Salmon Stock

0 (0)

The core of any delicious Seafood Broth or Soup is in the Stock. All the flavors that you taste in the very best Seafood Soups, Broths, and Bisques come from a good quality Fish Stock. You can make a load of different versions, and this one is our classic Salmon Stock. We extract as much flavor as possible from Salmon and infuse that flavor into a wonderful broth. The broth captures all those wonderful oils from the Salmon. It tastes great, and not only that – it’s super healthy too!

The core ingredient to making Salmon Stock is a whole Salmon Carcass, including the head!

Stocks are such great recipes because they make sure you utilize every single part of the animal in cooking, so there is no wastage. The amount of flavor that you can extract out of the carcass of a fish is truly amazing. There is always so much delicious fat and meat that is tucked away in the carcass that you just can’t access when cooking traditionally. So, you’re truly maximizing the value of that Fish

To make the very best Salmon Stock you need to get your hands on an entire Salmon Carcass that has been fileted. What will remain is the intact skeleton, which will have loads of flesh still wedged in between the bones. The flavor you can extract from the skeleton is phenomenal

What you also want is the head to be intact. That’s right, the whole head! It may seem a little bit intense but trust us – that is where all the flavor lies. In many countries around the world, the head is the prized cut of meat on fish. So, it’s simply a shame to throw it away. You can extract so much wonderful flavor out of the head, which is what we want

The easiest way to get your hands on a whole Salmon Carcass

If you’re a big Salmon fan and you’re cooking up large quantities in your regular day, chances are you’re probably already buying whole Salmon and fileting it yourself. If so, you’ve already got a ready supply of Salmon Carcass to make Salmon Stock

For most of us however, we’re not making that much Salmon – not do we have that kind of disposable income to be splashing out on a whole Salmon! The good news is, there will be a plentiful supply of Fish carcasses at your local grocery store or Fish Monger. They may even have the carcasses on display to sell

The carcasses go super cheap. We got this entire Salmon Carcass for our recipe for about $3. Making Stock such a great way to utilize all the ingredients on the fish, and is also very economical to do so

You have a few different way to make the Salmon Stock, depending on what result you are looking for

The most common way to make stocks and broths is to cook them for quite a long time, to extract every ounce of flavor from the bones. The Bones are then discarded, and all that remains is the beautifully flavored broth

For Homemade Salmon Stock you have another option. Yes, you can cook Salmon Stock the traditional way. Another method is to cook the ingredients in water just enough to extract flavor, but to also retain some of the Salmon Flesh on the bones and head. This option will allow you to peel the flesh away from the Bones once they’ve cooled, and use it for cooking in stews and soups

Option 1 – the traditional approach to creating a Stock

For this method, all you need to do is add the Salmon Carcass to a large pot filled with Water. Bring it all to a boil, then cover and drop the head down to a simmer. Let the Water do its magic and extract all the wonderful flavors of the Fish

The longer you leave the Fish in the water, the more concentrated the flavor will become. There is a chance that if you cook it for too long that it may become a little bitter, however we’ve found that even after a couple of hours it will come out great

The best approach here is to check on the Stock every hour or so to see how it looks. Once the Bones have begun to completely break apart then it’s done. You then strain the liquid from the pot, discarding everything else and you’ve got a classically prepared Salmon Stock

Option 2 – The traditional approach, but using a pressure cooker

For this method we save time by using a pressure cooker to extract the flavor from the Fish. You follow the same approach, load up the pressure cooker (in our case we used an Instant Pot) with the Fish carcass and water. Cover, Seal, then cook

A pressure cooker will achieve the same result as Option 1, it just takes less time. 1 hour in the Instant Pot is more than enough time to extract all that wonderful flavor. Strain the liquid and you’re left with a beautiful Fish Stock

Option 3 – Make the Salmon Stock on the stovetop, but don’t cook it for as long

For this option we follow the same approach as the first option. Add the Fish carcass and water to a large pot. Bring to a boil, cover then simmer. However, for this approach you only want to simmer the Stock for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, strain the liquid, but keep the carcass. There will still be a load of meat on the carcass. So, once it cools down, peel all the flesh off the carcass

You can now use the fish meat in your cooking. So, if you’re looking at making a dish that requires Fish in it (such as a Soup or Stew), then this approach is great because you can retain a lot of that meat. This is a great method if you want to retain the fish meat and still have some texture to it

An optional addition to the Stock is adding some more Seafood

We always encourage our readers to get into the good habit of freezing any leftover bones to make Stock. This doesn’t just apply to Meat, but also to seafood. If you’ve made dishes using Shellfish, then throw them into a Ziploc bag and into the freezer. Shellfish makes for great ingredients to add to Stock

For this recipe we’re adding Shrimp Shells and Shrimp heads. They bring a phenomenal flavor to the dish and pair great with the Salmon. You can also use Clam Shells, Mussel Shells, even Lobster shells if you’re fancy enough to make some! Here’s a few Seafood recipes we’d encourage you to try. Retain the shells and use them to make this wonderful Salmon Stock:

• White Wine Butter Mussels
• Shrimp and Grits with Chorizo
• Spot Prawn Ceviche with Garlic and Chili
• Peel and Eat Shrimp with Garlic Butter
  
  

Whichever way you want to make this Salmon Stock, it’s going to taste great. It’s the perfect base for making any Fish or Seafood based soups

Salmon Stock Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 Large Salmon Carcass (Head and Bones)
• 1 lb. Assorted Seafood shells (optional)
• 10 cups of Water
  
  

Instructions

Option 1 – The traditional Approach

1. Combine the Salmon Carcass, Seafood Shells, and Water into a large pot. Bring to a boil, then cover, and simmer for 2 hours
2. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve and discard the bones. For the best result, strain the liquid a second time through the sieve lined with Cheesecloth
   
   

2 – The traditional approach with Pressure Cooker

1. Add the ingredients to a Pressure Cooker (such as an Instant Pot). Set the pressure on high and cook for 1 hour
2. Once cooled, strain the liquid through a sieve, discarding everything but the liquid. Strain the liquid a second time through the sieve lined with a Cheesecloth
   
   

3 – Making Salmon Stock but keeping the remaining Flesh

1. Add the ingredients to a large Stock Pot and bring to a Boil. Cover, and simmer for 30 minutes then turn off the heat
2. Remove the Salmon Carcass which will still be intact. Once cooled, peel the flesh from the carcass and retain. Discard the remaining bones
3. Strain the Stock through a fine sieve, then again through a sieve with a Cheesecloth. You can now use the flesh you’ve manually peeled from the carcass in your cooking
   
   

Whichever way you prepare the Salmon Stock, we guarantee you’ll end up with a wonderful tasting broth to flavor your Seafood cooking

Broths and Stocks are an essential part of home cooking. For more wonderful Broth recipes such as this one, check out our dedicated section of the website here

With this delicious Seafood Stock, you can make some great dishes such as Tom Kha Gai – Thai Coconut Soup, and Creamy Shrimp Bisque