Formerly known as St Peter Fish, because of the dark blotches on the sides of the fish, which are supposed to represent the imprint of St Peter's thumb made as he took a piece of money from the fish's mouth. John Dory are found around southern Australia, mainly along the central and southern coast of New South Wales. John Dory are a trawled fish found at depths up to 100 metres. They are abundant in late summer to autumn and reach a maximum size of 65cm and 3kg in weight.

Buying
Sold mainly as fillets but can be purchased whole. To buy whole look for lustrous, bright skin, bulging eyes, firm flesh and a pleasant sea smell. Fillets should also be lustrous with no brown markings, a pleasant sea smell and not oozing water. John Dory is a high priced finfish.

Storing
Gill and gut fish. Wrap whole fish or fillets in plastic wrap or put in an airtight container. Keeps 2-3 days in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer providing your freezer operates at -18°C.

Preparing
Because the recovery rate of fillets from whole fish is only 30% the cost of purchasing fillets will be much higher than buying the whole fish. As John Dory has delicate flesh the skin is best left on. It is moist in texture with small, fine flakes and has a slightly sweet flavour. If fillets are large, cut in serving size portions.

Cooking
John Dory is best steamed, poached, baked, barbecued or gently pan-fried. It is best coated in flour, breadcrumbs or a light batter before frying. If baking or barbecuing, wrap in foil. Best prepared with seasonings such as lemon juice or rind, white wine, black pepper and most fresh herbs. Serve with mild flavoured vegetables and light sauces.

To fillet a John Dory

1. With a sharp knife cut around the head, through to the bone (on one side only), then cut around edge of fish.
2. Lift fillet by cutting with knife along backbone, lifting and cutting as you go until fillet is free of backbone. No need to remove skin.
3. Turn and repeat process on the other side.