Have you ever heard of St. Peter’s fish? —Jason R., University City
The short answer is no, I was blissfully unaware of the term, so I did some er, fishing.
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Legend says the name “St. Peter’s fish” originates from a section of the Gospel of St. Matthew (17: 24–27), where the apostle Peter would find a fish with a coin in its mouth with which he was to pay the temple tax. Although the species of fish was not named, it was assumed to be tilapia, a freshwater fish common in Israel’s Sea of Galilee.
According to this article in Gastro Obscura, there are restaurants along the shores of Galilee that serve St. Peter’s fish, “usually to tourists hitting the area’s Christian sites. They serve the fish whole, head and all, and either grilled or fried, with a side of lemon. The fried version seem to be slightly preferred in reviews, though grilled may be more biblically authentic.”
(Coincidentally, John Dory–which bears no resemblance or relationship to tilapia—is also sometimes referred to as St. Peter’s fish, because of a legend that its black-eye spot represents St. Peter’s fingerprints.)
The only local restaurant serving St. Peter’s fish (that we know of) is the Kirkwood location of Mike Duffy’s Bar & Grill. where the fish is “hand-dipped to order and golden fried, served with American cheese on a french roll.” Duffy’s is coincidentally located across the street from St. Peter Catholic Church.
Several years ago, I queried a few members of SLM‘s dining team to see if they were familiar with the reference.
From dining critic Dave Lowry: “Since tilapia are indigenous to the Sea of Galilee, that was supposed to be what Peter caught at Christ’s direction.” Lowry added that “tilapia are in the cichlid family, same as the Oscar fish in aquariums… They’ve just been renamed to make them more palatable.”
From the late dining writer Ann Lemons Pollack: “I first ran into St. Peter’s fish in Israel right after the first Gulf War. There are many varieties that go by that name. The 4-pounder that our group was served was definitely not tilapia. Common fish nomenclature is so inconsistent, you just have to go with the flow.”
From dining writer Pat Eby: “That’s a new one on me, too. I was raised Catholic, and I remember no-meat Fridays, of course, but not St. Peter’s fish. I have often wondered what species was used in the parable of the loaves and the fishes. Scholars say that it was likely to have been tilapia.”
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