Why do you need fish broth and how to prepare it

Why do you need fish broth and how to prepare it?

This is an irreplaceable base for various versions of fish soup, but not only. Fish stock also works well in sauces, risotto or jelly. Making a fragrant and rich decoction does not have to involve any special problems.

This dish has been appreciated for almost all centuries in virtually all corners of the world. Fish broth is the basis of almost all Asian dishes and an indispensable product in French cuisine. But here the fragrant broth is not very popular now, since it is associated, first of all, with fish soup. Meanwhile, it can be a valuable addition to almost all other dishes.

Fish broth - how to prepare it

The most common solution is, of course, to buy ready-made fish broth, available in the form of cubes or water.
But the composition of this type of product leaves much to be desired, and fish makes up only a small part of it. But there you can find many controversial additives, especially flavor enhancers. Most often it is monosodium glutamate or sodium inosinate. The second of these substances should especially be avoided by people with high uric acid levels and those suffering from gout. Ready-made broths do not lack artificial colors (for example, caramel ammonia) or thickeners (for example, xanthan gum).

For health and getting a good taste and smell, it is much more useful to prepare a decoction without the help of others.

What will be useful:

First of all, fish “waste”: heads, tails or vertebrae, although, of course, pieces of meat are also suitable. You should avoid species that are especially rich in fat (mackerel, salmon, tuna or herring), which give the broth a not very pleasant aftertaste. It is better to use sea flounder, trout, hake, pollock, pike perch, pike, sea bream or cod. The fish as a whole should weigh about 2 kg. It is necessary to thoroughly wash everything, free the heads from the burgundy parts of the gills.

How to cook:

1. Stew (optional) chopped vegetables: two stalks of celery, two branches of parsley, a piece of celery root, carrots and a small onion. Add them to the pan with the fish and fill with cool water in an amount of about 3 liters.
2. Season with a few peppercorns, a bay leaf, a couple of sprigs of thyme and fennel seeds, the smell of which mixes well with the fish. You can also add a few sprigs of lovage, other herbs to taste and a couple of slices of lemon.
3. Cook all this over low heat without covering the pan. From time to time, skim off the resulting grayish foam with a slotted spoon. At the end, add salt to the broth, and after cooling slightly, strain through a sieve with thick gauze. If not the entire portion is consumed, you can freeze the remaining portion.

How to use fish broth

The most trivial idea is to make a fish soup based on it, for example, Hungarian halasle , adding pieces of carp to the broth (its meat does not fall apart during cooking), fried onions and an impressive portion of hot pepper (you can use either fresh or powdered).

But fish broth is perfect for other soups. tomato soup using the broth , adding tomato extract and crushed garlic, and at the end adding pieces of fish on which the broth was prepared (naturally, if we used something more than heads and spines).

A slightly modified version of cabbage : add washed and chopped sauerkraut to the broth, as well as soaked and chopped dried mushrooms. When the soup ingredients have softened, add the diced smoked salmon. Serve cabbage with croutons.

Fish broth is an indispensable addition to some versions of risotto , especially those made from seafood. Slowly pour the hot broth over the rice, which will acquire a specific creamy consistency.

If you like Mediterranean food, you can make Spanish paella . Cook the rice in fish broth, be sure to add a pinch of saffron, which will give the dish a wonderful yellowish color. The dish is enriched with pieces of fish, seafood, chicken or spicy chorizo ​​sausage.

Fish broth will also be needed when making jelly, for example, the famous gefilte fish, Jewish fish.

Fish broth - the best recipes. How to cook fish broth correctly and deliciously.

Fish broth - general principles of production

The advantage of fish broths is that they cook much faster than meat or mushroom broths. In addition, the first dishes with fish broth are not only tasty and satisfying, but also very healthy. To cook regular fish broth, no matter what type of fish will do (carp, pike perch, perch, hake, carp, etc.). Very tasty fish soups are made from salmon, trout and pink salmon.

The principle of making any fish broth is as follows: fish waste is poured with water and boiled along with onions, carrots and seasonings (bay leaf, black or white peppercorns, coriander, cumin, etc.). The fish does not require long-term cooking; the average cooking time is 35-50 minutes. The finished broth is filtered from vegetables and seasonings, then you can cook fish soup on its base, adding potatoes, fried vegetables, herbs, cream cheese or other ingredients.

Fish broths are more convenient and easier to prepare from soup sets that include heads, fins and other waste. If whole fish is used, it must be cut and gutted in advance. Fish broth is often frozen for the next preparation of first and second courses, sauces, fillings, etc.

Fish broth - preparation of goods and utensils

To cook fish broth, you will need a saucepan, a cutting board with a knife, and a frying pan for frying vegetables. Fish broths can also be prepared in a slow cooker.

Whole fish must be cut and the entrails removed before cooking. The gills must be cut out, and large heads can be cut into several parts. Then the fish is cut into pieces and washed. You can use ready-made soup sets for fish broths, consisting of heads, tails, fins, etc. All fish waste also needs to be thoroughly washed before cooking.

Fish broth recipes:

Recipe 1: Fish broth

The most common recipe for making rich fish broth. No matter what kind of fish is suitable for this, vegetables (onions and carrots) are also needed. The purchased broth can be used to make the most complex fish first courses.

Required ingredients:

• A kilogram of fish (heads, tails, etc. are also suitable);
• Greenery;
• Carrot;
• Onion;
• Salt;
• Paprika - a pinch;
• Pepper.

Manufacturing method:

If you use fish waste, simply wash it and put it in a pan. We cut up the whole fish, remove the gills, and cut the carcass into pieces. Place peeled onions and carrots into the pan, throw in all sorts of greens. Fill all the ingredients with cold water and place the pan on the fire. After the water boils, remove the foam and reduce the heat. Cook the fish broth for about 45 minutes, then add paprika (a couple of minutes before the end of cooking) and turn off the heat. Strain the broth, add salt and pepper and serve with chopped herbs and pieces of boiled fish.

Recipe 2: Fish broth with tomatoes, celery and seasonings

This fragrant, rich and tasty fish broth is prepared very simply. It can be used as a base for first and second courses; it is better to immediately cook more of this broth and freeze some of it in the refrigerator. It is best to use carp, trout or carp.

Required ingredients:

• Fish waste from 2 fish (skins, bones, heads, tails, etc.);
• Tomatoes – 2 pcs.;
• Celery - three stalks;
• Parsley;
• Fennel;
• Garlic – several cloves;
• Snow white wine – 0.75 cups;
• 0.5 tsp. cumin, coriander and dark pepper;
• Several bay leaves;
• 0.5 tsp. sea ​​salt;
• Chili pepper - two pods.

Manufacturing method:

Place the washed fish, pieces of celery stalks and cut tomatoes into the pan. Next we throw in herbs, garlic, peppers, all the spices (not counting salt) and snow-white wine. Fill all the ingredients with one and a half liters of water and send to cook. Cook the fish broth over low heat for about 40 minutes. Strain the broth and add some salt.

Recipe 3: Fish broth in a slow cooker

The multicooker greatly simplifies the process of preparing all dishes, including the first ones. The fish broth comes out rich and fragrant in the slow cooker; the main thing is to prepare all the ingredients.

Required ingredients:

• Set for fish broth (heads, fins, etc.);
• Carrot;
• Lukovka;
• Salt;
• Bay leaf;
• Water;
• Snow white peppercorns.

Manufacturing method:

We rinse the fish waste and place it in the multicooker bowl. Add peeled vegetables, bay leaves and spices. We fill all the products with 2 liters of water (you need to look at the number of products, the water must cover them one hundred percent). Cook in the “stew” mode for 1.5 hours. Strain the finished broth and divide the fish into separate pieces of meat. We serve the dish with boiled fish and herbs, or use it to prepare other dishes.

Recipe 4: Salmon fish broth

Indescribably tasty and necessary salmon fish broth. Reddish fish soup turns out rich, fragrant and very satisfying.

Required ingredients:

• Salmon (the backbone is used);
• Potatoes – 2-3 tubers;
• Lukovka;
• Carrot;
• Three spoons of rice;
• Bay leaf;
• Salt;
• Pepper;
• Sunflower oil;
• Greenery.

Manufacturing method:

Boil the salmon together with the bay leaves until cooked; after boiling, do not forget to remove the foam. We take out the fish, let it cool and remove the meat from the bones. Chop the carrots into small cubes and finely chop the onion. Cut the peeled potatoes into bars. Chop the greens with a knife. Place the potatoes in the bubbling fish broth and cook for about 20 minutes. Fry onions and carrots in sunflower oil. Wash the rice and add to the soup (25 minutes after the potatoes). Then we add roasted vegetables and fish fillets. Salt and pepper the soup to taste, cook until done. Three minutes before the end of cooking, add chopped herbs. Serve salmon fish broth after steeping.

Recipe 5: Fish broth with eggs

Any fish broth can be supplemented with boiled eggs - the dish will only benefit from this. This recipe uses pink salmon waste, vegetables, seasonings and herbs.

Required ingredients:

• Fish heads, tails, etc.;
• Potatoes – 2 pcs.;
• Onion;
• Carrot;
• Peppercorns;
• Salt;
• Boiled eggs - for serving;
• Greenery;
• Bay leaf;
• Carnation.

Manufacturing method:

Rinse the fish, put it in a pan and fill it with cold water. Let's cook. After boiling, remove the foam and turn down the heat. We throw in a few cloves, bay leaves and a few peppercorns. Cook the fish broth for about 20 minutes. Then strain the broth and remove the boiled fish from the bones. Pour the broth back into the pan and put it on the stove. Cut the potatoes into cubes and throw them into the bubbling broth. Next, add chopped onions and carrots, add some salt and cook until the vegetables are ready. At the end of cooking, add pieces of boiled fish and herbs. Let the soup boil for two minutes and turn off the heat. Place half boiled eggs on each plate.

Fish broth - secrets and useful tips from the best chefs

— If you are preparing a broth from reddish fish, it is recommended to use ready-made fillets. Pieces of boiled fish can be placed on a plate when serving or used for making second courses;

— Ready-made fish broth can be served with boiled eggs, chopped herbs or crispy croutons;

— The richest fish broths come from pike perch, ruffe, perch and sturgeon;

— To make the fish broth golden, you can add onions fried until golden brown;

— Fish broth can also be made from frozen fish. Place it only in cool water, otherwise the soup will turn out tasteless;

— Fish broths can be prepared immediately from several types of fish. Take note of such combinations as perch and ruffe, or whitefish and burbot;

— We constantly heat the fish broths over low heat, removing the foam from time to time;

— From time to time, fish broths come out cloudy and unpresentable. This can be corrected this way: beat some egg whites with salt and add to the broth. After boiling, cook, stirring, for 10-15 minutes. Then strain the fish broth through cheesecloth.

How long and how to cook fish broth correctly

1. ⏱ Cooking time for fish broth
2. Development of cooking fish broth
3. In a saucepan
4. In a slow cooker
5. In the microwave
6. Useful and harmful characteristics of fish broth
7. ✅ Useful
8. ❌ Harmful

⏱ Cooking time for fish broth

Compared to meat broth, fish broth does not take long to prepare. How long this will take depends on which method you choose. The fastest is in the microwave, but it is also the most unpredictable, because... You can ruin a dish in an instant if you have no experience.

Subtleties of making fish broth:

• If fish heads are used to cook the broth, it is imperative to cut out their gills. Otherwise, the prepared dish may have a bitter taste.
• To make the broth transparent, you can add two or three lightly salted egg whites to it.
• Before cooking, fish should be washed in cool water.

Development of cooking fish broth

In a saucepan

1. We cut one kilogram of fish into pieces, rinse well and place in a saucepan.
2. Fill with cool water (3-4 liters) and turn on high heat.
3. After boiling, reduce the heat, remove the foam, add one whole onion, carrots, bay leaf and dill or parsley to taste, black peppercorns.
4. Cook for 30-45 minutes, depending on the type of fish (until the meat peels off the bones).
5. A couple of minutes before readiness, add salt.
6. Strain through a fine sieve and remove the vegetables.

In former times, special healing properties were attributed to fish broth; it was used to restore health and heal certain diseases. It was believed that the dish gives a person extra energy, increases male strength and life expectancy.

At first, parts of the fish that remained after cutting were used to make broth.

Video recipe for making fish broth

In a slow cooker

1. Place one kilogram of fish, cut into pieces and painstakingly washed, into a multicooker bowl.
2. Fill with cool water (2 liters). Immediately add half an onion, bay leaf, a bunch of dill, salt and black peppercorns to taste.
3. Turn on the “Soup” mode for 1-1 hour. 10 min.
4. Strain the broth through a fine sieve and remove the vegetables.

The most delicious and rich fish broths are obtained from sturgeon fish, as well as from perch, pike perch, ruffe, burbot, whitefish, carp, carp, and hake. For greater fat, you can use 2 or even 3 types of fish.

In the microwave

1. Place two or three pieces of carefully washed fish (300 g) in a deep saucepan or bowl suitable for use in a microwave oven.
2. Pour in cool water (1 liter) and cover (the lid must have an outlet to release steam), then bring to a boil at maximum power for 4-5 minutes.
3. After boiling, reduce the setting to medium and cook for 5-7 minutes until tender.
4. Remove foam as necessary.
5. Strain the finished broth through a fine sieve.

❌ Fish of the herring and mackerel families are not used for making broths. The broth prepared on their basis will have a nasty aftertaste and a cloudy appearance. It is also not recommended to use fish from silted reservoirs. It gives the finished dish a swamp smell.

How to prepare real fish soup, see this link.

Useful and harmful characteristics of fish broth

✅ Useful

1. Compensates for the lack of necessary substances during diets.
2. It has a low calorie content (on average about 50 kcal per 100 g).
3. Contains useful substances such as folic acid, magnesium, polyunsaturated fats, iodine.
4. Rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, B12, C, D, E, PP.
5. Restores the functioning of the gallbladder and digestive system.
6. Speeds up metabolism.

It is recommended to include broth from cod fillet or other nutritious fish into the diet of children aged 8 months and older (in the absence of allergies) at least once a week. You should simply cook it by adding the fish to salted water.

Thanks to the rich content of vitamins and microelements necessary for the child’s body, such a dish will be a beautiful addition to the child’s diet.

❌ Harmful

1. The ability to cause an allergic reaction.
2. The ability of fish, when exposed to unfavorable natural conditions, to accumulate salts of harmful metals and toxic substances.
3. Contraindications for people with liver, kidney and cardiovascular diseases.

The surest way to choose good, fresh fish is to buy live fish. If you don’t have this ability, you should choose by smell. Freshly caught fish is distinguished by a slightly tangible sweetish smell or its complete absence.

Development of fish broth production

Secrets of making delicious fish broth

The fragrant fish broth is used to make soups, main courses, appetizers and sauces, but it is also delicious on its own. A very nutritious broth comes from catfish, ruffe, perch, pike perch, trout, crucian carp, carp, carp, pink salmon, salmon and sturgeon species of fish. Nutritionists and doctors recommend broths as a healthy and low-calorie food that is simply absorbed by the body. Making fish broth can be mastered by any housewife who is concerned about feeding her family. How to cook fish broth correctly?

Preparing fish for broth

The fish is cleaned of scales and entrails, the fins are cut off, and the gills and eyes are removed. The carcass is thoroughly washed under running water, cut into pieces, and the small fish is placed completely in the pan. If you purchased trout, you can cook the fish with its scales, as it makes the broth rich and rich. Almost all housewives leave fins for the same reason, but uncut gills will hopelessly spoil the taste of the dish. From time to time, housewives cook broth from tails, bones, heads, skins, fins, or purchase ready-made fish kits. Do not use the heads of bream, roach, crucian carp and carp for the broth, otherwise the dish will taste bitter. To cook reddish fish, it is better to take ready-made fillets. Broths made from various types of fish are very pleasant to the taste, and combinations of burbot and whitefish, ruff and perch are especially successful.

Traditional recipe for making fish stock

The fish is poured with cold water and put on fire, and to make the broth especially fragrant and savory, you can immediately add onions, carrots, peppercorns, bay leaves, cumin, thyme, coriander, all kinds of herbs and parsley root. For 3 liters of water take approximately 500 g of fish, one onion, carrot and one parsley root. Seasonings and salt - to taste.

Some cooks first boil the head and tail and only after 20 minutes add the fillet to the pan. Another method is to cook the whole fish, and after half an hour remove the fillets, leaving only fish trimmings in the pan. Remember that the sturgeon head takes at least an hour to cook. The broth is cooked with the lid open - first it is brought to a boil, and then the heat is reduced and it is allowed to slowly gurgle, removing the foam as necessary. The total cooking time is 35–50 minutes, it all depends on the type of fish and the intensity of boiling. A couple of minutes before the end of cooking, add paprika to the pan for flavor. The finished broth is filtered and later served, used for other dishes, or frozen. If the broth is tasted immediately, the fish fillet is separated from the bones and added to the plate along with the herbs. In general, pieces of fish can be used for main courses, salads and appetizers. There are various technologies for making fish broth, and if you follow the basic rules and use only high-quality products, it will definitely turn out to be savory, aromatic and appetizing.

Another method of cooking fish broth

Some recipes are more reminiscent not of traditional broths, but of light soups. During the process of cooking the broth, diced potatoes or a little rice are often added to it, and carrots and onions are added not at the very beginning of production, but closer to the end, frying them in oil in a frying pan. By the way, sautéed onions give the broth a golden color and a special smell.

There are recipes in which you can find leeks, garlic, bell peppers, ginger and parsnip roots, mushrooms, lemon and dry wine. Often the broth is made from shrimp, squid, mussels and other seafood.

Fish broth in a slow cooker

A multicooker greatly simplifies the process of making fish broth and saves time, and the broth in it is very rich. Place cooked fish, peeled vegetables (onions and carrots), bay leaves, spices into the multicooker bowl and pour in enough water to cover the food - approximately 2 liters. The broth is cooked for 1.5 hours in the “Stew” mode, then it is filtered, the fish is separated from the bones and poured with broth.

How to make fish stock clear

If the broth is cloudy and not very appetizing, beat a few egg whites with a pinch of salt, add them to the broth, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. From time to time, egg whites are combined with ice cubes, poured into the broth, brought to a boil, and then removed from the heat and infused under a closed lid. After straining, the broth takes on a clear and appetizing appearance.

The dish can be made transparent using granular caviar. About 50 g of caviar is ground to a homogeneous paste, diluted with cool water, and then a glass of hot broth is poured in and stirred thoroughly. Add half of the resulting caviar to the pan, bring to a boil, then pour in the remaining mass, bring to a boil again and cook for 15 minutes. The broth is infused and filtered.

Recipe: fish broth with tomatoes and celery

Carp, carp and trout are suitable for making this dish. Place the trimmings of 2 fish in a saucepan, add 3 stalks of celery, chopped into pieces, 2 chopped tomatoes, a bunch of parsley, ½ tsp each. fennel, cumin, coriander, dark pepper, 2 chili peppers, several cloves of garlic and ⅔ glass of white wine. All ingredients are poured into 1.5 liters of water and boiled for 40 minutes, and then filtered and seasoned with sea salt.

The sequence of making fish broth may be different, but it is always served hot with herbs and special additives. The broth with croutons, crackers, sticks of boiled carrots and boiled eggs, cut in half, is very tasty. Your family will definitely love this hearty and tasty fish broth!