This month, Eric and I have cut our food budget in half to try and save more of the rent we get from our exchange students. I have to admit that I’ve been slacking a bit in the food budgeting due to the excuse of needing more to feed the boys. But this month, I’m back on track, meal planning and everything. One of my favorite tricks for saving money on food is making my own homemade stock. So today, I’m super excited to share my method of using seafood shells to make a rich and flavorful seafood stock recipe.
A lot of seafood stock recipes I’ve seen use fresh shellfish, but that can get expensive. I like to stretch my seafood and think that I’d cry if I used up fresh shrimp or crab in a stock and didn’t get to eat them! I first learned how to do this from some friends I used to go crabbing with in Hawaii. They actually screamed when I threw my crab shells in the trash after dinner! Then they laughed, fished them out (fished, haha, no pun intended) and after rinsing them off taught me how to make stock from the shells. Because they were Chinese, they used Shaoxing wine in the stock, so that’s what I use although sherry or white wine are more common.
It might take a while to save up enough shells for seafood stock, but it’s worth it, trust me! You can use shrimp shells, crab shells, lobster shells, even fish bones. Once you’ve made the stock, you can use it in any recipe that calls for any kind of seafood stock. That’s right, lobster shell stock, shrimp shell stock, fish stock; whatever they ask for, you’ve got it covered right here.
There are two main steps in getting the perfect stock for a seafood soup. The first is roasting. This really enhances the flavor in the shells and makes them sweet and caramelized instead of fishy. The second step is boiling, which pulls all that amazing flavor out and into the liquid.
You may notice in the photos that I have two pans full of shells. That’s because I made a double batch! I save up my shells in gallon ziploc bags in the freezer. One bag packed full is about the 5 cups you need for this recipe. I had two bags so made two pots of stock.
Now, I’m sure you’re wondering where to find recipes using seafood stock. Well, of course I have one to share with you soon (a tasty seafood risotto), but in the meantime, there are lots of bloggers out there with recipes to try. You could use this stock in Jen’s Seafood Gumbo, Matt’s Seafood Paella, or Elise’s Cioppino. I haven’t had a chance to try the recipes yet, but I trust these bloggers and have all three recipes in my meal plan for the month!
about 5 cups (or about 1 1/2 lbs) seafood shells (shrimp, lobster, crab, or fish skeletons)
1 yellow onion, unpeeled and quartered
2 carrots, unpeeled and cut into chunks
1garlic clove, unpeeled
1/2 cup Shaoxing Wine (or dry sherry, dry white wine)
1 TBS tomato paste
2 sprigs of rosemary
1 handful of parsley
1 bay leaf
10 peppercorns
Instructions
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place shells in a baking pan and roast for 5-8 minutes, until they begin to turn golden.
Place shells in a large stockpot, cover with water no more than half an inch above the level of the shells. Add onion, carrots and garlic.
Heat on high until small bubbles rise to the surface. Reduce heat to medium and cook for one hour. From time to time remove any scum (gray bubbly foam that stays on the surface) by scooping it off with a spoon.
After one hour, add wine, tomato paste, rosemary, parsley, bay leaf and peppercorns. Cook for another 30 minutes.
Strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer, discarding the solids. Refrigerate for up to two days, or pour into plastic containers with at least one inch of head room and freeze up to six months.
Notes
Approximate cost/serving:This cost really depends on what seafood shells you use and what price you got them at. For instance, shrimp shells or fish bones will be much cheaper than lobster shells. To calculate the cost, I looked at how much my seafood cost and considered using the shells in stock as 1 serving of the seafood. For example, let’s look at one lobster tail. I stretched one lobster tail to feed four people in lobster macaroni and cheese, so that lobster tail made 5 servings. I got it on sale for $8 so it was $1.60 toward the cost of my stock. Shrimp shells are much cheaper. Twenty shrimp shells were only $1! One batch of seafood stock cost me about $6, at twelve cups of stock that’s still just50 cents a cup.
Vegetarian/Gluten Free:If you eat seafood there is no other meat and it’s totally gluten free.
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Nutritional and cost information is for estimating purposes only, and subject to variations due to region, seasonality, and product availability.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions. Seafood shells and bones: Seafood shells provide tons of briny, sweet flavor in this stock. You can use any combination of shrimp, crab, and lobster shells - or fish bones. We'll discuss more on that below!
To make this creamy, flavorful crab bisque, you will need to make some homemade shellfish stock, so it pays to keep your leftover shells and freeze them until you have the occasion to make the stock. Making stock isn't hard, like making chicken stock, it just takes time.
Lobster, clam and mussel shells make wonderful stock as well. * While most stocks are enhanced by long cooking, 45 minutes is the maximum suggested for fish stock, as the optimum flavor is extracted within that time; cooking any longer results in a bitter stock.
Generally speaking, a seafood broth is the same thing as a seafood stock, especially when we're referring to store-bought versions. In the culinary world, the word stock is more common when referring to fish, lobster, crab, and shrimp stock.
If you don't have time to make the stock when you are using the shrimp, don't discard the shells. Put them in a heavy-duty freezer bag or container and freeze them for later use. If tightly closed, they'll keep for about three months until you're ready for them.
Fish bones are fragile and can dissolve quickly. Overcooking will dissolve the calcium in the bones and create a chalky, cloudy broth. When you notice the head and bones are falling apart, remove the pot from heat.
The best fish bones to use for making fish stock are ones from mild, lean, white fish like halibut, cod, or flounder. As a general rule, you'll want to avoid salmon, trout, mackerel, or other oily, fatty fish since their strong flavor will likely overpower your finished dish.
The word "dashi" is often used to refer to a stock made from mild oceanic kombu (edible sheets of dried seaweed) and smoky katsuobushi, shavings of dried, smoked, and sometimes fermented skipjack tuna or bonito.
However, unlike chicken broth or beef broth, where long cooking extracts more flavor out of the bones and scraps, simmering shrimp shells for longer does not improve the stock. In fact, it can make it taste more bland.
Seafood stock is a generic term for any stock made from seafood. A variety of fish, mollusks and crustaceans, such as lobster, crab, shrimp, clams, and fish can be combined to create a flavor-packed seafood stock.
The easiest way to utilize your shrimp to the fullest is by using your leftover shrimp shells to make shrimp stock! For the uninformed, shrimp stock (or shrimp broth) is essentially a homemade shrimp soup perfect for dishes like seafood soup or risotto.
Stock is generally made from bones, and broth is generally made from flesh. In both cases, they are often supported with aromatic vegetables, but in the case of stock, left unseasoned for maximum flexibility in recipes, whereas broth will usually contain at least salt and pepper.
For lighter stock, that means just salt, a touch of sugar, and some mushroom powder for umami flavor. For a darker stock, he often uses fish sauce or soy sauce.
Once made, you can store seafood stock in a freezer for up to 6 months until needed. Read on for storage tips, but trust us when we say you can't beat the flavor on homemade stock!
A better idea: Invite the neighbors to a big lobster or crab feast, and after dinner put all of the shells on the compost pile. Burying them with a garden fork will not only hide them from birds but also set the heap to “bake,” cooking up the best compost you've ever made.
2 Recently, the waste crab shells have been reused as resources for chitin and chitosan, drug delivery systems, and removing metals from aqueous solutions.
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