Are people REALLY buying the fish sandwiches?

I PERSONALLY know people who love the Fishwich at McDs. Gross? Absolutely.

I had a co-worker that swore that the only thing eatible at McDs was the Fillet-o-fish. Now that I never step foot in those places anymore, I’d have to admit that if I was forced to eat something there, it would have to be the fish for me. Everything else really makes me gag just thinking about it.

No friggin way. I wouldn’t eat that garbage. I’d rather buy fresh fish and cook it myself.

When I worked at McDonald’s as a teen, the Filet-O-Fish sandwich was really popular only at Lent. Otherwise, I don’t know who eats it, but a lot of somebodies must. They sell tons of ‘em. :/

The fish they use is called Pollock/Cod comes mainly from the Bering Sea. If they haul it up fast from rather deep water you have a soup of fish with their guts hanging out, decompression and all. What a sight. I’d have to puke just thinking of it.

And then of course there are those conveyor sorting belts. Sometimes a dead fish gets stuck on those, lies around for a couple days without proper refrigeration, and then gets slimy enough to work itself loose ending up in the stock. Yum Yum Yum

@aprilsimnel , interesting. Might explain why there are a lot of commercials right now for the fish sandwiches.

Yup, mostly older people were the ones who purchased the Fillet-o-Fish back when I worked at McDick’s. Because they weren’t ordered commonly, the kitchen crew would not throw them out when their time was up, but would leave them in the bin for a long time. I would never eat any fish sandwich from any fast food place without having them cook it brand new for me.

There are ads about fish sandwiches up here in Canada too. Burger King is on the offensive against McD.

As to why restaurants have fish products: one, for vegetarians who eat fish. Two, for people not eating meat for a small period of time (Lent). Three, for old people – like I said odds were pretty much 50/50 that an elderly person would order a Fish sandwich. And four, for people who simply get in the mood for fish.

I bought a shrimp sandwich yesterday, though at McD’s I usually go for the chicken. Actually I go for the chicken in most junkfood places. I have bought the fish a few times. It’s almost edible.

I call the Filet O’Fish the “Bottom Feeder Deluxe.”

I could never eat fish from a place like that. I watch a show, probably on Discovery, on how they capture the fish and it’s exactly like taosan said. So gross.

Once every blue moon or so I get one at Mickey D’s. I order it without cheese, so they have to make it fresh, so I avoid the old ones DD spoke of above. I might eat 2 a year total. Speaking of fish, I watched an episode of Dirty Jobs this past weekend, and they talked about Talapia. Did you know they are used to eat all the fish poop at bass farms?? They are then sold to restaurants for us to consume…ewww!!

@scamp

LOL

Not much different with ducks :)

Their whole life they sift through fish- and water fowl shit :)

@scamp – I KNEW there was something hinky about tilapia! I think it smells awful and I’ve had people make fun of me for being picky about not eating it. Justified!

…seriously? It’s called Lent… every year leading into Easter Fish Sandwiches become the big thing… reason:

“Actually they do eat meat on friday, at least some, as the rule has changed. Originally the edict for the church came about over an economic condition. Fisherman apparently were having a hard go of it and to help it became a church law that no meat but fish was to be eaten. ”

@TaoSan too funny, but you’re also very right!!

@aprilsimnel I felt bad after seeing that show because I actually like Talapia! I thought it was less stinky and not as strong tasting as some other types of fish. I will still eat it, not not any time in the near future, ha ha!!

Well I’m done with it! I was always suspicious of it’s smell and aftertaste.

@scamp

Short anecdote about duck. The general rule is that duck has to be cooked very thouroughly for exactly that very reason, they’re very prone to heightened salmonella counts due to their feeding habits.

However, there is one particular species called Barbary Ducks. They only feed on a handful of different types of grain, and would rather starve than touch anything else. These, you can prepare medium, which makes for a much more pleasing texture of course. Also, their breasts contain much less fat that usual ducks.

They’re very desired in French cuisine and quite expensive.

An interesting thing, connected to Filet-o-Funk: In Maine, in the summer, they offer(ed?) a lobster sandwich. it was a hoagie roll with lobster salad inside, for like $6 i think.

i never tried it, because, well, lobster – at McDs? But it was interesting twist on the fish sandwich.

@scamp: Tilapia, bottom feeders that they. are still somehow delicious. I was actually on location with the crew for that episode, shot out near Indio. See here.

@TaoSan Thanks for that interesting information. I’ve never cared much for duck. Maybe it’s because I’ve never had Barbary Duck. I guess I’ll give it one more try.

@PupnTaco True, they are good! I’ll just have to let a little time go by so I can forget what I saw on that episode, tho. I was kind of sad when I watched it, because I love Tilapia!

It’s really cool that you got to actually watch Mike Rowe with Mike Rowe. He seems like such a genuine person. I love watching the behind the scenes segments. It looks like the crew works very well together, and has lots of laughs.

I love them…

@PupnTaco – That’s wonderful that you got to hang out. Shows like Dirty Jobs look like so much fun to shoot. I’ve never worked on a show with a crew that small. It seems like you had a great time!

Well, I used to like the fish sandwich at mcdonald’s, but I think you’ve all talked me out of it. We don’t eat there often (a few times a year), but even my kids would rather have the fish than the burger!

As for tilapia, I’ve never liked it and now I’m glad to have a good reason other than the taste/texture being just a bit off to me. We usually buy flounder, sole, or wild salmon. So if there’s something about those I shouldn’t know, please don’t tell me!

I know people who buys them…but I personally thing it’s pretty gross, but I don’t like fish anyway.

When I was Catholic, I ate them at Lent because they would put them on sale for like 2 for $2 or something. They were too expensive for the amount o’ slop any other time.

I would buy two and put the “fish” and “cheese” from one into the other to make a mega-fish sammie. I’d even add extra tartar sauce. Delicious!

Since I gave up fast food altogether a year ago, I guess I won’t be having any more carpwiches. :-( Thinking of the taste as I write this makes me want one right now… drool

@PupnTaco Too cool about the Dirty Jobs gig!

Some people like fish, so fucking what?

I love Hoki!

From What’s Really in Your Food?
“What’s in a Filet-O-Fish?

The world’s most famous fish sandwich begins as one of the ocean’s ugliest creatures. Filet-O-Fish, like many of the fish patties used by fast-food chains, is made predominantly from hoki, a gnarly, crazy-eyed fish found in the cold waters off the coast of New Zealand. In the past, McDonald’s has purchased up to 15 million pounds of hoki a year, each flaky fillet destined for a coat of batter, a bath of oil, a squirt of tartar, and a final resting place in a warm, squishy bun. But it seems the world’s appetite for this and other fried-fish sandwiches has proved too voracious, as New Zealand has been forced to cut the allowable catch over the years in order to keep the hoki population from collapsing. Don’t expect McDonald’s to scale down Filet-O-Fish output anytime soon, though; other whitefish like Alaskan pollock will likely fill in the gaps left by the hoki downturn. After all, once it’s battered and fried, do you really think you’ll know the difference?”