Court Bouillon substitute

Best substitute

Homemade court bouillon

Use the same amount as the court bouillon you are replacing

Best for poaching salmon

Close match

The real thing: 2 quarts (2 L) water, 1 cup dry white wine or 1/4 cup white wine vinegar, 1 sliced onion, 1 sliced carrot, 1 celery stick, parsley stems, 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp peppercorns, 1 tbsp salt.

Other court bouillon substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Well-salted water with lemon and bay
Different taste
Use the same amount
The minimum version: 1 tbsp salt per quart (litre) of water, 2 or 3 lemon slices, a bay leaf, a few peppercorns.
What changes
Best for
poaching salmon, shrimp, white fish, weeknight cooking
Genuinely good, and closer to real court bouillon than people expect, because salt and acid are the two things doing most of the work. What you lose is the sweet vegetal background from the onion and carrot, so the fish tastes clean and lemony rather than perfumed. If you have five extra minutes, throw in a few onion slices too and you have closed most of the gap.
3Fish stock or fumet, diluted
Taste and texture differ
Half stock, half water, plus a splash of wine
Proper fish stock made from bones, cut back so it does not overpower.
What changes
Best for
fish soups, poaching for a sauce, shellfish, risotto
Use this when the poaching liquid is going to become a sauce, because the extra body from the bones makes a better reduction. Do not use it full strength: undiluted fumet is much more intensely fishy than court bouillon and makes delicate white fish taste heavy and slightly muddy. A fumet is a different thing from a court bouillon, being a short bone stock rather than seasoned water, though many recipes use the words loosely.
4Chicken stock or vegetable broth, diluted
Taste and texture differ
Half stock, half water, plus a squeeze of lemon
Everyday stock cut with water and brightened with acid.
What changes
Best for
poached chicken, shellfish, vegetables, shrimp
Not traditional but perfectly practical, and often what home cooks have open. The result has a savoury, faintly sweet background that court bouillon lacks, which suits shellfish and chicken well and can slightly muddy very delicate fish like sole. Check the salt, since boxed stock is often already well salted and poaching liquid needs to be quite salty.
5Clam juice diluted with water
Different taste
1 part clam juice to 3 parts water, plus wine and aromatics
Bottled clam juice as a shortcut source of briny sea flavour.
What changes
Best for
shellfish, fish stews, mussels, shrimp
Fast and effective for anything from the sea, giving a clean briny note that suits shellfish particularly. It is very salty, so dilute it as above and taste before adding any salt at all. Add an onion slice and a bay leaf and it becomes a decent seafood poaching liquid in ten minutes.
6Half a bouillon cube in water plus lemon
Different taste
Use ½ cube for every quart (litre) of water, plus 2 lemon slices
The fastest option, with the quantity deliberately halved.
What changes
Best for
emergency use, shrimp, vegetables
Honest assessment: bouillon cubes taste of dried onion, yeast extract and salt, and at full strength that flavour coats the fish and reads as processed. Use half a cube, add real acid, and it is acceptable. Anything more and you would be better off with plain salted water and a lemon slice.

What is Court Bouillon?

Court Bouillon is Court bouillon is a quick aromatic poaching liquid of water with wine or vinegar, sliced onion, carrot, celery, herbs, peppercorns and plenty of salt, simmered briefly and then used to gently cook fish, shellfish and vegetables.

Cooking tips

Salt the liquid like pasta water, about a tablespoon per quart. Under-salted poaching liquid pulls flavour and salt out of the fish by osmosis rather than seasoning it, which is the single most common reason home-poached fish tastes bland and washed out.
Keep it at a bare shiver, never a boil. Visible rolling bubbles batter delicate fish apart and squeeze out its moisture. If the surface is barely trembling you are at the right temperature.
For a large whole fish or a side of salmon, start it in cold court bouillon and bring the pot up slowly, so the outside does not overcook before the middle is done. For fillets and shellfish, bring the liquid to temperature first and then lower them in.
Strain the vegetables out before poaching. Left in, they stick to the fish and have to be picked off, and they have already given up their flavour during the twenty-minute simmer.
The used liquid, strained and reduced hard, makes a decent light sauce base or the liquid for a seafood risotto. Reduce it though, do not serve it as is, since at poaching strength it is thin and too salty to be a sauce. This is also the one thing a fumet does better.

Frequently asked questions

What is court bouillon in English?

Short broth, literally. It is aromatic poaching liquid rather than a stock: water with acid, salt and a few vegetables and herbs, simmered for twenty or thirty minutes rather than hours, and used to cook something gently rather than to be eaten on its own.

Is court bouillon the same as fish stock or fumet?

No. A fumet is made by simmering fish bones and heads, so it has real body, gelatin and a pronounced fish flavour, and it is used as a sauce base. A court bouillon contains no bones and adds very little body, and its whole purpose is to season the fish from the outside while it cooks. You can substitute diluted fumet for court bouillon, but not the other way round if the recipe needs a sauce base.

Can I just use water?

Plain unsalted water, no, because it actively leaches flavour out of the fish. Well-salted water with a couple of lemon slices and a bay leaf, absolutely yes, and the difference between that and a full court bouillon is smaller than most recipes imply. Salt and acid are the parts that matter; the carrot and celery are refinement.

Do I need the wine, and can I reuse the liquid afterwards?

You need acid, and wine is the traditional way to provide it, but white wine vinegar works using about a quarter cup where the recipe calls for a cup of wine, and so does lemon juice. The acid firms the surface of the fish slightly and keeps it looking clean and white, so do not skip it entirely. As for reusing it, yes, once: strain it, cool it quickly, refrigerate it and use it within a day or two for the same kind of fish, since it gets progressively more fishy with each use. It also freezes well.

Can I use court bouillon for canning or pickling fish?

No. Home canning, pickling and curing of fish depend on precisely tested acidity and processing times, and improvising the liquid or changing the vinegar creates a real risk of botulism. If your recipe is for preserved or shelf-stable fish rather than something you are cooking and eating now, follow a tested recipe exactly and check current guidance from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Related substitutes

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Court Bouillon substitute

Other court bouillon substitutes

2Well-salted water with lemon and bay

3Fish stock or fumet, diluted

4Chicken stock or vegetable broth, diluted

5Clam juice diluted with water

6Half a bouillon cube in water plus lemon