Why McDonald's Filet-O-Fish Always Has Crooked Cheese

If you've ever opened the famous Filet-O-Fish from McDonald's and noticed the cheese hanging halfway off the bun, you're not alone. According to former employees, the design of the assembly process almost guarantees that the cheese will end up slightly off. We know there are bigger issues in the world to worry about, but we couldn't help but wonder why. McDonald's is nothing if not meticulously calculating in every move they make, so there had to be a simple explanation. Turns out, the crooked cheese isn't sloppy assembly, but a side effect of how the sandwich is built in the first place.

First, it helps to understand how the Filet-O-Fish is constructed. Unlike many burgers that are stacked in a straightforward order, this sandwich is assembled inside its box. In a post on Reddit, one person explains: "It's because McDonald's trains you to put the top and bottom bun in the top and bottom of the open box, put the ingredients on there, and then instead of placing the top components onto the bottom bun, they just quickly close the box." The top bun receives tartar sauce, while the bottom bun gets half a slice of American cheese.

A former McDonald's corporate chef, Mike Haracz, elaborates on TikTok, saying, "That is why the cheese, a lot of times, is not where it's supposed to be, or the sandwich looks weird because the crew is just closing these boxes as fast as possible, throwing them down the line, and trying to get their orders out."

It's that quick closing motion that gets ya. When the box snaps shut, the hot fish filet presses down on the half slice of cheese while the buns slide slightly toward each other. Because the cheese is only half a slice and isn't anchored firmly to the bun yet, it can easily shift or fold as the sandwich settles. 

The temperature of the ingredients also plays a role. The buns are steamed before assembly, and the fried fish filet is sizzling hot when it comes out of the fryer. Once the sandwich is closed, the heat immediately begins melting the cheese. If that little slice shifts even slightly before melting, it tends to stick in that crooked position. In a busy kitchen where employees are working as fast as humanly possible, there isn't time to reopen the sandwich and realign everything perfectly.

Ultimately, the crooked cheese is just a side effect of fast-food efficiency. McDonald's kitchens are designed to assemble enormous volumes of food as quickly as possible, often during intense rush periods (like meat-free Fridays during Lent). Closing the box to finish the fish sandwich is just faster than carefully stacking each ingredient by hand, but it also makes little mistakes inevitable. In other words, don't take your crooked cheese as a personal insult — it's basically built into the system. So while we can't promise any ordering hacks that will give you perfectly aligned cheese, we do have tips on how to order a Filet-O-Fish for a fresh sandwich every time.