Bones_ Recipes, History, and Lore - Jennifer McLagan [80]
3. Drain the fish bones and add them to the stockpot. Increase the heat and stir to coat the bones with the oil, then cook, stirring often, for about 3 minutes. You will notice any flesh clinging to the bones beginning to turn opaque. Pour in the wine, bring it to a boil, and then boil for 3 minutes. Add enough cold water to almost submerge the bones, about 6 cups (1.51). Toss in the parsley, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf, reduce the heat to medium, and bring slowly to a boil.
4. As soon as the stock comes to a boil, reduce the heat so it simmers. Using a soup ladle, skim off any scum that has risen to the surface (rotate the bowl of the ladle on the surface of the stock to make ripples: these will carry the scum to the edges of the pot and you can then use the ladle to lift it off)- Add the peppercorns, and let the stock simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, skimming as necessary. Adding peppercorns after the first skimming means there is less risk that you will remove them as you skim; watch out for them, though, as they float close to the surface.
5. Remove the stockpot from the heat. Place a sieve lined with damp cheesecloth or a dampened thin cotton tea towel over a bowl. Ladle the stock, bones, and vegetables into the sieve, pressing down gently on the bones to extract all the juices. Discard the debris left in the sieve, and cool the stock quickly by placing it in a larger bowl or sink filled with ice water; stir occasionally as it cools. When you taste the stock, you will notice that something is missing—the salt. Once it is added, the flavor will sparkle. But it was deliberately left out so that you can reduce the stock without any fear that it will become too salty. If you are not reducing the stock (see page 171) add about 1 teaspoon salt.
6. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight to allow the fat to rise to the top of the stock and the debris to sink to the bottom. Remove the fat before using (and discard the debris at the bottom of the bowl). Divide the stock into i-cup (250-ml) quantities and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 6 months.
Concentrated Fish Stock
If your freezer space is tight, reduce your stock following the method for Concentrated Brown Stock (page 14).
6 cups (1.51) unsalted Fish Stock (page 169)
Kosher salt
The reduced stock will become syrupy and turn the color of grapefruit juice.
FISH BONES AND THE ARTIST
Many artists have painted fish, but Pablo Picasso used his leftover fish bones to create a work of art. The well-known photographer David Douglas Duncan captured this creative moment in a series of photographs. In the first images, Picasso is seen devouring his sole à la meunière, a whole sole sautéed in butter (see page 189). As he sucks the last morsels of flesh from the bones, inspiration strikes. He leaves the table, rushes to his studio, and returns with a piece of wet clay. Taking the sole skeleton, he presses it into the clay, making several fossil-like imprints. He then cuts out two of these X-ray fish. Next he dabs paint onto the edge of a large unfired platter and presses the two fish cut-outs onto its rim. After firing, the platter emerges from the kiln decorated with one emerald and one blue fish skeleton.
Fish bones have inspired other artists as well. Photographer Irving Penn created an image, “Fish Bones on a Plate,” a frugal lunch that appeared in the October 1993 edition of Vogue magazine. A small sardine, head still attached but no flesh left on its bones, shares a plate with a half-eaten olive and some crumbs of bread. Curiously, the sardine hasn’t been cooked—its bright, glistening eye gives this away. No doubt Penn decided the fish was more photogenic raw.
Fish Consommé
Fish consommé is the quickest of all consommés to prepare, but the least popular, which is as a shame, because