Awesome Rich Shrimp Stock

Rita~'s Note:

This is so Rich and Fresh, Very Intense and Easy to make so forget the bottled clam juice or fish stock. This stock is made from the basics so do save and freeze your "scraps" (onion skins, garlic skins and roots, carrots, bell pepper, celery ends, scallion ends, fresh herb stems, onion roots, asparagus bottom trimmings, etc. and of course shrimp shells. Use in anything that calls for seafood stock or clam juice or to make rice, fish stews, gumbo and jambalaya's. It's a shame to discard all the goodness and it is so expensive that it would be a sin to buy. Because it cost you almost NOTHING! Just pennies! So never discard a shell, just freeze and then make rich yummy stock. You can reduce this shrimp stock for more intense flavor.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 4 cups

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 4 cups shrimp shells (from 2 pounds of shrimp fresh or frozen)
• 1 unpeeled red onion, sliced
• 1 organic carrot, sliced
• 1 organic celery, sliced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste (or 1/4 cup leftover rich tomato sauce)
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 sprig parsley
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1 sprig chives
• 1 sprig oregano
• 1 -2 bay leaf
• 1/8 teaspoon fennel seed
• black pepper
• 6 cups water (or enough to cover)

Directions:

1. In a stock pot heat olive oil. Add shells and cook till they turn pink up to 10 minutes to intensify the flavor.
2. Add remaining ingredients except the water.
3. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes the longer you can draw this process out, the more of the natural juices of the scraps will be released. This is awesome flavoring. Add just a pinch of salt to speed the process.
4. Cover with water bring just to a boil: lower heat to simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Strain into a container extracting out all the goodness from the scraps.
6. Cool completely and freeze or use as you like.

Reviews

[Cucina Casalingo]

This is the only way to go! You know exactly what's in the stock instead of using mystery products. Whenever I make a shrimp dish, I save the shells and add them to a zip-lock plastic bag and freeze. Because I am cooking for two, I keep adding to the bag until I've accumulated enough to make stock. I do the same with the scraps and trimmings from vegetables. (Don't save blemished parts.) By the way, onion skins add a rich golden brown color to stocks. Hungry for some seafood chowder?

[tiffany k]

This is great stuff. I never thought of cooking the shells and scraps before putting the water in. Thank you so much for sharing, this is definately worth the effort.