Fish Recycling - Stock and Fertiliser

Have you ever enjoyed a whole snapper deliciously baked with a sprinkling of herbs, garlic and butter with a hint of lemon – but then thought to yourself, what shall I do with the fish that remains. Well, for some it will be the garbage bin and off to the local landfill, but there is a better alternative. I tried it for the first time a few days ago. I had just enjoyed my fresh snapper, but like many, I have always had a dilemma as to how to dispose of the fish waste without it becoming almost an unpleasant experience.

In the past, my ancestors would have known how to dispose of the remaining fish wisely or use it for the valuable resource that it is, so I am going to give you a couple of options. Firstly, fish stock is always a valuable addition to a meal. Place all the ingredients in a large stock pot and fill it with cold water. Chop up some vegetables. I would recommend one onion, two carrots, one leek, two celery sticks, a little parsley, one bay leaf and three peppercorns. Slowly bring it to the boil, then reduce the heat and gently simmer, partly covered, for 30 to 40 minutes until the liquid is thick and rich. Check the stock every so often and crush the bones as they cook so that they break and drop to the bottom of the pot. When the stock is thick, drain the liquid from the solid and store in the fridge. You can bury the remains in the garden as mentioned below.

Fish Waste Fertiliser

Fish scraps can be easily turned in to a perfect organic fertiliser for your garden. The fish waste is high in important plant nutrients, namely nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous including trace elements. The simple way to make a fantastic fertiliser for your plants is to cook it up the same as you would fish stock, but without any seasonings. It is simply a matter of boiling up the leftovers with just enough water to cover them until they look cooked and oily. Remove the large bones and liquidise the mixture in a blender. You will only need 1 tablespoon per 4.5 litres of water to pour around your garden plants. You will be impressed with the results. The other method of utilising fish waste is to bury the head, offal and frame in your garden area around about 30 centimetres deep. The larger bones are a rich source of iodine and other minerals. It can be buried between rows in a vegetable garden, for example, and then the following season, moving the rows over the area where it has been buried. This gives the fish a year to compost. If animals are tempted to dig, then a few rocks can be placed over the area where the waste is buried. These methods are environmentally rewarding ways of making the most of fish.

Fish Broth with Lemon and Rice

For a simple nutritious meal using fish stock, I would recommend fish broth with lemon and rice. This is made by bringing your prepared fish stock to the boil, lowering the heat and simmering gently. At this stage, you can add 75g of long grain rice and 2 cloves of garlic cooking for 30 minutes until the rice is soft. Meanwhile, in another bowl, whisk or electric beat the juice of 2 lemons with 3 eggs until they are light and fluffy. Cool down the fish stock, pour it through a sieve into the bowl with the egg mixture, leaving the rice behind in the pot. Whisk the eggs together with the stock for 30 seconds and then return them to the pot with the rice. Season with salt and pepper and then it is ready to serve. It can be garnished with parsley and olive oil.