This past weekend my friend suggested making Hawaiian poke for a weekend dinner. Our initial plan was to drive an hour away to the Japanese grocery for the fish but I remembered a highly recommended local fish monger. I should have visited shop earlier since the quality of the fish was very good. The owner is a marine biologist and has previously consulted in aquaculture projects. Anyway we were able to get the last bluefin tuna block and got some yellowtail tuna as well. On a lark, I asked if they had any fish collars. The person doing checkout replied they had salmon and possibly tuna heads. At the same time, one of the managers overheard our conversation and asked if I was interested in hamachi collars. They had just received a couple of packages the day before. I immediately said yes and ended up with 2.5 lbs. To be honest, I was surprised that a regular fish monger in Ohio had these. Usually I've seen these only in Asian groceries.


Four collars in total



Ended up broiling three

The collars ended up being a hit for dinner. For those that are wondering, the little blocks beside the collars are yellowfin tuna. According to my friend preparing the poke, meat with any sinew/silver skin shouldn't be used for poke. Didn't want to throw these pieces away so I roasted them instead.