Salmon Head Fish Stock

Salmon Head Fish Stock

Tara Carpenter, NC.

Holistic nutrition for digestion; specialized in yeast overgrowth. 

Originally published: April 1, 2014

Salmon heads are packed with tender meat and abundant fat along the jawbone and prized for making rich fish stock that can be used as a base for soup of all kinds. Salmon head fish stock contains vitamin A, Omega-3, iron, zinc, and calcium.

I felt apprehensive to make salmon head stock because though I have experience with chicken and other meat stock, I have never made fish stock and imagined my whole home would smell fishy!

I knew the benefits of stock in general; that this liquid gold can strengthen bones and joints, reverse tooth decay, and as an anti-inflammatory brings health to thyroid, eyes, and gut lining. What convinced me is that fish head stock is a traditional food that’s been around for centuries and revered in most parts of the world.

As many of my readers know, I love preserving traditional foods like milk kefir, cod liver oil, unsalted kraut, marrow, and liver. These are the foods I give my attention to and talk about. The foods gracing my kitchen with hope of normalizing them for my own children who will one day give to their children: my grandchildren.

This looking ahead propels me to the fish market for a pair of wild salmon heads. On making the stock, I am surprised the smell is pleasant and the stock is as savory as chicken stock with a delicacy all its own. Very easy to make! Two hours start to finish.

Fish Head Stock 

Makes: about 5 cups

Ingredients

1-2 pounds of salmon fish heads

2-4 garlic cloves

1-2 bay leaves

1-2 Tbsp. ginger, thinly sliced

Method

1. Remove gills with kitchen shears; these are attached to the head on each end; cut them at the joint where they attach. Discard. If you skip this part, the gills will give stock bad color and off-taste. Ask the guy behind the fish counter to remove them for you.
2. Clean thoroughly with water.
3. Place them in a soup pot with enough water to cover heads by at least 1-inch.
4. Add 2-4 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, and 1-2 Tbs. thin sliced ginger.
5. Bring to simmer and reduce heat to low.  
6. Simmer for 30-45 minutes, should only bubble slightly, note that cooking for more than an hour will turn the stock bitter.
7. Skim off any foam that may rise to the top.
8. Strain through a couple layers of cheesecloth.
9. Pick the meat and soft tissue off bones, anything soft is edible, including eyes and brains.
10. Return the meat and tissue to the stock.
11. Store in fridge up to 5 days or freeze for several months.

Tips & Tricks

• Add sauteed onions, garlic, leeks, cabbage, or lemon at any point while fish heads cook.
• Substitute fish stock for vegetable stock in fish chowder or creamy salmon soup.
• Squeamish about fish eyes? No worries, they dissolve into stock and fatty tissue around eyes is rich in vitamin A.
• Head is healthiest part of fish to eat, also the spine. 
• Salmon heads give stock strong flavor; if want mild flavor try cod, halibut, bass, or another white fish. Use one type of fish or combo.
• This is a friendly recipe for those on The Body Ecology Diet; a healing protocol for gut imbalances (i.e., yeast overgrowth, GBS+).
• If have leaky gut, Crohn’s, autism, ADHD, seizures/tics, avoid long-cooked broth. Stick to short-cooked stocks because free glutamates (MSG, glutamine, glutamic acid) increase the longer bones are cooked. This can bother people.
• Hard time sourcing fish heads? Special order from these guys. 
• Here’s a list of fish to eat, fish to avoid.

This recipe is from Cure Tooth Decay by Ramiel Nagel who says best stock for bone/tooth decay comes from wild fish carcasses, heads, and organs.

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References

Nagel, R. (2011). Cure Tooth Decay. Los Gatos, CA: Golden Child Publishing

Paula, CHS. (2012). Author of a website called Whole Intentions Fish Heads in My Stock Pot

Schuette, K. (2017). Stock vs. Broth – Are You Confused. Retrieved from Healthy Home Economist

Worker Bee (2016). Fish Head Broth. Retrieved from Mark’s Daily Apple

Photo credit: https://thedomesticman.com/tag/stock/

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 May all bellies be happy!