Fish spatulas

[mcohen]

What's the best fish spatula on the market? And, what should I be looking for when buying one?

I see some that are metal, but wouldn't that be a problem for most people when they cook a fish in a non-stick pan?

[Chris Amirault]

I love my LamsonSharp fish spatula -- and like me it's left handed.

[ChefJohnny]

I, and most of my chef friends, use these. Not technically a fish spat, but its the best. And you pay for it. Its all about finesse.

- Chef Johnny

[Blether]

I, and most of my chef friends, use these

Yikes ! What do you use for picking up soft-yolked fried eggs ?

[ChefJohnny]

I, and most of my chef friends, use these

Yikes ! What do you use for picking up soft-yolked fried eggs ?

haha. a spoon of course. you'd be surprised how versatile the palette knife is.

- Chef Johnny

[Blether]

haha. a spoon of course. you'd be surprised how versatile the palette knife is.

I'm sure you're better with it than I am with mine. I love my palette knife (8 bucks, roughly, IIRC, and bright stainless steel), but it doesn't get near my frypans.

[therippa]

I love my LamsonSharp fish spatula -- and like me it's left handed.

Oh, this is awesome. I've been fighting with my right-handed wusthof fish spatula ever since I bought it. This looks awesome, I just ordered one...but you gave the link for the right handed model, here's the one for people like us...

http://www.amazon.com/LamsonSharp-Chef%C2%BFs-Slotted-Turner-left-hand/dp/B0006GT586/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1268288351&sr=1-1

[paulraphael]

I agree with everyone. Love the lamson sharp fish spat. It's not the nicest, but it works as well as you could ask and it's cheap. Also Love my palette knife. The two are not completely interchangeable. Plenty of times when I want one and not the other.

[Special K]

I don't (yet) have this one: http://www.bbqproshop.com/silicone-fish-spatula.html but I want it!

I do have one very similar to this: http://www.amazon.com/Outset-QT59-Stainless-Slotted-Spatula/dp/B000O5H5P4 and it's great on non-nonstick pans.

[edwardsboi]

I, and most of my chef friends, use these. Not technically a fish spat, but its the best. And you pay for it. Its all about finesse.

- Chef Johnny

Isn't it too small and not wide enought to be effective as a fish spatula?

I see some that are metal, but wouldn't that be a problem for most people when they cook a fish in a non-stick pan?

Maybe, they use it for the BBQ too?

[paulraphael]

Matfer makes a pretty decent fish spat for nonstick pans. I have one, but stopped using it when I stopped using nonstick pans for fish. I've found that if you let fish brown properly before touching it, the skin will actually release on its own when the maillard reactions get to a certain point. And bare metal does a much better job of browning. It also lets you see how well browned any butter or pan drippings are.

I much prefer a standard fish spat to a palette knife when dealing with most fish. The wider blade gives more support. I like palette knives and spoons for scallops, wee fish, etc...

[Kerry Beal]

My new favourite fish spatula for non stick pans.

[Fat Guy]

That makes me wonder whether it would be possible to modify various other kitchen tools to be non-scratching, by coating an edge in some sort of enamel or epoxy or whatever.

[Susie Q]

Being a leftie I loved my Lamson Sharp in the southpaw style so much I also bought the right hand version. I use it mainly with the left to lift food and it's there for other cooks in the kitchen to use.

Kerry Beal, what brand is the metal/silicone spatula?

Edited July 10, 2011 by Susie Q (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Being a leftie I loved my Lamson Sharp in the southpaw style so much I also bought the right hand version. I use it mainly with the left to lift food and it's there for other cooks in the kitchen to use.

Kerry Beal, what brand is the metal/silicone spatula?

That little baby is a Kuhn Rikon. Shown here on Amazon.

[Kerry Beal]

That makes me wonder whether it would be possible to modify various other kitchen tools to be non-scratching, by coating an edge in some sort of enamel or epoxy or whatever.

Of course it would HAVE to be food grade or the good grade police would attack! I wonder if I could dip the edges of things in the food grade silicone I have for making chocolate molds (suitable for sugar work so will handle the high temperatures). I suspect there would have to be some sort of mold made for things so they tapered to a point where required.

[BKYLN]

You don't need nonstick pans to cook fish. Where do people get this notion?

[harrysnapperorgans]

You don't need nonstick pans to cook fish. Where do people get this notion?

I agree. I cooked snapper tonight in my $4 thrift store cast iron pan, and it didn't stick at all. From when I put it in to when I took it out, if I gave the pan a tiny shake, the fish would slide easily.

[Kerry Beal]

I don't cook fish - I like a fish spatula for the majority of my flipping - so I do need one for non stick pans.

[David A. Goldfarb]

That makes me wonder whether it would be possible to modify various other kitchen tools to be non-scratching, by coating an edge in some sort of enamel or epoxy or whatever.

Oxo makes some utensils like this. I have this spatula, which is very thin flexible metal sheathed in silicone, for use with teflon and tin-lined copper pans. It works pretty well for fish, as long as the pan isn't too small.

[BKYLN]

You don't need nonstick pans to cook fish. Where do people get this notion?

I agree. I cooked snapper tonight in my $4 thrift store cast iron pan, and it didn't stick at all. From when I put it in to when I took it out, if I gave the pan a tiny shake, the fish would slide easily.

Yep. As long as the pan is hot enough when the fish goes in, it won't stick. For skin-on fish, the oil should be just smoking.

[Fat Guy]

That assumes you use enough oil to make the food not stick. The difference is that in a nonstick pan you can cook with substantially less fat.

[paulraphael]

That assumes you use enough oil to make the food not stick. The difference is that in a nonstick pan you can cook with substantially less fat.

The primary purpose of the oil in the pan is browning the fish properly. Food has an irregular surface that doesn't fully contact the pan. Oil provides even conduction to every indentation and allows the fish to brown more quickly and evenly. In order to get these benefits, you need much more oil than is required to prevent sticking.

Keeping fish from sticking is 100% about technique. You can cook a fillet with the skin on it in a stainless steel pan if you do it properly. The secret is that the proteins will stick while they're cooking, but will release on their own after the maillard reactions are complete. You have to place or slide the fish onto the hot pan quickly and accurately, because it will adhere in just a couple of seconds. Then you LEAVE IT! That's the hard part to get used to—doing nothing. The fish spat isn't used as a scraper to tear the fish off the bottom of the pan. If it doesn't slip under the fish, you just have to wait a bit longer.

This does require accurate modulation of the pan's temperature. If the pan isn't hot enough, you'll risk overcooking the fish before it's ready to release.