Fish Heads, Fish Heads....Seafood Stock

Fish heads, fish heads, roly, poly fish heads. Fish heads, fish heads, eat em up yum! The opening lyrics to the 1980 comical song about fish heads by Barnes and Barnes hit the nail on the head, as they are yum!

While fish heads are indeed yummy, as I can't think of a tastier piece of seafood than fresh cod cheeks, the focus of this Wicked Scoff entry is to illustrate how you can use fish heads, and other "throw away" portions of fish to make your own seafood stock. Seafood stock is an essential ingredient to making dishes like chowder, fish stews, and the like richer and more authentic. While you can readily find powdered and liquid seafood stock or clam juice in every supermarket these days (and these are fine in a pinch), if you have access to whole fish, you owe it to yourself to make your own stock. Alternatively you can also easily adapt this simply formula to make shellfish stock by substituting shellfish "shells" such as lobster, shrimp and crab. Whatever the case, you'll be left with a flavorful stock that you can either use right away, store for a few days in the refrigerator, or even freeze for weeks.

Ingredients:

- 3-5 pounds of fresh fish (such as cod or haddock) heads, bones and trimmings
- 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 ribs of celery, roughly chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- small handful of fresh herbs such as lemon-thyme, thyme or parsley
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 12 cups of water

Directions:

In a large stock pot, heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the onions, carrot and celery and saute for a couple of minutes until they become somewhat translucent. Add the fish head/bones and trimmings and all remaining ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil, and watch the mixture for about 5 minutes, skimming off any scum that will float to the top. Reduce the heat to a low boil or simmer, skimming off the scum as necessary. Cook for an additional 20 to 25 minutes. Strain/push the stock through a large fine sieve, and pass through again with the sieve lined with cheesecloth to insure all the particles are left behind, so you are left with a clear stock. Pour into containers (or even icecube trays) and and store in the fridge or freezer until ready to use. This yields about 10 cups of stock.

Scrod Roll-Ups with Mornay Sauce

What is a scrod roll-up you might ask? Before I answer that I should remind you what scrod is. Traditionally, the strict New England definition of scrod, was "a young cod, split down the back and backbone removed, except for a small portion of the tail". Although the word sounds an awful like like "cod", the origins of the word scrod probably comes from the Dutch word "scrood", piece cut off. So while purists will claim that true scrod is a small 1 to 2 pound cod, today, it has also come to mean haddock, as well as other white fleshed fish.

Now to the roll-up part. This recipe is inspired by a classic Newfoundland dish, and one of my favorites, cod au gratin. Which is basically pieces of cod baked in a creamy white sauce with cheese and topped with bread crumbs. A while back I was planning on cooking cod au gratin for my in-laws, however when  my wife's Uncle Jack returned from the market with some beautiful fresh fillets of scrod, I realized I had to make an adaptation as these fillets deserved to be left whole. While the package did not say if it was cod or haddock (although I am 99% sure it was haddock) the fillets were definitely from a small fish, and thus would be identified as scrod by any modern definition of the term.

With all the ingredients for cod au gratin on hand, and a craving for a rich, creamy and cheesy sauce, I made these scrod roll-ups, which are essentially baked scrod pinwheels with a Mornay sauce or "inside-out cod au gratin", whichever you prefer. The recipe is really very simple, and takes no time to pull together. Served with some roasted potato slices and sauteed spinach with a balsamic maple reduction, and it made for a satisfying and elegant entree. I hope you give it a try.

Baked Scrod Roll-ups with Mornay Sauce

Ingredients:

6 thin scrod fillets (alternatively you could butterfly 3 thick pieces of cod in half lengthwise)
2 cups bread crumbs (fine homemade work best)
1 tsp dried savory
salt and pepper
fresh dill (optional)
1/4 cup butter (plus extra to greasing the pan)
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk (2% or whole)
1 cup sharp white cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and begin making the Mornay Sauce, which is nothing more than a standard white sauce (Bechamel) with the addition of cheese. Over a medium heat, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan, and add the flour. Make a roux by combining the flour and butter with a wooden spoon. Cook for a minute to "cook-out" the raw flour taste and begin adding the milk. Switch to a whisk and add the milk a bit at a time, stirring fairly frequently. Once you have added all the milk, it will take a couple of minutes for the sauce to reach the appropriate thickness. Add the cheese, stir and remove from the heat and set aside.

Grease a glass baking dish with a little butter and begin assembling your fish. Add the savory and a dash of salt and pepper to the breadcrumbs and lay your 6 fillets out on a work surface. Season each fillet with a little salt and pepper. Add a couple of tablespoons of the seasoned bread crumbs to the top of each fillet and spread evenly. Roll up each fillet in a tight little package and arrange in the baking dish. Top each roll-up with a some of the Mornay sauce and top each with the remaining bread crumbs. Reserve about half of the Mornay sauce finish the fish once it has cooked, and keep it warm on the side. If it gets too thick thin it out with a drop of milk. Cook the scrod roll-ups in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, until the flesh flakes.
Plate the cooked scrod roll ups, spoon some of the warm Mornay over the top and garnish with some fresh dill and a wedge of lemon.

Enjoy!

Baked Scrod

Baked Scrod (aka Boston Baked Scrod) is one of the most classic New England seafood recipes, second only maybe to chowder. The dish is a staple in restaurants and diners all across the country and as the name suggests, its origins are traced back to old beantown restaurants.

What is scrod you might ask? Well this question garners some debate. Traditionally, the strict New England definition of scrod, was "a young cod, split down the back and backbone removed, except for a small portion of the tail". Although the word sounds an awful like like "cod", the origins of the word scrod probably comes from the Dutch word "scrood", piece cut off. So while purists will claim that true scrod is a small 1 to 2 pound cod, today, it has also come to mean haddock. With that being said, any fillet of cod, haddock, or even pollock may be referred to as "scrod" on a restaurant menu.

Whatever you call it, this recipe is a simple and delicious way to serve this wonderfully tasting and delicate fish. For Newfoundlander's I hope you try this recipe and add it to your repertoire of cod dishes. I've eaten cod a number of ways in Newfoundland, but I've never had it like this. I now make it all of the time and my friends and family request it often. The flavours are simple, work well together, and compliment the fish tremendously. The textures are also great with the moist, flaky fish aganist the crisp topping and rich lemon sauce. I'm actually able to get really good quality cod (Alaskan Cod, frozen at sea) here in western New England/upstate New York, with fillets often on sale for $5 or $6/lb, and thick loins for $8/lb. The same goes for haddock, which can often be had fresh.

Baked Scrod

2 1/2 lbs cod or haddock fillets, cut into 4 oz (1/4 lb) portions
1 large onion, halved and sliced thin
2 lemons
1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
3 Tbsp + 1 tsp butter
1/4 cup of dry white wine
1 1/2 cups of dry bread crumbs (Panko if you can get them)
1/4 tsp of savory (you can substitute dill for a different flavor)
salt and pepper

In a skillet, saute the onion in oil and 1 Tbsp of the butter until soft but not browned.
In meantime preheat oven to 375 and cut fish into roughly 4 oz portions. 2 1/2 pounds will yield 8-10 pieces, enough for 4 people. Also combine the bread crumbs with the herbs, with a tsp pf melted butter.

Once onions are soft, add a dash of salt and pepper, the juice and zest of 1 lemon, the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter, and the white wine. Continue to cook for a minute or so. Pour the oniony lemon goodness into a large casserole dish (or small individual baking dishes also work great) and top with the fish. Season the fish with a little salt and pepper and spoon with a little of the sauce. Put in the hot oven. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, remove and once again spoon the onion-lemon sauce over the fish. Increase oven temperature to 425, and top each fish portion with herb and butter bread crumbs. Bake for an additional 5 minutes until nicely browned.

To serve, plate the onion and lemon sauce and top with the fish. Squeeze with fresh lemon juice.

This dish makes a great appetizer (smaller portions), first course, or main dish when accompanied with a starch and a vegetable. I like it with steamed asparagus or broccoli and herb roasted potatoes.