Fish Fumet
Fast white-fish stock with white wine — never simmered long
The one stock that must not be cooked long. Twenty-five minutes and it is finished; an hour and the bones give up compounds that turn it bitter and glue-like.
Use only lean white fish — sole, turbot, whiting, brill. Oily fish makes a fumet nobody wants.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds bones and heads from lean white fish, gills removed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 leek, white part only, thinly sliced
- 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced (optional)
- 8 ounces mushroom trimmings
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 2 quarts cold water
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 parsley stems
- 6 white peppercorns
- 1 strip lemon peel
Instructions
- Rinse the bones under cold running water for 10 minutes, until the water runs clear. Remove the gills — they are bitter and bloody.
- Melt the butter in a large pot over low heat. Add the onion, leek, fennel and mushroom trimmings and sweat for 8 minutes without colouring.
- Add the fish bones and sweat for 5 minutes more, turning gently, until opaque.
- Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half.
- Add the cold water, bay leaf, parsley stems, peppercorns and lemon peel. Bring to a bare simmer, skimming.
- Simmer for 25 minutes. No longer.
- Strain through muslin without pressing. Cool quickly.
Notes
- Reduced by half it becomes fish glaze, for enriching sauces.
- Freezes 3 months.
- See also: Velouté, Sauce Vin Blanc, Sauce Normande.