Shrimp Stock

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Like any aspiring home cook, it’s important that your freezer is stocked full (get it?) of some beautiful stocks to enrich and completely transform your dishes. We highly recommend against getting any of that store bought stocks as they typically do not carry anywhere near as much flavor and to prolong their shelf life they are jammed with so much sodium it is horrendously bad for you. Homemade stock is super easy to make and tastes way more delicious!

Shrimp stock is something we don’t typically use as much in the kitchen compared to Chicken or Beef stock, but if you’re looking to make some beautiful soups, or lovely sauces to accommodate a piece of fish then it’s a must have.

Good habits for making stock

Get yourself into a good habit of keeping any leftover shells or bones from Seafood you’ve eaten at home. Bones, Shell and of course the crown jewel Shrimp Heads are the backbone of a good Shrimp Stock. So whenever you’ve finished a lovely seafood meal at home, throw those shells in a Ziplock bag in the freezer so when it’s time to prepare the stock you’re good to go. 

This recipe is specifically for Shrimp stock so the prominent ingredient for your stock should ideally be Shrimp, however any seafood will be ok. Mussel shells, Fish Bones and Fish Heads are great to add too. If you’re in a pinch you can always pick up some leftover shells from your local fishmonger or supermarket nice and cheap

Finally, the amount of flavor in the Shrimp means you need less quantity to make a brilliantly flavorsome stock. 2 lbs. of Shrimp Shells / Shrimp Heads will yield about 4 liters or amazingly rich stock

Shrimp Stock

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. of Shrimp Shells + Shrimp Heads
• 4 liters Water
  

You can also substitute other Seafood shells and bones for the Shrimp if you like. However to get that lovely Shrimp flavor we encourage the prominent ingredient in the stock to be Shrimp Shells

Instructions

1. Place the Shrimp and water in a large pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover
2. Cook for 2 hours until the broth has developed a lovely dark orange color. Remove from the heat to cool
3. It’s important to strain the stock well as there will be lots of pieces of shell floating around. We don’t want that in our stock! Strain the stock into a large bowl using the finest strainer you have. Tip: place some Cheesecloth into the strainer to add an additional layer to keep the bad stuff out!
4. That’s it! Use what you need if you’re preparing a meal and freeze the rest. A good tip for freezing is measure out 1 cup at a time and store in individual Ziplock bags. Label the bags with the portion size for future use. That way when a recipe calls for 2 cups of Stock, take our 2 bags and you’re set!
   
   

A brilliant recipe to utilize the stock is our Thai Coconut Soup, or Tom Kha Gai. Check out the recipe here and happy cooking!