Recipe for Strong Bones: Salmon Head Stock
Tara Carpenter, NC.
Holistic nutritional service for people of all ages using The Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D.) to heal yeast, bacterial, & viral infections.

Salmon heads are packed with tender meat and an abundance of fat along the jawbone. They are prized for making a rich fish stock that can be used as a base for soup of all kinds and are shown to contain vitamin A, Omega-3, iron, zinc, and calcium. I felt apprehensive to make salmon head stock. I have tons of experience with chicken and other meat stocks, yet had never made fish stock and imagined the house smelling ‘fishy’!!
I knew the benefits of this liquid gold and that fish head stock can strengthen bones/joints, reverse tooth decay. I knew it as an anti-inflammatory that can bring health to the thyroid, eyes, and gut lining. What convinced me though 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 the art of making traditional foods like milk kefir, cod liver oil, unsalted kraut, marrow, and liver. These are the foods I like to give my attention to and talk about. The foods gracing my kitchen with the 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
- 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.
- Clean thoroughly with water.
- Place them in a soup pot with enough water to cover heads by at least 1-inch.
- Add 2-4 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, and 1-2 Tbs. thin sliced ginger.
- Bring to simmer and reduce heat to low.
- Simmer for 30-45 minutes, should only bubble slightly, note that cooking for more than an hour will turn the stock bitter.
- Skim off any foam that may rise to the top.
- Strain through a couple layers of cheesecloth.
- Pick the meat and soft tissue off bones, anything soft is edible, including eyes and brains.
- Return the meat and tissue to the stock.
- 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!
9 replies on “Salmon Head Stock for Strong Bones”
30-45 minutes is the correct amount of time to allow things to simmer. Thank you for bringing that error to my attention, I was editing that recipe a couple days ago and forgot to delete that above line 🙂
Exactly how long should it simmer? Number 5 says it should simmer 30 minutes. Then number 6 says to simmer 30 to 45 minutes. Does that mean it should simmer 1 hr to 1 hr and 15 minutes? thanks
I haven’t tried slow cooking it, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I’d just watch it closely the first time you do it, as some slow cookers heat up quite hot and it’s best if this stock simmers at a very slow bubble. You could always lift the lid a bit to keep it so if need be.
Thanks for sharing! I wonder if i can slowcook this one, have you tried?
Such a great recipe and will add a fantastic depth of flavour to any dish used in. I personally can’t stand the smell and need to get over that, I have a tub of langoustine heads in my freezer all ready for stock making….
Yes, I use a variety of stocks as the base for many things that cook in liquid. I bet that risotto would take on a lovely flavor when cooked in the fish stock!
This is such a great idea! I’ve never thought about making stock from salmon heads. How cool. I bet this might taste really good in a risotto with fish? Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Hi Annie, I don’t see why not. I personally have never tried it for I freeze mine in quart-sized Ziploc bags. I fill them, lay them flat on a cookie tray, freeze, and then stack them in back of freezer. Here’s a post on how to can stock by one of my favorite bloggers https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2012/12/how-to-can-homemade-stock-or-broth.html
Can I pressure can this ?