$ · lifting and turning delicate fish fillets
Turn a fillet without it falling apart
Sliding beneath fillets and turning them with less tearing than a thick spatula.
OXO Good Grips Little Fish Turner
Saint-Pierre in English is John Dory. It belongs to the Zeidae family; the names below show how the same fish is sold across international markets.
Also called
🇺🇸🇬🇧John Dory🇪🇸Pez de San Pedro🇵🇹Peixe-galo🇮🇹Pesce San Pietro🇩🇪Petersfisch
Saint-Pierre is one of the most valuable fish in European kitchens and one of the strangest looking: a flat, oval, olive-grey body with a dark thumbprint on each flank. Nearly every language names it after that mark and the legend attached to it — the apostle Peter's thumb, hence Saint-Pierre in France, pez de San Pedro in Spain, pesce San Pietro in Italy, Petersfisch in Germany. The English name John Dory is thought to come from the French jaune doré. Yield is poor — the head and frame are more than half its weight — but the four thick fillets are firm, pearly white and sweet, closer to turbot than to sea bass, and they hold together under a hard sear. The frame makes an excellent stock, so buy it whole if the kitchen can use both. Portuguese peixe-galo is the same fish; it should not be confused with the unrelated tropical galo species.
Names by country
| Country | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸United States | John Dory | |
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | John Dory | Probably from the French jaune doré rather than any John |
| 🇫🇷France | Saint-Pierreprimary | Named for the dark thumbprint on each flank — said to be the apostle Peter's |
| 🇪🇸Spain | Pez de San Pedro | |
| 🇵🇹Portugal | Peixe-galo | Not the tropical galo species, which is unrelated |
| 🇮🇹Italy | Pesce San Pietro | |
| 🇩🇪Germany | Petersfisch |
Culinary substitutes
Handling fish at home
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