH, franchisee Lou Groen noticed that while his McDonald's sat empty on Friday nights, a competitor — which had a fish sandwich on the menu — was booming.

McDonald's CEO Roy Kroc thought he had a better idea to break into this market: pineapple with a slice of cheese, which he called the "Hula Burger." Kroc challenged Groen to a sell-off between the two sandwiches, and needless to say, Kroc lost — but McDonald's gained a sleeper hit.

The McDonald's menu has changed a lot over the years, as have people's dining habits, but the Filet-O-Fish has come in more-or-less the same form for about sixty years. And although it's now common for Catholics to eat meat any day of the week, the Filet-O-Fish retains its special association with the faith by way of Lent.

Lent is a Catholic observance where worshippers give up something they enjoy as part of 40 days of fasting and prayer. One common thing to give up is eating meat. Enter the Filet-O-Fish, which McDonald's says does about 25% of its annual sales during Lent and in the weeks surrounding it. These numbers are so impressive that other fast food burger joints now push their own fish sandwiches, or even fried clams, for Lent.

Don't just think of the Filet-O-Fish as a sandwich of last resort for Catholics, though. It's solid in its own right, and is also a versatile ingredient in some inventive McDonald's menu hacks.