Wow! Time sure does fly when your busy doing other things. This is a shortish post showing you all how to make one of the best fish stocks from scratch. I’ve followed the delectable Maggie Beers recipe and couldn’t quite relate to how short the time is that it takes to cook. 😍. My chicken and beef stocks take up to five hours to make to leach the most flavour out of those bones but fish stock is very quick to make. I use this in my Thai Green Curry risotto, fish stews, anything else that requires a fish stock base 😊. Ingredients. 1kg snapper heads 1 large onion, finely chopped 1 leek, finely chopped 1 carrot, finely chopped 1/2 stick celery, finely chopped 2 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup dry white wine (125ml) 1.5-2 litres cold water 10 stalks flat leaf parsley 1 sprig of thyme 1 bay leaf 
Clean all blood and innards out of the snapper head and discard the gills also. Rinse the head and wings thoroughly. As you can see, I’ve used one massive snapper head and the set of wings that came with it. I love my local Fishermans boatshed market on a Sunday 😍 
Put all the chopped vegetables into your big stock pot with the butter and sweat them over a low heat for 2 minutes, do not allow them to brown. 
Add the fish head/s and wings ,if using, and sweat them for a minute more. (As my fish head and wings were so huge, I cut the joined wings in half to fit them in) 
Increase the heat to high, pour in the wine and boil vigorously for a few minutes. Pour in the cold water, then add the herbs and simmer gently over low heat for 20 minutes, without allowing the stock to boil at any stage. It will become cloudy if allowed to boil. 
I cooked my stock for 30 minutes but only because I wanted to make sure I got everything out of the huge fish head and wings. Strain the stock through a fine sieve or muslin to give a good clear stock. I used both. Allow the strained stock to cool, then freeze or refrigerate if you are not going to be using it that very day. 
I bagged my stock up into 500ml bags with a little left over in a 400ml bag and froze it flat for ease of defrosting when I need it 😀. As I bagged it the day after I made it, it had become all jelly like. Yummy! 
You can freeze this stock for up to three months. Enjoy making those lovely soups, stews, risottos and Asian dishes .
cathyandchucky 
Cathy, I’m just beginning to catch up with various bloggers and am very happy to see this post. Sounds yummy! We don’t see snapper here inland in Alberta, and I doubt the local grocery chains carry fish heads. I’ll have to ask around if there is anywhere that specializes in fish. Or maybe my brother in law can bring me some fish heads. Of course,, the last time he brought us fish, they were frozen in a bucket and uncleaned. We dumped them in the kitchen sink to thaw out and when I was ready to clean them, I picked one up and it WIGGLED!! Good thing I’m not squeamish!! The men had been ice fishing and not bothered to knock the fish on their heads, never mind clean them . . . well!!! We didn’t have the wooden fish killing thingy (words escape me, as it’s nearly 1:00 am here), so I wrapped Mum’s largest butcher knife blade with a towel and used the wooden handle. Worked just fine! Not for the faint of heart, though . . .
Another fish story from my distant past:
A few aeons ago, when living in the 23 foot tipi that I’d stitched with my own womanly hands, we caught salmon a few times. We had plenty to eat as we were working for a market gardener, but no money. I would fillet the fish and fry up the meaty bits, then boil the heads in my large canning kettle (this was over our open campfire). After a bit I would add as much wild watercress as the kettle would hold, adding more as the heat shrank the cress down a bit. Last of all I added a good handful of rolled oats to thicken it up. Best fish soup I can remember! We would pick all the meat off the heads once they were cooked, too. Mmmmmmm
Thanks for the memories . . . I did a lot of cooking over a campfire that year, including making a great butter substitute from soy flour. Ok, now I’m a bit homesick for the old days . . .
I’ll let you know if I get the chance to try out your fish stock, Cathy. Thanks again.
~ Linne
Ooh I love your stories Linne 😍. I think you can use any fish heads for stock so salmon would do just fine ☺️. Do you have any photos of that tipi/ teepee? I’d love to see them.
email me at maelinne@hotmail.com and I’ll send you the only one I have, or a link to where it is. ~ Linne
I shall as soon as I get back from work tonight Linne , thanks 😘
Another excellent post Pinkiii 🙂 got to say I LOVE that stockpot! I have stockpot lust and envy all tied up in one ;). I get the feeling that there is some most delicious risotto on the near horizon in Chez Cathy and Chucky 😉
Thank you dear Fronkiii 😘
Never made fish stock, have to start after this post! Your photos look amazing, took my apprehension away.
I have to admit that the photos are taken with my long suffering iPad 😄. Glad you enjoyed the blog. It really is so very easy to make.
I was not able to master iPad photos, never the right angle, or it is not stable and photos are not sharp, I am limited with my photos to the times my husband is available. Sometimes it’s quite a pain.
I make and freeze other stocks but never fish! Thanks for this.
It’s a good one to make Wendy, very quick and easy peasy.
I dislike fish heads immensely but will try fillets 🙂
Maybe just use the carcasses of fish without the heads Wendy?
Yes! I hate the eyes 🙂
For some reason I didn’t think you had a blog, today I decided to double check and all I can is is I’m sorry I didn’t get over here earlier 😦 Am now following and I know I’m going ot enjoy! PS. All the best folk were born in 1965!!
Yes 1965 was a great year CHica 😀. I love your blog as it feels so familiar. Like my sister does (narf7) Fran from the road to serendipity blog 😀
Oh boy that stock would be nice for a hearty fish chowder. I’m sitting by the window, daydreaming! Have a wonderful weekend.
You too Liz 😃. I’m working in the laboratory all weekend but it’s interesting nonetheless 🤓