In this article, we delve into the world of fish spatulas, exploring the best options available and sharing our insights from extensive testing.
Our Top Picks
Fish Spatula Blade Angles
Victorinox Flexible Slotted Spatula has a blade angle of 79 degrees.
Lamson Flexible Slotted Spatula has a blade angle of 80 degrees.
Winco Blade Fish Spatula has a blade angle of 74 degrees.
Wusthof Fish Spatula has a blade angle of 72 degrees.
MIU Stainless Steel Fish Spatula has a blade angle of 77 degrees.
Misen Fish Spatula has a blade angle of 67 degrees.
Sur La Table Silicone Edge Slotted Fish Spatula has a blade angle of 73 degrees.
KitchenAid Classic Flex Spatula has a blade angle of 82 degrees.
Sabatier Black Flex spatula Angled Fish Spatula has a blade angle of 64 degrees.
The blades with more angled edges gently cupped the food when they first slid under it, whereas the straighter ones had to be lifted at an odd angle and slid under all at once. While the MIU had less of an angled edge, it also had a more extreme offset, which aided its maneuverability.
Bigger Blades Weren’t Better
Smaller blades felt more controlled, while bigger fish spatulas felt gangly.
While in some cases having more surface area can be useful, I found the bigger-bladed spatulas, namely the Mercer Hell’s Handle Large Fish Spatula (which had a 9-inch blade) and the OXO Good Grips Fish Spatula (with an 8-inch blade), were just too darn big; they dwarfed not only the food I flipped, but also my small hands. So unless you’re a grill master flipping ginormous burgers on a daily basis, stick to spatulas with blades under seven inches.
To Find the Best Offset Turners, We Smashed Loads of Burgers and Flipped Pancakes
A Good Handle Made a Difference
We were not a fan of rough, abrasive handles.
While it might seem insignificant, a bad handle is a deal breaker; if it’s uncomfortable to hold, you won’t want to bother using it. My favorite handles were smooth but grippy and had a bit of heft to them. My least favorite were the roughly hewn, wooden ones that almost felt itchy to hold.
Stiffer Silicone Was Best
The silicone on the Misen spatula was a bit softer than that of the Sur La Table, causing it to bend more when pressed.
Silicone-lined spatulas are safe for use with nonstick, ceramic, and enameled cast iron cookware. While I was skeptical of silicone-edged fish spatulas, the offering from Sur La Table convinced me otherwise: Instead of ultra-flexible silicone that mashed into the pan, like on the Misen, the silicone lining on the Sur La Table was actually quite sturdy. I really noticed the difference when flipping salmon onto its side; the Misen struggled to lift it since its silicone edge was so soft and flexible, but the Sur La Table was sturdy enough to turn it on its side with ease.
The Criteria: What to Look for in a Good Fish Spatula
A good fish spatula should be sturdy enough to lift and flip heavier items, like burgers, but also nimble enough to lift delicate fish filets. It should also have an angled blade edge (ideally 74 degrees or less) for easy maneuvering and a handle that is smooth and grippy. If it’s silicone-lined, make sure it’s sturdy.
Our Favorite Fish Spatulas
The Best Fish Spatula
Wusthof Fish Spatula
$65 at Amazon
$15 at Walmart
View on Wusthof.
When it comes to selecting the perfect fish spatula, there are several factors to consider, including comfort, durability, and price. Here’s a detailed look at some of the top-rated options on the market.
**The Overall Winner:** This spatula boasts a smooth, comfortable handle and a 72-degree angled blade, making it feel like an extension of your hand. It effortlessly glides under fish and burgers, and even flips flat pancakes with ease. Despite its high price, it remains in excellent condition after two years of use, maintaining its flipping perfection. Key Specs: Synthetic polypropylene and stainless steel materials, weighing 3.7 ounces with a 72-degree edge angle and a 6.5-inch blade length. Hand-washing is recommended, and unfortunately, there is no left-handed option available.
**The Best Budget Fish Spatula:** Winco Fish Spatula offers affordability without compromising quality. The angled blade edges easily under various foods, and the smooth handle is a plus. However, the handle’s roughness at the metal insertion point and the lack of a left-handed version are minor drawbacks. Key Specs: Made of stainless steel and wood, it weighs 4.8 ounces with a 74-degree edge angle and a 6.5-inch blade length. It is dishwasher-safe, though hand-washing is recommended for wood products.
**Alternative Budget Pick:** MIU France Large Stainless Steel Slotted Turner stands out for its nimble design and excellent performance with fish and burgers. The extreme offset scoop is perfect for fragile filets, and it is comfortable to hold. It is also dishwasher-safe, adding to its convenience. However, the less angled blade end makes it slightly more challenging to work with very flat foods like pancakes, and there is no left-handed version. Key Specs: Constructed from stainless steel and plastic, it weighs 2.4 ounces with a 79-degree edge angle and a 6.5-inch blade length.
**The Best Silicone-Lined Fish Spatula:** Sur La Table Silicone Edge Slotted Fish Spatula features a sturdy silicone lining on its angled blade, which aids in lifting, flipping, and nudging food in the pan. The silicone, however, can be a bit difficult to clean, especially after handling greasy foods. Like the other top picks, it is only available for right-handed users. Key Specs: Made of stainless steel and silicone, it weighs 4.5 ounces with a 73-degree edge angle and a 7-inch blade length. Dishwasher-safe.
**The Best Left-Handed Fish Spatula:** Lamson Flexible Slotted Spatula (Fish Turner) for Lefties is designed specifically for left-handed users, offering flexibility and a slotted design for easy food handling. It is priced at $40 and is available on Amazon and Walmart.
What we liked:
This is a sturdy fish spatula that comes in a left-handed orientation, one of the few out there with this option. It did a decent job in all of our tests, though we do wish the blade was slightly more angled. What we didn’t like: The roughly hewn wooden handle was a bit uncomfortable to hold (though it is available for purchase with a smoother, Polyoxymethylene handle, which we’d recommend), and the straighter-edged blade made it a tad more difficult to slide under food. Key Specs Materials: Stainless steel, wood or Polyoxymethylene Weight: 3.2 ounces Edge angle: 80-degree angle Blade length: 6.5 inches Care: Hand wash Left-handed option: Yes Serious Eats / Grace Kelly The Competition Victorinox Flexible Slotted Spatula: While this wasn’t a bad spatula per se, the handle was very rough—almost itchy to hold— and the blade had a straighter angle than most of our winners, at around 79 degrees. Mercer Hell’s Handle Large Fish Spatula: With a whopping 9-inch long blade, this massive spatula is great if you’re slinging fish, pancakes and burgers from a flat top at a diner. But for home cooks, it’s just too large to be practical. OXO Good Grips Fish Spatula: This was another large spatula with an 8-inch blade that made it unwieldy. The blade is also soldered on, which isn’t a very secure way to attach metal to metal (welding, where the metal melts and adheres, is more secure). And while there is a smaller version available, we still think the soldered blade and straighter edge are not ideal. Misen Fish Spatula: While I liked the grippy, silicone-lined handle, the silicone on the blade’s edge was a little too soft to firmly and decisively slide under and flip foods. All-Clad T198 Stainless Steel Flexible Slotted Spatula: This was a terrible spatula with a super bendy metal blade that struggled to hold everything we set it against—even pancakes. It drooped, it sagged, and when I washed it, the bendy blade flung water everywhere. KitchenAid Classic Flex Spatula: The handle on this spatula felt cheap and bulky, but the blade, while narrow and rather straight, did a surprisingly good job flipping food. Sabatier Black Flex Angled Fish Spatula: While the blade on this spatula did a decent job sliding under food, the handle was a bit large and boxy. FAQs What type of spatula should you use? There are many kinds of spatulas: fish spatulas, offset turner spatulas, nonstick spatulas, silicone spatulas, etc. They all have their merits, but knowing what each is good for can be helpful. Fish spatulas, as the name suggests, are great for flipping all manner of fish, but especially delicate filets like cod, haddock, and flounder. And because they have slots, they are also good for flipping burgers, since they allow grease to fall away. Fish spatulas can also be used to flip pancakes and roasted vegetables. Offset turner spatulas have heads made of a single sheet of metal, providing heft and making them great for smashing burgers or cutting and serving casseroles. Nonstick spatulas (also called turners) have compact heads that are coated in a nonstick-safe material, and as such are good to use with cookware with prone-to-scratch surfaces.Silicone spatulas are uniquely designed for scraping and stirring, featuring smaller, thicker heads that are not ideal for flipping or serving items.
Fish spatulas, on the other hand, are specifically named for their exceptional performance in flipping fish. Their light, nimble, and bendy blades can slide under delicate fish fillets or small whole fish without breaking them apart. When it comes to using metal fish spatulas on cast iron pans, it’s absolutely possible. Unlike nonstick surfaces, cast iron is incredibly durable, allowing even the use of chainmail scrubbers for cleaning. Therefore, a flexible metal fish spatula is a suitable choice for cast iron. Fish spatulas are not only great for fish but also for grilling. Their flexibility and slotted design allow grease to drip through, which is beneficial when flipping burgers. The nimble metal blade easily slides under delicate proteins like fish, ensuring a mess-free removal process. Our expertise is derived from Grace Kelly, an editor at Serious Eats, who has previously tested equipment and ingredients for America’s Test Kitchen. With a background as a journalist, cook, and bartender, she has written numerous reviews for Serious Eats, including on petty knives, tinned fish, and tortilla presses. For this review, we tested 12 fish spatulas by using them to flip salmon filets, pancakes, and burgers, and we also hand-washed each spatula to assess their cleaning ease. We also tested 11 spatulas for nonstick pans to determine which ones scraped and stirred with ease. Tools & Gadgets, Seafood Guides
