About Spearos Kitchen
Spearos Kitchen is an ocean to table education platform focused on helping the recreational spearfishing and fishing communities responsibly utilize their catch through recipes, species guides, fillet tutorials, and educational content.
What are Yellow Jack Collars?
Yellow jack collars are the flavorful section of meat located just behind the gills and below the head, surrounding the pectoral fins. While often overlooked, the collar contains tender, well-marbled meat that stays moist during cooking and offers a rich, buttery texture. Because these muscles are constantly used by the fish for swimming, the meat develops exceptional flavor that many seafood enthusiasts consider a hidden delicacy.
Yellow jack collars are incredibly versatile and can be grilled, broiled, baked, smoked, or fried until the skin becomes crispy and the meat easily pulls away from the bone. Their naturally rich flavor pairs well with bold marinades, citrus, herbs, and savory sauces, making them an excellent choice for everything from simple grilled dishes to ramen, tacos, and rice bowls. Using the collars is also a great way to reduce waste and make the most of your catch.
Yellow Jack Collar Ramen Recipe
As of late, ramen has been one of favorite meals to make. I’ve recently done several variations of Pork, Beef, and Chicken Ramen, but for this recipe, I decided to make a fish collar ramen with a yellow jack that I got. This particular fish was dry aged for over 7 days before I made a broth out of it, and I think it really added some additional flavor to the finished product!
I love this recipe because it utilizes parts of the fish completely separate from the fish fillets, therefore, it’s an additional meal that can be made from just one fish. In the bowl pictured above, I actually made the noodles from scratch, but for this recipe I am just going to recommend using store bought ramen noodles to keep it simple. All of the ingredients for this recipe should be available at your local grocery store, with the exception of the fish.
How I Got The Fish For This Yellow Jack Collar Recipe
I got this particular yellow jack out spearfishing off my kayak off of Dania Beach. I kept seeing the same school come by as I was laying on the bottom and eventually settled on taking the biggest one in the school. I got a good shot right through the jaw, so both of the fillets remained in tact!
Yellow jacks are a pretty common sight here in South Florida. They do get upwards of over 20 pounds, but this one was on the smaller side. Even if you don’t get the biggest fish, if you properly break them down and utilize all of the parts then you’ll be able to make more than just one meal out of them. This fish ramen is a testament to that!
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Yellow Jack Recipes You Might Like
We have a full database of recipes that would be suitable for preparing this fish, we also have a few wahoo fish recipes on the recipes tab of this page. Every part of the fish is delicious, be sure to check out our recipes for all of the different parts!
Yellow Jack Collar Ramen
