Fumet Recipes

Steps:

• Soak fish bones in a bowl of lightly salted cold water for 1 hour, changing water twice as you soak. Drain bones and pat dry.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Transfer bones to a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 2 minutes. Carefully remove bones from pan and wipe away any blood.
• Transfer bones to a stockpot and add 2 cups water; bring to a boil over high heat. Add shallots and wine; reduce heat to low and let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 1 minute.
• Strain liquid through a fine mesh sieve; discard solids. Let cool completely. Keep refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 2 months.

Steps:

• Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, leek, fennel fronds, and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 6 minutes. Add lobster shells and shrimp shells, parsley, and bay leaf; cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes. Stir in wine, clam juice, tomatoes, and 1 1/2 cups water. Reduce heat to medium low; simmer, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.
• Pour stock through a fine sieve into a medium bowl; discard solids. Add saffron and cayenne. Season with salt.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, leek, fennel fronds, and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 6 minutes. Add the lobster shells and shrimp shells, parsley, and bay leaf; cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, clam juice, tomatoes, and 1 1/2 cups water. Reduce heat to medium low; simmer, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.
• Pour the stock through a fine sieve into a medium bowl; discard the solids. Add the saffron and cayenne. Season with salt. The fumet can be stored in the freezer up to 3 months.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Pour the oil into a metal roasting pan and put it in the preheated oven for 3 to 5 minutes to heat up the pan and condition it with the oil. Spread the bones out on the roasting pan and cook until browned, 30 to 45 minutes, turning the bones occasionally so they brown evenly.
• Transfer the bones to a large-enough stockpot to accommodate the bones, 6 quarts ice water and more. Use tongs to transfer the bones so you do not pour any fat into the stockpot. Add the ice water to the stockpot and bring to a simmer. Allow the stock to cook for 4 hours at a slow simmer. Skim the surface of the stock occasionally to remove any fat or impurities.
• While the stock is simmering, discard all but about 1/4 cup of the fat from the roasting pan. Bring the pan back up to temperature over high heat on the stovetop. Add the onions and carrots and cook until golden brown and caramelized. Add the celery and cook for another 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, thyme and bay leaf and cook, stirring regularly, until the tomato paste gets a brick red color, about 15 minutes. Add 1 cup of the red wine and stir it into the mirepoix (vegetable) mixture.
• Add the mirepoix mixture to the stock after the 4-hour simmering time. Bring the stock back up to a simmer and continue to cook it for another 2 hours.
• In a separate pot, bring the remaining 7 cups red wine to a boil and cook until reduced by half, 15 to 20 minutes.
• When the stock has simmered for 6 hours, strain it through a chinois and combine the strained stock with the reduced red wine. Bring the stock to a boil, lower the heat to a hard simmer and reduce the stock until it has a consistency that coats the back of spoon and is about 2 quarts (8 cups) in volume, up to 1 hour. Season with salt and pepper and then strain the sauce though a chinois again.

Steps:

• Sweat the bones and vegetables Heat the oil in a medium stockpot over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add fish parts, celery, and leek. Cover and cook, stirring once or twice, until vegetables are soft and translucent and flesh on the bones has turned opaque but not brown, about 3 minutes.
• Make stock Add wine and reduce by half, 3 to 5 minutes, then add enough water to cover by 1/2 inch (about 2 quarts) along with the bay leaf and peppercorns. Bring to just under a boil over medium-high heat, skimming foam with a ladle as it rises to the surface, then reduce heat and gently simmer (bubbles should just gently break the surface) for 35 minutes, skimming frequently.
• Strain stock Pass mixture through a fine sieve into a heatproof bowl or another pot (do not press on solids), discarding solids. Skim off fat. If not using immediately, let cool completely (in an ice-water bath, if desired) before transferring to airtight containers. Fish fumet can be refrigerated in airtight containers for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 3 months; thaw completely in the refrigerator before using.
• Ask your fishmonger to save the bones and heads from the fish in advance; firm-fleshed white fish, such as snapper, bass, and halibut, work best. Avoid oily fish (such as mackerel and tuna).

Steps:

• If you are preparing the fish yourself, remove the gills and the eyes. Cut the heads and bones across into 4-inch pieces. In a shallow pan filled with cold water, add the heads and bones. Cover, and let stand for 1 hour, changing the water twice.
• In a large stockpot set over medium heat, add corn oil, onions, fennel, leeks, peppercorns, salt, parsley, and bay leaves. Reduce the heat to medium low, and cook until the vegetables are soft but not browned, about 4 minutes.
• Transfer heads and bones from water to the stockpot; discard water. Stir periodically until bones and flesh around bones turn from translucent to white, about 12 minutes.
• Add the wine and 6 cups of water; bring to a boil over high heat. Boil fumet 10 minutes, skimming off the foam as it rises to the top. Remove from heat; let rest for 10 minutes.
• Strain the fumet through a fine-mesh sieve or chinois, pressing firmly on the solids to extract as much of the flavorful liquid as possible. If you have more than 6 cups of fumet, place the liquid in a clean saucepan over high heat, and boil until it reduces to 6 cups. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator up to 3 days, or in the freezer up to 2 months.

Steps:

• Heat the butter in a heavy saucepan and add the carrots, leeks and onion. Cook briefly, stirring, until wilted.
• Tie the parsley, bay leaf and thyme into a small bundle (bouquet garni). Add it to the saucepan. Add the garlic and fish bones and stir. Add the champagne and bring to a boil. Let simmer about a minute and add the water.
• Bring to a boil and let simmer 20 minutes.
• Strain through a very fine sieve, preferably of the sort known in French kitchens as a chinois. Press the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids.

Steps:

• Heat a 12-quart stockpot over low heat. Add oil, shallot, leeks, fennel, and celery, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 30 minutes. (Do not let vegetables brown.)
• Add fish heads, tails, and bones, and cook until just starting to release their juices, 10 to 15 minutes. Add peppercorns, bay leaf, coriander, and water to cover bones by 1 inch. Raise heat to high, and simmer, then immediately reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer gently for 30 minutes, skimming any foam that rises to the surface; discard foam. (A hard boil will break the fish apart and make your fumet cloudy and bitter.)
• Turn off heat, and add tarragon, parsley, chervil, and chives. Cover, and let steep for 20 minutes.
• Strain fumet through a fine sieve lined with cheesecloth set over a large container. Cover, and refrigerate for up to 1 day (or freeze for up to 3 months; thaw before using).