Food Wine Sleep

Ingredients List

2 kg (4.5 lbs) fish bones and or fish heads
2 medium onions (peeled & quartered)
2 celery stalks (washed & roughly chopped)
2 peeled carrots (peeled & roughly chopped)
3 bay leaves
5-6 black peppercorns
1 lemon (cut in half)
Cold water
Makes approximately 3 litres (3 quarts) of stock

Recipe Description

Hearty clam chowder, delicate seafood bisque, rustic fish stew and deliciously fresh bouillabaisse are just a few of the wonderful seafood dishes that require a good fish stock as their main ingredient. In fact countless dishes in traditional French cookery build on the solid foundations of stocks. That's why making stocks forms a large part of a Chef's first year in Culinary school. In this recipe I have used snapper carcasses, however feel free to use whatever your fish monger has on hand, however avoid excessively oily varieties such as salmon. Ask your fish monger and he can steer you in the right direction.

Method Description

Place all the ingredients in a large pot and cover with water.
Bring it all to the boil.
Once boiling immediately reduce to a simmer.
Simmer for 1 hour.
Occasionally skim the foam off that accumulates on top and discard.
Strain the stock.
Discard the solids.
Strain the stock through a fine strainer to remove any fine solid particles.
The stock is now ready to use as required.
Or it can be portioned and frozen for later use (up to 2 months)
Or it can be kept in the refrigerator for 2 days.