Anyone who has cooked fish in a frying pan knows the moment. The skin is crisp, the flesh is nearly done, you go in with a regular spatula to turn it, and the fillet breaks in half. One piece flips, the other sticks, and dinner now looks like it was dropped. More often than not, the spatula is to blame.

A normal turner is thick and stiff, so it pushes against the fillet instead of sliding under it. A fish spatula is the opposite: a long, thin, slightly flexible blade that slips underneath and supports the whole length of the fillet as you lift. The OXO Good Grips Slotted Fish Spatula is a popular take on it, with a 4.8-star average from over 11,000 ratings on Amazon at the time of writing.

Why the shape matters

Look at the head on this one and you’ll notice it’s oversized and angled. That length is the point. A salmon fillet or a whole sea bass needs support from end to end, otherwise the middle sags and splits as soon as it leaves the pan. The bevelled front edge is thin enough to get under delicate skin without tearing it, and the slots let oil drain away so you’re not carrying a puddle of fat to the plate.

It’s stainless steel, with OXO’s usual soft black handle, and it measures roughly 13.6 inches long according to the listing, which keeps your knuckles away from spitting oil.

Technique counts too

Dry the skin with kitchen paper and get the pan properly hot before the fish goes in, because wet skin sticks. Then leave it alone. If it won’t release when you nudge it, it isn’t ready, and another minute usually sorts that out on its own. When it’s time, slide the blade in from the thinner side in one confident push rather than poking at it, and flip once. Every extra turn is another chance for it to break.

Fried eggs, fishcakes, pancakes and biscuits off a baking sheet all come up more cleanly with a thin edge like this, so expect it to drift out of the fish drawer. It is metal, mind. The listing says it’s fine on non-stick, but if you have a pan you’re precious about, go easy or use silicone on that one.

You can see the OXO Good Grips Slotted Fish Spatula on Amazon.