While continuing to experiment with arctic char (omble chevalier, Salvelinus alpinus) as part of that upcoming development project, my botched deba antics left me with a (not so) little pile of trimmings and some decided dissatisfaction.

The difficult portion of this exercise was actually all the unnecessary steps I had to take due to the less than spectacular sanmai oroshi. I actually wanted to have bones at the end of my char experiment, but rather I found that I had to first find something to do with the big pieces of trim, all the meat left on the frame and all the leftover bits post-fillet.

Fortunately, I’m fairly good on the practicality side (as I still want… a pony!), but the trick continues to be able to recoup as much as possible, use as much as possible and do it in a way that just doesn’t look well, gross. Having found interesting things to do with the belly meat and the scrapings from the remaining frame and trim, what exactly does one do with the skeleton, the head and all the assorted bits and pieces of fin?

I already mentioned that bone crackers (deep-fried fish bones) are pretty popular in Asia, but the prospect of a deep-fried fish head typically generates shrieks (and not the good kind) in the West. So, as with land animal bones, make broth. But not just any kind of broth – dashi (出汁).

Ingredients

• Head, cleaned frame, fins and remaining fish trim from arctic char
• Kombu (昆布)

Preparation

Split the fish head in half so that there is a left half and a right half. Cut the frame into shorter pieces small enough to fit easily into a pot.

Arrange the head, the pieces of fish frame, the fins and any remaining trim onto a baking tray as an even layer.

Roast the trim at 177ºC / 350ºF until bones are golden and the fins are slightly crispy.

While bones are roasting, start the kombu dashi by adding kombu to cold water (upper left photo). The amount used depends on personal taste; in this demonstration the dried strips are approximately 2 cm x 8 cm in size for approximately 750 mL water. Bring the water to simmering point and allow dashi to gently simmer until bones complete roasting (approximately 20 minutes in this case).

Transfer the roasted bones and any remaining liquid from the roasting into the kombu dashi (upper right photo). Continue to gently simmer the bones and kombu for another 45 minutes, skimming if necessary to retain clarity.

At the end of the simmering period (lower left photo), strain the dashi through a fine mesh sieve (line with cheesecloth if required) to obtain the completed clear dashi (lower right photo).

Notes

This is one of those “no effort” ways to use up what is often discarded when prepping fish, however it can only be used when one has really fresh fish. Arctic char and seagoing salmonids fit the bill, though char itself is more delicate (refined?) than say salmon.

The bones can be retained to make a more classic Western fish fumet, but roasting and then using them to make dashi results in a more delicate, umami-rich, clear broth that has many more applications than fumet does. Like soups, the base for chawan mushi, the base for yose nabe, sauces and so forth, though one does have to be careful not to add anything which will overpower it – that would be a waste of the effort used to make it in the first place.

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