The Garden Gate Recipe Collection
Seafood Stock or Shrimp Stock
This one takes some forethought...you need to remind yourself to keep your fish discards and freeze them, until you have enough to make stock. Shrimp shells, heads, crawfish shells, lobster shells, fish heads and tails...one man's trash, they say!
If you just want to use the shrimp shells, too, that's still tasty! The full stock is, basically, the same...so here is the base recipe for Shrimp Stock.
Use these in your seafood soups or chowders, or in a seafood pilaf.
Shrimp shells...
I can't tell you how many E-Z Peel shrimp I've shucked in my years as a caterer! I'd save up the one from small parties, then, when I had a good potfull (about 6# worth of shellls), it was stock time!
For the stock...
Shrimp stock has the aromatic veggies in it, just like all the others...use yellow onion, unpeeled, for color, a few carrots, in large chunks, a few celery chunks and a handful of the green tops, a head of garlic, halved across but unpeeled, scallions or leeks, and parsley. Dill is a welcome herb, too, if you have it available. It marries quite well with all seafood soups, stews and pilafs! Another great thing to throw in would be a halved lemon! Divine! Oh, and a couple of bay leaves! Bay definitely belongs in this one! Kosher salt, peppercorns, granulated garlic & onions, Lawry's seasoned salt or celery salt, a generous sprinkle over of each.
Cover with 10 cups of water, bring to boil, reduce to simmer. Cook, covered,but vented, for 90 minutes.
Finally...
Cover with 10 cups of water. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer. Skim off any impurities as they surface. Cook covered, but vented, for 90 minutes, simmering on low to low-medium.
Then, just strain it...
This one is best used within a couple of days, if kept in the fridge. You can freeze it for 3 months, if frozen immediately. It's a flavor and fragrance thing...
Enjoy!