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Sweet and Salty Fish Collars

By Mads Refslund and Tama Matsuoka Wong
Photo of fish collars on a serving platter with glasses of beer plates and forks on the side.
Photo by Andrew Purcell, Food Styling by Carrie Purcell

The collar of a large fish, such as cod, is the part between the head and the body; it has a (healthy omega-3) fatty richness that is ultra-satisfying. It's one of my favorite parts of the fish. Ask your fishmonger for leftover fish collars. If using cod, know that stocks of Atlantic cod have been depleted due to unsustainable fishing methods, so choose Pacific cod or Alaskan walleye pollock.

  

Baste the fish collars with naturally sweet and salty flavor from briny kombu and dark sweet prunes. The briny and sweet sauce is easy to make ahead and store in the refrigerator.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Serves 4

Ingredients

3 cups prunes (dried up from old ugly plums or hardened in the pantry is fine)
3 (8 × 3-inch) pieces (about ½ sheet) dried kombu
4 to 8 collars from cod, bass, or other large fish collars, about 3 pounds (see headnote)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Fill a large pot with 6 cups water and bring to a boil. Add the prunes and kombu and cook over medium heat for 45 minutes. Strain and return the liquid to the pot. (Discard the prunes and kombu, or reserve for other use. Keep in mind that the prunes might have a slightly briny taste.) Turn the heat to low and simmer for another 30 minutes, until the sauce thickens and reduces to a deeper flavored syrup. You should have about 2 cups.

    Step 2

    Heat a grill (preferably with hickory) until the grate is at high heat. (Alternatively you can set the oven to broil and cook them the same way on aluminum foil.) Brush the collars with the sauce. Grill (or broil), basting frequently with the sauce, for 2–3 minutes, checking to make sure the collar is seared and golden on one side and then flipping and searing on the other side for another 1–2 minutes, until just cooked. Remove immediately and serve with sauce on the side.

Scraps, Wilt & Weeds cookbook cover with photo of cooked fish topped with greens and flowers.
Excerpted from Scraps, Wilt & Weeds: Turning Wasted Food into Plenty. Copyright © 2017 by Mads Refslund and Tama Matsuoka Wong. Reprinted with permission of Grand Central Publishing. Buy the full book from Amazon.
TagsPruneDried FruitFruitKombuSeaweedCodFishSeafoodBassMainDinnerLunchDairy FreeGluten FreeNut FreeEasy5 Ingredients or FewerGrillingBroilCookbooks

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