Making Safe Fish Stock?

[Metasequoia]

I'd like to branch out beyond beef/chicken/turkey bone broths & make some fish stock, however, I'm not sure where I could find some safe fish carcasses/heads. If I went to a regular fishmonger, he'd likely have all of the scraps mixed together, both from the higher mercury fish & the farmed fish. Do you think I could go to a fishmonger & ask that he set aside scraps from say, wild alaskan salmon & then settle on a reasonable price for me to pick up once every week or two?

For those of you who make fish stock, where do you get your fish?

[Periwinkle]

Hi!

I go to the Whole Foods in Havertown and they have given me the heads & carcass of the wild Alaskan coho salmon. I called ahead of time and talked to the manager who then let me talk to the "guy who handles the fish" and we set it up. I last did it about 6 months ago.

[tanyalynn]

I asked at my local WF and they told me they compost the fish remains so they can't/don't give them away. Glad other folks have had better luck!

[CluckyInAZ]

I buy whole frozen wild alaskan salmon from a fisherman who lives in my state, most of the time. His fish is great and he ships. http://fishhugger.com/ I thaw, gut and fillet and make stock with what's left. There is often roe in the fish too, for a bonus.

[kbchavez]

I thought you weren't supposed to make stock with oily fish like salmon... am I wrong?

[Periwinkle]

Originally Posted by kbchavez

I thought you weren't supposed to make stock with oily fish like salmon... am I wrong?

uh oh! well, sadly it's one of the few fishes I actually trust anymore so that's what I asked for, figuring one fish is as good as another. I don't have nearly as much experience with fish stock as I do chicken stock, so not sure what to say other than it made stock that I used as instructed for some homemade dishes (NT ketchup, and I think we did a satay sauce with it - need to double check with dh).

[CluckyInAZ]

NT says not to use oily stock, but I am sure salmon stock is a traditional food. And it is delicious : There are a few things Sally Fallon says that I think are based more on her eccentricities than facts.

[zeldabee]

I was a chef for a long time, and the prevailing wisdom was that you use white, non-oily fish for stock. I won't argue about whether or not Sally Fallon is eccentric, but that one is pretty common.

[Metasequoia]

Originally Posted by Periwinkle

Hi!

I go to the Whole Foods in Havertown and they have given me the heads & carcass of the wild Alaskan coho salmon. I called ahead of time and talked to the manager who then let me talk to the "guy who handles the fish" and we set it up. I last did it about 6 months ago.

Sorry I dropped the ball about getting together! : We've had a string of family b-days, Dd1 will be 8 years old tomorrow! and allergy testing, etc, I've been swamped! Things should slow down a bit soon though.

I thought about asking WF - also Hill's. I'll give it a shot!

Oh, and just because cooks don't use oily fish to make stock doesn't mean it's not healthy, maybe it just makes for an extra oily stock or something that would just be a cosmetic component in restaurant dishes. : I can't imagine that traditional societies would just ditch the carcass of their salmon, yk?

[kbchavez]

I thought it had something to do with the omega-3's being too fragile, and they would go rancid making stock? If this is the case, the bones could still be used, though.

[Metasequoia]

I think you'e right -

Originally Posted by S.F.

Ideally, fish stock is made from the bones of sole or turbot. In Europe, you can buy these fish on the bone. The fish monger skins and filets the fish for you, giving you the filets for your evening meal and the bones for making the stock and final sauce. Unfortunately, in America sole arrives at the fish market preboned. But snapper, rock fish and other non-oily fish work equally well; and a good fish merchant will save the carcasses for you if you ask him. As he normally throws these carcasses away, he shouldn't charge you for them. Be sure to take the heads as well as the body—these are especially rich in iodine and fat-soluble vitamins. Classic cooking texts advise against using oily fish such as salmon for making broth, probably because highly unsaturated fish oils become rancid during the long cooking process.

S.F. says to use 3 or 4 whole carcasses, including heads, of non-oily fish such as sole, turbot, rockfish or snapper.

According to the Green Guide's Smart Shopper's Fish List, sole is a "sometimes" fish, safe to be eaten once a month. Turbot is a "No" fish either because of over-fishing or high mercury contamination. Rockfish is also a "No" fish for the same reasons as the turbot. Aaaaand snapper is also a "No" fish.

[Periwinkle]

See that's the problem. No way am I making a condensed fish stock for cooking for my family out of a fish I am only allowed to eat once a month. Yikes.

I wonder if there's a white fish... maybe line-caught cod??.... that could be used instead.

I checked with dh and he also remembered the fish stock was pretty normal - nothing rancid tasting about it or too oily or whatever. We used it right away and didn't store it, so not sure that makes a difference. To be honest, I'm not a "fish stock" maker in general b/c I'm not a fan of fishy things & am ultra-picky about what fish I serve, but I do like it as an ingredient in dishes such as ketchup and dipping sauces.