Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cups leeks, white and pale green parts, roughly chopped
- 4 cups carrots, roughly chopped
- 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
- 5 pounds bones and heads (see headnote)
- 1 cup dry white wine or white vermouth
- 4 quarts cool, non-chlorinated water
- 12 black peppercorns
- 12 parsley stems
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Directions
- Heat the oil in an 8-quart or larger stockpot over medium heat.
- Add the leeks, carrots, and lovage and cook until soft and translucent but not browned, about 10 minutes.
- Increase the heat to medium, add the fish bones, and sauté for 5 minutes, turning the bones frequently.
- Cover the pot and steam everything for 5 minutes, then add the wine and cook until the wine simmers steadily.
- Add the water, peppercorns, parsley, bay, and thyme and increase the heat and bring the mixture to the edge of a boil, then turn down the heat. (Do not let the mixture boil, or the stock will become cloudy and taste bitter.)
- Cover and gently simmer the stock for 1 hour.
- Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer lined with damp cheesecloth into another pot or a large bowl.
- Ladle the hot stock into the clean jars. Wipe the jar rims clean with white vinegar. Place the lids and rings on the jars and finger-tighten the rings.
- Process at 10 pounds of pressure for 20 minutes.
- Let the pressure fall and the canner cool before removing the jars.
- Let the jars cool completely, about 12 hours, then test the seals.
- The fumet is shelf stable for 6 months.
- For a variation on this fish stock, substitute the fish bones with the shells from 4 dozen shrimp or from 6 lobsters for a sublime seafood stock that adds remarkable depth of flavor to fish stews and seafood risottos.
Learn how to make this decadent fish stock recipe for use in soups, sauces, risotto, and more!
Fumet, the French word for fish stock, smells of the sea, in only the very best way. It is my go-to start for seafood risotto, chowder, and chioppino. It can be a little challenging to get your hands on fish bones and heads, which is why you want to make friends with your fishmonger. Mild-flavored fish like cod, flounder, whitefish, pike, and haddock are appropriate for this broth; fish like salmon and mackerel, with their high fat content and strong flavors, are not.
Want more pressure canning recipes? Check out How to Make Homemade Stock.
Reprinted from Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry: Recipes and Techniques for Year-Round Preserving by Cathy Barrow. Copyright © 2014 by Cathy Barrow. With permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
