ABOUT THE AUTHOR
WILL LEVATINO
Restaurant owner, chef, Spearo, fisherman, and forager. With 25 years in the restaurant industry, I use what I’ve learned to showcase what’s possible with off cuts, underutilized species and bycatch. My specialty is stretching the catch and getting the most with very little.
Southern Buttermilk Fried Grouper Collar With Hot Honey
Being a fisherman and a restaurant owner seem to go hand-in-hand. I constantly found myself up against getting as much product yield as I could off of each fish. With food cost in mind, I had to figure out how to use as much of the animal as possible. In my restaurant we use about 95% of each fish. This got me to thinking about how I use my catch in my recreational life and how I honor that fish That brings me to what I want to talk to you about today.
Most fishermen believe that sustainability, ethical fishing and responsibility begin and end on the water. Well, it actually carries over to the kitchen in a major way. Time and time again I’ve watched fishermen clean their catch, keep the fillets and discard the rest of the animal. The amount of waste that gets discarded is heartbreaking (that’s the chef in me). There are incredible parts of the fish you are throwing away, that maybe you didn’t even know you could eat.
1 have fed parties of 10 just off discarded cuts of fish. Offcuts like organs, heads, collars and the rack. Let’s go through what I mean. For you more adventurous eaters you have liver and roe sacks that can be turned into incredible appetizers and side dishes, but let’s start slow for the less adventurous. People think heads and collars are just for soup stock…. Well, that’s a start.
You can roast heads and collars, pick the meat and do tostadas, tacos, pasta dishes, fish cakes, fish burgers, salads, sandwiches, and the list goes on and on. The meat is very versatile and sometimes better than the fillet. My absolute favorite cut is the collar. On smaller fish it’s a great appetizer, on larger fish it’s an entire meal. The meat is encapsulated by cartilage and bone and is almost impossible to overcook. It’s basically the chicken thigh of the fish and I treat it just like one. Try one marinated then grilled and you’ll never throw it away again.
Most people shy away from these cuts because they’re unfamiliar with them. but I promise you, you will not be disappointed. In most cultures they use EVERY part of the animal and this is a practice we need to get better at. You’ll find you need less fish to feed more people. So to keep our oceans healthy and to keep supplying us with food, be mindful not only of your fishing practices on and in the water but also in the kitchen.
Here’s one of my favorite ways to eat a fried grouper collar:
