Veracruz Seafood Fumet (Fumet Jarocho)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 6-quart stockpot
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Large heatproof bowl
• •Sharp kitchen shears or knife for trimming fish heads
• •Quart containers for freezing

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the bones

   Pull the gills from the fish heads if the fishmonger did not do it. Rinse the bones and heads under cold water until the water runs mostly clear. This matters. Gills and blood make a bitter, muddy stock, and Veracruz cooks who work with Gulf fish know that clean bones give clean broth.

2. 2

   Sweat the aromatics

   Heat the olive oil in a heavy stockpot over medium. Add the onion, garlic, celery, carrot, and tomato. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until the onion turns translucent and the tomato begins to collapse. Do not brown the vegetables. This fumet should taste like the coast, not like roasted stew.

3. 3

   Add shells and bones

   Add the shrimp shells and heads first and stir for 2 minutes, just until they turn pink and smell sweet. Add the fish bones and heads, bay leaves, epazote, peppercorns, salt, and the wine or vinegar if using. The shrimp heads are where the deep shellfish flavor lives. Throw them away and you have already weakened the pot.

   Ask the fish vendor for bones from white Gulf fish. Salmon bones do not belong here. Oily fish will make the stock heavy and strong in the wrong direction.
4. 4

   Cover with water

   Pour in the cold water. The bones should be covered by about one inch. Bring the pot slowly to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Skim the gray foam that rises during the first 10 minutes. Cold water pulls flavor from the bones. A hard boil breaks them up and clouds the stock.

5. 5

   Simmer gently

   Lower the heat until the surface moves with small lazy bubbles. Simmer uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes. No more. Fish stock is not beef stock. Cook it for hours and it turns dull, bitter, and tired. The epazote should perfume the broth without taking over.

6. 6

   Strain cleanly

   Set a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl and strain the fumet without pressing hard on the solids. Pressing forces grit and broken fish bits into the broth. Let gravity do its work. You should have a pale golden stock with a light orange tint from the shrimp shells and tomato.

7. 7

   Cool and store

   Taste only after straining. If you are using the fumet today for arroz a la tumbada or chilpachole, salt it lightly. If you are freezing it, leave it under-salted because reduction concentrates salt. Cool quickly, portion into containers, and refrigerate or freeze. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •At the mercado, ask for espinazo, cabeza, and recortes from robalo, huachinango, pargo, or mojarra. If the vendor knows you are making caldo, she will know what to give you. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado.
• •Remove the gills. I will say it again because people ignore it. Gills make stock bitter. A careful cook cleans the head before it goes in the pot.
• •Shrimp heads are not optional if you want the deep jarocho flavor. Shells alone work, but heads give body and sweetness. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Do not add chile ancho, chile guajillo, or chile chipotle to this base. Those belong later, when you decide whether the fumet becomes chilpachole, arroz a la tumbada, or caldo. The foundation stays clean.
• •Epazote is the right herb. Parsley can sit on the table and behave itself. It does not replace epazote in a Veracruz seafood pot.

Advance Preparation

• •Fumet jarocho keeps refrigerated for 3 days. Bring it to a full simmer before using it in rice or soup.
• •Freeze in 2-cup or 4-cup portions for up to 3 months. Leave headspace in the container because stock expands as it freezes.
• •For arroz a la tumbada, make the fumet one day ahead. Cold stock is easier to skim, and the rice will taste cleaner.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)