I hope you’re all excited because today we are back with another great recipe for making homemade stock. Now we’ve already covered how to make chicken stock and eventually we will show you how to make beef stock and vegetable stock. But, since mardi gras is creeping up on us I thought it would be a great time to make a stock that is very prevalent in Cajun cooking, shrimp stock! It’s used to make dishes like shrimp etouffee, seafood gumbo, and can even be used for dishes from other cuisines like paella, or seafood bisque. So while it may not be the most popular stock it definitely has its uses.
So how do we make our own shrimp stock?
Well, it begins just like any other stock in that we need a bunch of leftover scraps. For example in our chicken stock recipe, we used the leftover bones from a whole chicken. However, there aren’t any bones in shrimp, so instead, we are going to use their leftover shells. Then we just need some leftover vegetable scraps, like onion and celery, some herbs and spices, and finally some water to cook all of this in.
That’s it!
But the cool thing about shrimp stock is that it takes significantly less time to make. You see unlike the 3 to 4 hours needed to make chicken stock, shrimp stock can be made in as less as 40 minutes. So you really can make it and use it the same day.
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- You can also add in other vegetables, herbs, and spices depending on how you plan to use this stock. For example, if you are going to use it in an Asian inspired soup then try adding in some ginger. Or maybe you have some scraps of carrots in your freezer, then use them. So really once you get the basics of making this stock down try and experiment a little.
- This stock will last in the fridge for a week and up to three months in the freezer.
- A little tip on vegetable scraps: Whenever you cut up an onion, or bell pepper, or celery, don’t throw away the leftover scraps. Place them into a plastic bag and store them in your freezer. Then whenever you want to make a stock simply use some of the scraps instead of buying the ingredients fresh. It will not only save you time but also money.
Shrimp Stock Recipe
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6 cups
Ingredients
Shells from 2 Lbs. of shrimp
½ Cup each of onion, celery, and bell pepper, roughly chopped
2 Garlic cloves, crushed
1 Teaspoon of whole black peppercorn
2 Bay leafs
8 Cups of water
Instructions
- Get all your ingredients ready by peeling the shrimp, and chopping up the veggies.
- Make the stock: Get out a 4 to 6 quart-sized pot and toss in all of the ingredients including the water. Place this over high heat until it comes to a boil. Then lower the heat and let everything simmer for 40 to 50 minutes.
- Strain the stock: Get out a large bowl and a fine-mesh strainer. You can also place some cheesecloth into the strainer if you have any but it’s not necessary. Then strain the stock into the bowl.
- Use the shrimp stock immediately, or place in jars for later use
Shrimp Stock Recipe
Ingredients
- Shells from 2 Lbs. of shrimp
- ½ Cup each of onion celery, and bell pepper, roughly chopped
- 2 Garlic cloves crushed
- 1 Teaspoon of whole black peppercorn
- 2 Bay leafs
- 8 Cups of water
Instructions
- Get all your ingredients ready by peeling the shrimp, and chopping up the veggies
- Make the stock: Get out a 4 to 6 quart-sized pot and toss in all of the ingredients including the water. Place this over high heat until it comes to a boil. Then lower the heat and let everything simmer for 40 to 50 minutes.
- Strain the stock: Get out a large bowl and a fine-mesh strainer. You can also place some cheesecloth into the strainer if you have any but it’s not necessary. Then strain the stock into the bowl.
- Use the shrimp stock immediately, or place in jars for later use.
Find some inspiration from other blogs
From Everyday Maven
From Simply Scratch
