Fish head prep for stock

Made fish stock today with some snapper bones and heads . . . and almost took one of my fingers off when I was trying to split the head. I was using a 210 Fujiwara FKM western deba. I don't have a cleaver, which might be a more practical knife to use.

I could never do this well - always end up looking like the aftermath of a chainsaw massacre. Sure, because it's just for stock it doesn't really make that much of difference. But the aesthetics (and my personal safety!) bother me.

So, how do you do this elegantly? Are there any videos on how to split a large fish head? I'd really appreciate some tips and advice as well.

Thanks!

When I use a deba to split a fish head, I usually stand it up on its neck. Then, if I remembered to keep the collar on, I'll sit the head on its neck and then poke the tip in the mouth and cut down the "top" of the head. The skull part, if you will. Then lay it out flat and just lightly cut through the "bottom" part linking the two halves.

If I *don't* remember to keep the collar on, and had already cut them off, the head doesn't stand up as well. I'll still sit it up on the neck, but then cut through the "bottom" side first, lay it out flat, and then use pressure from my left palm on the spine of the knife to cut through the "top" part of the head.

This gives you two nice head halves which you can use for stock or broil or whatever. Oh... and take the collar halves off if you have a particular use for them. Lotta good meat in there. Or, if it's for stock anyways, just leave 'em on and chuck 'em in

By "collar" do you mean the part that's just below the gill flaps? I usually fillet it from just after the head, leaving just the bones and the head, so no "collar" if that's what you mean.

Snapper head is on the harder side to split, as is hapuka, blue eye & king fish seem to fall in two in comparison.

Morimoto shows here how to split a fish head in half

[video=youtube;e0083JZXdc0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0083JZXdc0[/video]

I would say for fish stock though its important to clean the bones/head in ice cold water to remove blood and impuritites. Also remove the eyes and gills ^^

Fish heads are very tasty when grilled, not just for stock. Especially the meat and collagen around the eye :cheffry:

Fish collars too are tasty, there is a Japanese dish called buri daikon, in which they are braised in Japanese condiments :doublethumbsup:

check out japan tool homepage/blog. he has a picture of him splitting a snapper head and description. :doublethumbsup:

A good sharp deba is your friend, sambal.

Some of my photos might be of your help:





For more of these Hapuka and king fish:

https://plus.google.com/photos/1000...s/5994662891217615313?authkey=CIX81t6n8vev3wE
https://plus.google.com/photos/1000...ms/5990219654413187457?authkey=CP7j9cSTyreYfQ

Thanks for all the replies.

I've been approaching the wrong way, from the top of the head trying to cleave the hard 'cranium' first. Dangerous (!) as the deba slips easily. I'll try it next time standing the head on its neck and as Schanop and Morimoto has shown, starting from the mouth down.

Great sequence of photos Schanop! Thanks!

Sydney has much better fresh seafood produce compared to Melbourne in my opinion.

fish head stock? like boiled heads?

why do we need good looking pieces if we're just boiling the chunks? i'm a wuss, i get my fish monger to split the head for me.
he uses a cleaver and a wooden mallet. i love grilling salmon heads for my wife and mom.

A Fujiwara Western deba? Have you got a link for us?

At the usual place: http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/FKMSeries.html#FKM WesternDeba

But if you happen to think about the other fujiwara: http://www.teruyasu.net/products/detail_23.html

Boom, it's more an issue of safety. I buy a whole fish and I can fillet it well enough but when I try to split the head for stock I had no idea how to do this well and my deba would slip dangerously. Also, the way I was doing it was just plain messy.

Mark, my deba is the FKM as per Chanop's link above. This is my beastie deba. I treat it as practically indestructible and use it for whatever chores that I wouldn't use my other knives, including rock chopping if I needed finely minced garlic for instance. I also have the Takayuki version of a Doi deba but it's just 155mm so with heavier tasks my go-to is the FKM which I have to say is really good value for money.

Thanks schanop and sambal! I didn't know Fujiwara (FKM) did Western deba's, too. It looks appealing and well-priced... By the way, their prices are in $, but they are a Japanese shop. Correct or am I mixing up something?

schanop said:

At the usual place: http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/FKMSeries.html#FKM WesternDeba

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Is it expensive to ship your knives from Japan to OZ?

DEBAnair said:

Is it expensive to ship your knives from Japan to OZ?

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From JCK, it is a flat rate $7. At the moment, they have free shipping for order over $150.

But if you run into a seller who charges normal EMS price, Japan Post is among still the most economical and efficient for shipping to Australia compared with other countries I have tried.

ya just stick it in the mouth and split the skull. make sure pressure is straight down so it doesnt slide to the side

you should just cook the whole head as is. There will be no difference in taste from my point of view, others might differ.

Wouldn't it stink by now?