Meet Chef Nick Cobarruvias! He’s the maestro behind the magic at Son’s Addition in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco, CA. We challenged Nick to create a dish featuring a fish from our arsenal of awesome and man, did he nail it with his Broiled Yellowtail Collar!
Chef Nick Cobarruvias’s tips for a perfectly prepared Broiled Yellowtail Collar…
INGREDIENTS FOR THE COOKING OF THE COLLAR:
Yellowtail Collar (Substitute with Halibut Collar or Salmon Collar)
Salt
TOOLS:
Scaler
Knife
Large-rimmed baking sheet
Step 1:
Use a scaler if you have one on hand or simply use the back of a knife to remove the scales of the skin and run under cold water. Score your collar with a sharp knife in a crosshatch pattern on the skin side. Scoring makes the skin easier to eat.🔪
Step 2:
Season the yellowtail all over with salt and let stand for 15 minutes, then pat dry with paper towels.
Step 3:
Preheat the broiler to a hefty 500 degrees and position the rack 8 to 10 inches from the heat. Season the yellowtail collars lightly with salt and arrange skin side up on a large rimmed baking sheet. Broil for about 10 minutes, until the skin is lightly charred. Flip the collars and broil for 10 minutes longer, until the meat flakes with a fork and the skin is as crisp as possible.
Broiled Yellowtail Collar with Spicy Tomatillo Nước Chấm Topped with a Dried Chile and Radish Salad
INGREDIENTS FOR THE TOMATILLO Nước chấm:
Tomatillos
Three Crabs Fish Sauce
Thai bird peppers
White onion
Garlic
Salt & Pepper to taste
Lime juice
Cilantro
TOOLS:
Cast-Iron Skillet
Blender
Step 4:
In a cast-iron skillet char half the tomatillos with Thai bird peppers, a rough-cut onion, garlic, salt & pepper to taste.
Step 5
Blend the charred tomatillo mixture with other half of the raw tomatillos with Three Crabs fish sauce.
“For the sauce we char half of the tomatillos and the other half we blend raw with Three Crabs Fish Sauce (we tried others but it never quite tasted the same). We also tried it with different peppers but we decided on Thai birds. They have the right amount of heat and “green” pepper flavor so it matches with the tomatillos. I think the sauce works so well because it’s balanced and has just the right amount of umami and spice. After we initially made it we took a few different turns at what to pair it with. We did a tamale, then a steak fish but the fattiness of the collar is what I think pairs so well so it stuck.”FOR THE SALAD:
Radish Thinly-sliced
Red onion thinly-sliced
Dried chili
Cilantro
Salt & pepper to taste
Combine & mix with your favorite dressing. Olive Oil & Lemon Juice recommended.
THE BACKSTORY
“When we used to have a hamachi crudo on our menu we’d always save the collars for the week and make them for us to eat as snacks. Then one time we used them to make fish tacos and it was really awesome with salsa. On another night we were making a charred tomatillo salsa and we totally overcooked it, so I said to my sous chef, 'Shit we'll just blend it and add some cilantro and fish sauce and we’ll use it for staff meal.' The result was so freakin’ good, we decided to tweak it with some garlic and lime juice and we loved it!”
Voila! Broiled Yellowtail Collar with a spicy tomatillo Nước chấm topped with a dried chile and radish salad was born!
ABOUT CHEF NICK COBARRUVIAS
Chef Nicolas Cobarruvias has a fresh take on approachable fine dining. A native Texan, Chef Cobarruvias first gained interest from his mother Linda and Aunt Virginia, who on Sundays had a simmering pot on the stove to feed the entire family. While majoring in Political Science and Philosophy at the University of Texas, he worked in kitchens to support himself, learning everything from dishwashing to prep cooking. After graduating from UT, he decided to follow his parent's advice and enroll in the CCA in San Francisco. Later he worked with the acclaimed chef, Traci Des Jardins, in San Francisco then moved to Luna Park San Francisco as Executive Chef. In 2009, he moved to Los Angeles to open two restaurants for LunaPark owner, AJ Gilbert, and served as the Executive Chef at The Farm of Beverly Hills, where he created a fine dining experience with classic American cuisine. Chef Cobarruvias returned to San Francisco in 2016 as the Chef de Cuisine at Marlowe under acclaimed chef, Jennifer Puccio. He now leads the charge at Son’s Addition, which is a loving collaboration between Nick & his wife, Anna Sager Cobarruvias of Maverick & SBE.
Adapted from the original series on Instagram by Stephanie Hughes
Visit our shop for the freshest seafood: Four Star Seafood & Provisions
