White Fish Stock

This is a simple and delicious recipe to make amazing White Fish Stock at home. The flavors in this classic Fish Stock are great, making it the perfect ingredient to use when making any Seafood based dishes, particularly Sauces and Soups. White Fish bones are gently boiled down in a pot filled with a load of wonderful ingredients and aromatics, which further flavor the Stock. You can then further reduce the stock once strained for a rich, powerful liquid that is great for adding finishing Sauces to your favorite Seafood proteins

What is White Fish Stock

Simply put, White Fish Stock is a Fish Stock used with White Fish bones. There are loads of different White Fish you can use, and the variety may vary based on what part of the world you live in. Some popular types of White Fish are Cod, Haddock, Sole, Halibut, Branzino, and Sea Bass

Basically, any white-meat Fish can be used to create White Fish Stock. We recommend heading to your local Fish monger to pick up a bunch of Fish Bones to make this dish. They will sell them cheap (or if you’re lucky, they may just give them to you for free!)

The Bones are cleaned and then boiled down in a pot filled with Water along with a load of ingredients such as Peppercorns, Leeks, Carrot, Celery and can be finished with some fresh Herbs like Dill or Parsley

It is different from other types of Fish Stock such as our Salmon Fish Stock and will be a lot less oiler and ‘cleaner’, making it the perfect stock to use in fish-based Sauces. It’s a classic French ingredient and the preparation for this dish is very traditional

How to make White Fish Stock

Once you’ve got your Fish Bones, the next step is to clean them. We’re going for the purest clarity of Stock we can get so you want those Bones to be clean. If you’re working with a whole fish, remove any skin and fins from the carcass and then place the bones in a big pot of Water to soak. This step will remove blood from the Fish

Leave it for about 1 hour, and you’ll notice just how much Blood comes out of those Bones. Even if they look clean, doing this step is critical. The water will be quite murky, so simply discard it and, if needed, you can add more fresh water and soak for an additional 30 minutes or so

Once clean, add the Bones straight into a large pot. We used a big dutch oven, but any large pot that can hold a decent quantity of water will suffice

Fennel and Seafood are a perfect match

Along with the Fish Bones, the usual ingredients are added to the pot to make the Stock. Carrot, Celery, Leeks (or Onions) are added which will give the Stock a beautiful flavor. The unique Vegetable that is added to this White Fish Stock recipe is Fennel. Fennel is one of those underappreciated Vegetables, but it tastes so good with Seafood! It brings a wonderful, anise flavor to the dish

Just like the other Vegetables, just roughly chop the Fennel into large chunks and add it to the Pot. Include the leafy green parts (known as the Fronds of the Fennel) as well, as these have great flavor! You can also replace Fennel with Fennel Seeds if you prefer. You can toast them up and then add about 1 tbsp. of them, along with 1 tbsp. of Black Pepper

Fill the Pot with as much Water as needed to completely submerge the ingredients and then set it over a medium high heat. You want the water to be gently boiling, but not an aggressive, rolling boil

Cook the White Fish Stock for 45 minutes, skimming as you go

The Stock is then cooked for about 45 minutes, much less time than a typical Chicken or Beef Broth. The Fish Bones don’t need anywhere near as much time for their flavor to be extracted, and overcooking may result in the Stock starting to turn bitter

It is important that you skim the Stock as it cooks. This is a very easy process and helps to achieve a much better quality Stock. Simply remove and discard the foamy bits that bubble to the surface as the Stock cooks with a spoon. You’ll notice as the Stock cooks, there will be less and less of the foam. So, pay particular attention during the first 20 minutes of the cook

Once cooked, Strain

Your Stock is now done! All you need to do is strain it and you’re ready to use it. I’d suggest removing the larger pieces of Fish Bone and Vegetables with some tongs before straining the liquid through a fine sieve. If you can, try to add some Cheesecloth or Muslin fabric to the strainer before you pour the liquid through it. This will help catch more bits than a regular strainer well

Once strained you can use what you need for your immediate cooking. The remaining liquid can be stored for future use. I recommend measuring out 1 cup increments of the Fish Stock and storing them in individual Ziploc bags in the freezer. They’ll last for months, so anytime you need some Fish Stock you have some ready-made stuff in the freezer. Just remember to label it so you know what type of Stock it is!

For a more concentrated flavor you can add the strained stock back into a Saucepan over medium high heat and reduce it for 30 minutes. This will further concentrate the flavor, making for a rich and delicious base to a sauce

What is White Fish Stock good to use in?

I love using White Fish Stock in Sauces and Soups. Beautiful Fish Soups and Broths use this Stock as the base ingredient. You can then start to build flavors by adding Vegetables and Proteins to the Soup to make a rich and delicious meal

Fish Stock also works fantastically as a Sauce. Add some Shallots, Leeks and White Wine and you’ve got a beautiful light Sauce. Add a load of Butter to that Sauce and you’ve got a beautiful Beurre Blanc, which tastes great with simple pan-fried Fish such as this recipe here!

White Fish Stock Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. White Fish Bones (eg: Cod, Branzino, Sole, Halibut)
• Water
• 1 Fennel, roughly chopped
• 2 Carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 Leeks, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp. Black Peppercorns
• 1 cup Parsley or Dill (optional)
• 1 tsp. Salt
  
  

Equipment needed: Cheesecloth or Muslin fabric

Instructions

1. Remove fins from the Fish using a sharp knife or scissors and then soak in a large pot filled with water for 1 hour to remove any blood
2. Once clean, strain the pot and then return the bones. Add the Fennel, Carrots, Leeks, and Black Peppercorns then fill the Pot with enough Water to cover everything
3. Bring the pot to a light boil (not too aggressive) and cook, uncovered for 45 minutes. Skim and discard any foam from the surface as it cooks
4. Once cooked add the Parsley or Dill (optional) and the Salt. Remove and discard the larger ingredients then strain the Stock through a fine sieve. Ideally strain through a Cheesecloth or Muslin fabric if possible for the cleanest of Stock
5. Optional: For a more concentrated flavor, return the Stock to a saucepan and place over medium high heat and reduce for 30 minutes
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You can replace the Fennel with 1 tbsp. of Fennel Seeds
• We recommend measuring out 1 cup increments of Fish Stock and placing it into Ziploc bags to freeze for later. Make sure you label the bags
  
  

That is how to make a simple and delicious White Fish Stock using leftover Fish Bones from White Fish. You will find the flavor in this Stock to be light and flavorful, with a subtle Fish flavor that isn’t overpowering. It’s an amazing Stock to use in Seafood based Soups and Sauces that we just know you’re going to love!

We’ve got loads of delicious Stock recipes at our dedicated page here. Here are a few other Stock and Broth recipes we recommend you have stored away in your freezer to ramp up your home cooking

• Chicken Broth
• Beef Broth
• Shrimp Stock
• Lamb Stock
  
  

Happy Cooking!