Fish Stock 2

Further to my earlier recipe for fish stock, here is another variation on a theme.  This time I used salmon heads, for a strong and quite oily stock, suitable to use as a base for a marmite-style fish stew. (No I don't mean marmite spread, I mean the traditional French fish stew dish...).

Ingredients:
4 large salmon heads (£1.89 from Waitrose fish counter...very fresh!)
1 very big leek, washed thoroughly and chopped
2 big carrots, peeled and chopped
3 sticks of celery
1 large sprig of fresh thyme (actually, it was more of a small bunch than a sprig)
6 bay leaves
6 black pepper corns
200 ml sherry vinegar
1 bottle (75cl) of dry white wine (I used a Bordeaux sec)
1.5 litres water

Put all the ingredients in a big casserole pan, bring to the boil, cover, and put in a low temp oven to simmer slowly for at least 4 hours.  I find that oven cooking stops the fish smell from pervading the house too much...

After straining and cooling, put the liquid stock in the fridge.  Once it is cold, it is easier to skim off any surface residue and excess oil.

I have frozen this stock for use at a later date.