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Arlo Pankook
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12/17/2015 09:36PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
It seems like fish heads have been used by everyone from native people all over the world to fancy french chefs, has anyone here done this? Honor the fish?...grateful heads!
 
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Jackfish
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12/17/2015 10:48PM  
quote Arlo Pankook: "...grateful heads!"

So would that make the people who like the soup "Head Heads"? :)
 
inspector13
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12/18/2015 09:36AM  

I think only the truly poor, frugal, or adventurous would have made Kalamojakka with fish heads in it. No I’ve never used, let alone seen, fish heads in soup.

Ooops, found one.

 
12/18/2015 11:31AM  
Plenty of recipes for fish head soup.

Fish head soup
 
marsonite
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12/18/2015 12:37PM  
I had it growing up. The usual fish for "kalamojakka" was northern pike, gutted, scaled and cut into steaks. The head was added for additional flavor. It was quite excellent, seriously.

 
Bdubguy
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12/18/2015 12:56PM  
Being a good Finlander, I love mojakka. Wife makes it every so often. But, I have not had it with, nor would I promote the use of fish heads...
 
inspector13
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12/18/2015 01:04PM  

I guess the farmers of Wadena and eastern Ottertail Counties preferred dill as a garnish. : )

 
dpreiner21
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12/18/2015 06:19PM  
Fish heads are for the seagulls :)
 
yogi59weedr
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12/18/2015 08:13PM  
Ill try anything once.
 
h20
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12/19/2015 12:47AM  
quote Arlo Pankook: "It seems like fish heads have been used by everyone from native people all over the world to fancy french chefs, has anyone here done this? Honor the fish?...grateful heads!"


You should put this question in the home cooking forum....might hear more!
 
The Great Outdoors
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12/19/2015 07:10AM  
As some have stated, kala mojakka (kah' la - moy' uh kuh) meaning fish stew in Finnish, has always had the head thrown into the mix.
I personally will never eat anything that stares back at me from the bowl!! :)
 
Arlo Pankook
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12/19/2015 08:40AM  
I was more or less thinking about making a stock from the bones and heads, straining it out and using this to start a chowder, ramen etc. while winter camping. I will probably research a little more and try this at home first as I could see it going very wrong too :)
 
lundojam
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12/19/2015 10:01AM  
Good idea, Arlo. That would totally work. I used to have a chowder recipe that used instant mashed potatoes. Try it! Fish stock, instant mashed, real potatoes and carrots, fish chunks, salt and pepper.
 
12/19/2015 04:14PM  

 
12/19/2015 04:14PM  
quote Arlo Pankook: "I was more or less thinking about making a stock from the bones and heads, straining it out and using this to start a chowder, ramen etc. while winter camping. I will probably research a little more and try this at home first as I could see it going very wrong too :)"


Made a fish stew on Clearwater a couple years ago, started with a stock from heads and bones. Added the chunks of fish at the very end to just cook through. Richly flavored broth on a cold day is hard to beat but the extra step takes a little more time.
 
marsonite
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12/19/2015 06:33PM  
My Mom's recipe: (the head is actually optional!)

Boil potatoes, onions, and salt together. After about 15 minutes, when you judge the potatoes need another 10 minutes, add the fish. Continue cooking until the fish and potatoes are done.

Pour off a bit of the liquid if you need to, and add a can of whole condensed milk. Heat through, add a pat of butter to the top, and plenty of pepper.

At this point you can through the head out if you want, or some non-squeamish person can pick off the cheek meat.

Finlander heaven!
 
QueticoMike
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12/19/2015 08:58PM  
quote The Great Outdoors: "As some have stated, kala mojakka (kah' la - moy' uh kuh) meaning fish stew in Finnish, has always had the head thrown into the mix.
I personally will never eat anything that stares back at me from the bowl!! :)"


I'm with you all the way. I would have to be really hard up before this ever happened :)
 
IceColdGold
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12/31/2015 02:26PM  
Once in a while I trap some crawfish. One time I went to the store to see if I could get some fish heads for my traps thinking they may just have some for free. To my surprise, they were like $10 per pound :-) Heads are right up there with guts. I generally do not eat either.
 
Jaymon
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12/31/2015 05:38PM  
Not sure about heads, but snapper throats on the grill are delicious.
 
12/31/2015 08:38PM  
I make fish soup with Bear Creek Creamy Potato soup, with fish and pre-cooked bacon crumbles added in, with croutons for garnish. Foil chicken can also be used if you don't have fish. A handful of cheddar cheese in it is nice if you have any left from earlier meals. Served with bannock it is awesome!

I have never seriously considered adding the head...except for walleye cheeks!
 
Moss Tent
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01/04/2016 03:24PM  
Finnish? Hardly. Fish head soup is as old as the hills.

My Hungarian family told me that it has always been an item in the menu. Not to be outdone, my Turkish friend's dad said that it had been done in Turkey since biblical times.

BTW it can be excellent, or terrible, depending on the chef and the ingredients. Last I had it I had bowls at 2 different places in NFLD--one terrific, the other, not so much.

Eat them up, yum...
 
ogarza
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04/12/2016 03:05PM  
just because you don't use it, doesn't mean you haven't had it, pretty much any decent fish stock or soup will use the head at least for flavoring, you just don't see it on your plate.

would you make shrimp soup without the head? sure, if you're dumb.
 
Basspro69
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04/12/2016 08:32PM  
quote QueticoMike: "
quote The Great Outdoors: "As some have stated, kala mojakka (kah' la - moy' uh kuh) meaning fish stew in Finnish, has always had the head thrown into the mix.
I personally will never eat anything that stares back at me from the bowl!! :)"



I'm with you all the way. I would have to be really hard up before this ever happened :)"
+2
 
04/13/2016 06:44AM  
I've made fish stock with both Pike and Walleye after they've been filleted then gutted. Leave the head on, don't bother scaling them, just screen out the solids when your done.It comes out great and is a great base for soups, creole cooking, etc...and, have you seen the price of a can of fish stock at the supermarket?
 
The Great Outdoors
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04/13/2016 07:50AM  
quote Moss Tent: "Finnish? Hardly. Fish head soup is as old as the hills.
My Hungarian family told me that it has always been an item in the menu. Not to be outdone, my Turkish friend's dad said that it had been done in Turkey since biblical times.
BTW it can be excellent, or terrible, depending on the chef and the ingredients. Last I had it I had bowls at 2 different places in NFLD--one terrific, the other, not so much.
Eat them up, yum..."

That's right Big Daddy, Finnish!!
Just because your Hungarian family told you it was always on the menu, probably means they stole the recipe from the Finns!!
Same with the Turks, who also claim to have invented the "Turkey" specifically for Thanksgiving!!
Dang Social Climbers!! :)
 
Moss Tent
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04/14/2016 06:03PM  
lol!

I'm sure I can find some Mesopotamian or Egyptian who will say that the Finns stole it from them.

It just struck me that the Turkish guy might be lying, and that it might be a Finno-Ugric thing. We are brothers!
 
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