Species sheet · The Edible Ocean
Orange roughy
It has watched a century and a half go by and said nothing.
- Roasted whole in the oven
- Thick steaks, grilled
- Poached in a saffron court-bouillon
- In French
- Empereur
- Scientific name
- Hoplostethus atlanticus
- In the water
- Seamounts and slopes of the Atlantic and Pacific, between 180 and 1,800 metres, in water at four degrees.
- Season & buying
- A very slow-growing stock: buy it rarely, and never without a clear origin.
- Common length
- ~40 cm
- How to identify it
- Deep body, close to a disc
Large head crossed by bony ridges
Vivid orange, deepest on the fins
On the plate
White, firm, pearly flesh with a clean shellfish note.
Avoid: The freezer, which ruins its pearly texture.
It can live past a hundred and fifty years and does not breed until its thirties, which is why a single decade of fishing collapsed the stock.
In Umay recipes
One Umay recipe calls for it.
