Fish broth

Posted | 3 comments

I make a lot of fish broth.

When I was growing up I never heard that someone would take a fillet from fish and throw away the rest, it took me by surprise when I saw Alaskans do that. In Eastern Europe, we use all of fish, it is not because we were poor and hungry (our pantries were much fuller than most of Americans now), it is because fish broth is so delicious and nutritious. I knew it was good, and when somebody is sick they get fed fish broth, not chicken broth. Chicken as a meat source is not very high in a quality for nutrition, so it just make sense that fish broth is much better than chicken. How nutritiously essential broths are  I found out when I start studying works of Weston A.Price.  Most Alaskans are tossing the wild fish’s heads and the spines and then opening a can of chicken broth that derived from a factory farm where the chickens are hyped up with hormones and drugs.  Think about that!

Also, learning how to utilize the whole fish shows respect for nature.  We don’t need to take so many if we use all the benefit of what we take.

It is really easy to make a fish broth, and it is much faster than beef or chicken broth.  Try to buy the whole fish or catch one.

When we clean the fish we use a few separate bowls.


You can use any fish you can get your hands on – salmon, halibut, rockfish, cod, catfish, flounder, seabass, trout, for fish broth..

We use salmon, halibut and flounder. Use the flesh the way you prefer; grill it, broil it, smoke it.

For broth keep bones, fins and head.  If you have fish heads, you need to take gills out before putting into the pot.  Also, if you are using fish spines, you need to scrape the bloodline clean.  That’s what my grandma did, and I trust her completely, and its working good for me too.

fish broth

Then add to the pot heads, bones, fins, a whole onion, a few carrots, celery, parsley, salt, pepper, or some other herbs you prefer, cover with water, heat to boil, simmer 40-50min, but avoid a rolling boil.  You want the liquid hot enough to extract the beneficial oils, but not so hot as to burn it.  Also, on the bottom of the pot , it is not a bad idea to put a screen, because if a piece of fish near the burner scorches, then it will make the broth taste bitter.

The onions and carrots are added for taste and nutrition, but when you strain the broth, take them out, use them elsewhere, or discard them.

Drink right away or with a piece of toast, or make delicious soups and chowders,  or keep it in the freezer for later.  It freezes well and seems to hold its quality for around six months. You can fortify your diet with delicious fish head and spine broth all winter long.

Fish broth can be reduced, with butter and cream added, for gourmet quality sauces to accompany seafood dishes.   All the best chefs make their own sauces!  Of course, my recipes are secret, you have to figure it out on your own, I just point you in the right direction.  However, if you visit our lodge, you will taste it, and I might give away some of my secrets. 🙂

cup of fish broth

Have you ever made a fish broth? Would you like to try?


  1. Thank you for recipe. What you do is great.

  2. heyï»¿ owen – great videos – now ive been having problems with this phone, mainly an issue with the terrible battery life that lasts <7 hours on base factory settings – thoughts?

  3. at different sources. The least that can be said is there are a lot of people out there wondering why unbroken Facebook needed to be fixed, and why anyone with a user base so change-averse to begin

Join the Conversation
