Wild Salmon Fish Stock

This deeply nourishing wild salmon stock is a powerful way to use every part of the fish while infusing your meals with minerals, collagen, and ocean-based omega-3s. It’s made from fish backs and tails—the parts left after filleting—and can also include fish heads, as long as the gills are carefully removed (they can impart a bitter flavor). Pictured here are wild sockeye backs and tails, rich in connective tissue and ideal for creating a gelatinous, flavor-rich broth. Ask your fishmonger for salmon backs, tails, and heads (with gills removed). These parts are often available at a low cost—or even free—when purchasing whole fish. In the Pacific Northwest, you can frequently find bags of frozen salmon backs at your local food co-op or fish market. You can also toss in a variety of veggie scraps—carrot peels, celery leaves, onion skins, squash ends, turnip peels—making this recipe not only deeply healing, but also zero-waste. Once simmered and strained, freeze the stock in wide-mouth quart jars to have on hand for soups, chowders, curries, or simply sipping when your body needs deep replenishment.