Tuna Head - The Sequel - plus Preparing Tuna Collar

Tuna Head - The Sequel -  まぐろ　かぶと　続編 - Maguro no kabuto 

As discussed in the original "tuna head cooking at home" there is something about cooking tuna heads that appeals to the masses - at least a very odd subset of the masses. I can't figure it out. Right after 7-11 Onigiri and how to make Umeshu, cooking tuna heads falls into place in the rankings. My seemingly insignificant post is the number one Google result when searching for "cook tuna head"???  Many people pay money to improve their search ranking, yet I have done nothing...So why not give the masses more of what they want? Millions are buying duck calls, and who would have figured millions are cooking tuna heads? If fish collars are more your thing, (in Japan they call them "kama") there's an entire section on collars below.

So today we introduce a new way of cooking and preparing your tuna head. This can be used with just about any fish head by the way, so don't kill yourself trying to find a tuna head. Maybe its easier to find a hamachi or a salmon head. Tuna can be very rich tasting, so other fish heads and collars are good options to try. The original post focused on a huge tuna head that had to be cooked in your oven or specially modified grill. Here I'm using a smaller heads that can be cooked up in a saucepan.

Braised Tuna Head

My trusted source for this recipe assures me of its authenticity. We had a few problems proof testing the recipe provided. Mainly it was a "follow-ability" issue. But we got through it ;-)

Tuna "Kabuto" (head) Braising

2 ~ 3 servings

Ingredients:  

Tuna Head - 900 g  (this is 2lbs)

Burdock root - 100g (this is not a critical ingredient since it's a garnish, but it is surprisingly available on the mainland U.S.)  

White leek -- 1/2 stalk

Ginger -- 1 small piece

Green onions -- appropriate amount

Red pepper -- teaspoon

Sauce

Soy Sauce - 45 cc (3 tbsp)

Mirin- 75 cc (1/3 cup)

Sugar -- 75 cc (1/3 cup)

Sake -- 75 cc (1/3 cup)

Water -- 225 cc (about 1 cup)

To be used towards the end:  Sashimi Soy Sauce -- 30 cc (Note: this is a special soy sauce for....sashimi. Just use the regular soy sauce again if you can't find sashimi soy sauce.) Sashimi soy sauce usually contains bonito extract and sometimes mirin. At Hamazushi, for instance, they do have a bottle labeled as such.

Directions:

1.  Wash the burdock root and cut in 5 cm lengths -- the thicker bottom half can be cut in smaller sizes.  Once cut, place them in a bowl of water to remove the bitterness from the root. The water will turn brown from the tannins. This is normal.

2.  Peel the ginger and keep the peel -- this will be used later. Slice the ginger and cut them into fine strips, then place them into a bowl of water to prevent discoloration.

3.  Cut the white leek into desired size and slice the white portion into fine strips.

4. Boil hot water (yes this is different from just "boil water," - boiling hot water is much faster).  Once boiled, pour it over the tuna head to remove the fish smell, slime, blood or any impurities.  This will prevent the fish from releasing a strong fish scent when cooking. (see the original tuna head cooking at home for the ugly details on fish scents - yes we are a "learning organization")

** NOTE:  If the tuna head is not that fresh, prior to pouring boiling hot water, sprinkle salt over the fish and let it sit on a plate.  The fish fluid will be released after a few minutes.  Then, quickly rinse with water, followed

by pouring on the hot water (from step 4).  This process not only keeps the fish from smelling too much like fish, but it keeps the meat together so it doesn't fall apart while cooking.

** NOTE 2:  You can either pour hot water over the fish or place it quickly in boiling water and take it right out.  Must not leave it in long at all...only till the surface turns slightly white, so it's very quick.

Once the fish is "blessed" with hot water, place in COLD WATER to tighten the meat.  Rub the surface gently to remove any excess impurities.

5.  Place the sauce into a large frying pan (large enough for the fish head) and place the burdock in it till it heats up.

**Note: if you are cooking a fish head the size of the one below, good luck finding a pan large enough. Try not to buy a head this big. I'm sorry if you've already gotten to this point in the recipe with a huge tuna head but a pan too small. I can't help you.

Resurrected from the original "Tuna Head Cooking at Home"

6.  Once heated up, place the tuna head and put the other ingredients (minus the sashimi soy sauce) in the pan also.  You'll notice that the broth will only cover about 1/2 of the fish head.  Place a lid on the frying

pan (lid smaller than the pan itself...so it will be resting on the fish head - this gives you an idea of the size of the head needed).

7.  Set the range on high but watch the broth and reduce to medium or low once it boils.  Cook for about 20 minutes.  

8.  Remove the lid and pour 1/2 of the Sashimi Soy Sauce over the fish. Place the lid back on and cook on low for 10 minutes.

9.  Place the ginger peels into the pan.  By this time, most of the sauce would have evaporated so tilt the pan to scoop the broth to pour over the fish again.

10.  Place the lid back on and cook on low for 10 more minutes.

**NOTE: Watch the sauce.  If the sauce looks thick or is almost gone, stop cooking.

11.  Take the fish out and further heat the sauce till it thickens (note: mine did not thicken up too much, so you can add a little corn starch to help the process).  Once thickened, pour over the fish and serve.  Place the leek and ginger strips on the side.

TUNA COLLAR
The collar is the part of the fish just behind the gill flaps but before you get into the main body of the fish.

In Japan it is widely available and at certain fish markets, and at restaurants in both Japan and the U.S. you can get tuna collar for a reasonable price.　　

Tuna meat is very rich in flavor, and therefore it could be difficult to eat much more than a few bites. So I've also cooked up Buri collar. Buri has a lighter, more buttery flavor and is better tasting than tuna in my opinion. If you can find salmon collar, I think that would be even better.

Below you see a bunch of them at the market for 500 Yen each or about 5 USD.   These are from Shizuoka Prefecture. Japanese markets in the U.S. should carry them or you may be able to ask your local fish market to save you the collars if they process the whole tuna there. Unfortunately can be part of the "throw aways" along with the head!

Tuna collars are probably a bit easier to find than the heads. They are certainly easy to cook in the toaster ovens popular in Japan. I've seen an entire bin of collars from Chile, and more recently picked up some collars that came from Australia. Why bring in tuna (or other fish collars for that matter) into Japan from another country? Well remember that the world famous Tsukiji Fish Market is a true global market. Fish are flash frozen and shipped here every day to the market where they can fetch a good price.

Why collars are not more popular difficult to answer, but they do take more work to eat as you have to pick out the meat between the bony part of the collar. But if you've mastered chopsticks then no problem.

The Japanese word, once again, for collars is "kama" and is usually written using only the kana - either Hiragana or Katakana. I've seen it both ways on labels (かま or  カマ).  Kama means sickle. The collar resembles a sickle so there you go. It comes from the part around the gills.


The meat on the collar is very good and varied just like it is in the head. Sitting between the head and the body you get the best of both worlds. Some of the meat is close to the prized fatty belly meat (toro) and parts are closer to the cheek.  The lower parts of it are served at some sushi restaurants.

In the above photo you can see the collar to the right of the head. This was taken at AVE grocery store. I don't see the collar out too often so I suspect someone has usually bought it by the time we arrive later in the afternoon.  It's a big fish, so the collar was quite heavy and sold for 1500 Yen or about $15. 

Collars from Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan

Australian Tuna Collar - Southern Bluefin

The above photo as taken at the fish market in the basement of More's City. It's from Australia and this is the one I'll be cooking up.


Start by "blessing" the collar in the same manner above. You can pour boiling water over it and then dip quickly into cold water or you can dip it into boiling water for just a second or two and then dip into cold water.

There are many ways you can prepare a tuna collar.
One way is to simply brush with some olive oil, salt and pepper it, and then do the broil and bake method below. Serve it with a little yuzu koshou and that's it.

Another method is to use the same "holy trinity" sauce that is used in many Japanese dishes, and the same one that was used in the original Tuna Head Cooking at Home post.  That sauce recipe is:

6 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons mirin (available at the commissary or most Asian aisles)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons cooking sake. Can be omitted if you don't have sake.
1 minced garlic clove

Simmer over medium heat in a sauce pan for a few minutes to blend the flavors.

simmering sauce

Since it was quite large I broke it in half. That sounds easier than it really was. Next time I won't bother.

You can see from the above photo that this collar took up a good part of a cookie sheet.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Once warm, turn on the broiler in the oven.
Place the collar onto some foil, or foil on a broiler pan, and broil both sides to get them a bit crispy.

Remove the fish from the oven and add half the sauce to the foil, cupping the foil up a bit to keep the sauce around the collar.

Put the oven back to normal at 400F (no broiler).
Return the fish to the oven on the middle rack and cook until done. This will depend on the size of your collar, but start with 20 minutes and then test it. My Australian collar was quite large and took about 40 minutes.

When ready to serve, plate the collar and pour the rest of the sauce over the collar.

different day, different tuna collar

 Below is yet another method, this time with a Buri Collar. 

Buri Collar

Buri is sometimes called Hamachi

Marinate with basically the same sauce recipe above.

I cooked it in the frying pan with minimal sauce. Since the sauce is sugary, I added it at the end so it doesn't burn.

Buri is really tasty and better in my opinion than tuna collar

Set lunch at Hamakura - two collars.

Yellowfin Tuna head. This one I caught myself on an MWR fishing trip. (Yes, it came with a body too)

Meguro anatomy chart

In this picture above from the semi-famous Kurobatei, we see the parts of the tuna labeled. In the yellow circle we have: kama toro, kama steak, kama baked, and kama sashimi.


Below are some pictures of Yuzu Koshou. It pairs really well with fish. You can find it in the Japanese stores or make your own out of Yuza skin, hot peppers, and salt. The Kanji/hiragana looks like this 柚子こしょう