Shrimp Stock

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Shrimp stock isn’t something that a lot of people tend to make at home. However, it is the absolute best way to extract tons of flavor from your leftover shrimp shells! This soup stock goes excellent with my Shrimp Soup!

If you love seafood why not try making some Garlic Butter Shrimp? Or, why not learn how to make The Best Seafood Stock instead? 

Shrimp Stock

Making shrimp at home is an amazing way to get into cooking with seafood, but it always has one major drawback.

Just what are you supposed to use the shrimp shells for?

After peeling and eating your shrimp, you usually find yourself throwing away a massive mound of shrimp shells.

However, thanks to this recipe, you never have to commit the sin of wasting food ever again, as it turns out that you can utilize leftover shrimp shells to make an amazingly flavorful stock that is rich in shrimp flavor and able to be used in pretty much anything!  

Shrimp Stock Ingredients

Make sure you look at the recipe card at the very bottom for the exact amounts so that you know exactly what to buy for this recipe.

• Olive oil

• Shrimp shells

• Yellow onion

• Carrots

• Celery

• Garlic (fresh, peeled, or chopped)

• Cold water

• Coriander seeds

• Bay leaves

• Parsley

• Black pepper

• Salt

How To Make Shrimp Stock

• In a large, heavy bottom pot on medium heat, add the oil, shrimp shells, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic

• Cook and stir the shrimp shells until pink and the veggies start to soften up, usually about 10 minutes

• Add in the water, coriander seeds, bay leaves, parsley, and black pepper, and salt to taste

• Cover the pot, leaving the lid a bit askew, and bring to a boil

• Reduce heat and simmer lightly for 20 minutes

• Using a slotted ladle, remove the largest pieces of the vegetables and shells from the broth

• Place a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl or pot and pour the stock through the strainer (don’t just pour it into the sink!)

• Discard the shells and vegetables, and then cool before refrigerating or freezing   

How To Get A Really Clear Shrimp Stock

This recipe for shrimp stock will produce a rich, decadent and flavorful stock, but one problematic element of the stock is that it will have a pretty particular color to it.

Instead of being a deep, dark brown like beef or chicken stock, it will actually have a bit of a orange tinge to it that some people find a bit sickly looking.

If you have a problem with a slightly orange, yellow-y tinge to your stock, it isn’t actually too hard to remove some of the colors.

Simply strain your shrimp stock through a cheesecloth after straining away the majority of the solids. The cheesecloth will help to remove some of the extra colors from the stock without taking out any of the flavor, perfect for when you are looking for a clearer and more attractive stock.

How Can You Use Shrimp Stock In Other Recipes?

Everyone is familiar with using chicken, beef, or pork stock as a sort of filler ingredient able to be used in pretty much any savory application when liquid is called for.

So how and when do you use shrimp stock?

Shrimp stock obviously has a very distinctive, shrimp-forward flavor, but what’s interesting is that it is not intensely fishy. Unlike homemade fish stock, which can really only be used to create a fish soup, shrimp stock can be used to add a giant hit of umami saltiness to almost any dish.

While it can, of course, be used to make an absolutely incredible shrimp or won ton soup, it could also be used as the liquid base for some homemade noodles.

Or use it in place of chicken stock for any recipe where some shrimp and umami flavors won’t conflict with the already present ingredients.

Or you could just pour it into a cup, add some salt and enjoy it as a simple, low calorie soup snack!

Shrimp stock is massively versatile, and even if you don’t plan on making something obviously like shrimp soup, you should definitely make some stock the next time you eat some shrimp at home.

Looking for more delicious Seafood recipes? Try these out:

• Seafood Chowder

• Grilled Shrimp

• Oyster Stew

Happy Cooking

Love,

Karlynn

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