How to Make Shellfish Stock

Name: How to Make Shellfish Stock
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 946 milliliters shellfish shells, from shrimp, lobster, and/or crab; 118 milliliters dry white wine; 1 large yellow onion, sliced or chopped; 1 carrot, roughly sliced or chopped; 1 celery stalk, roughly sliced or chopped; 2 Tbsps tomato paste; 2 sprigs thyme; 1 sprig Several parsley; 1 bay leaf; 10 whole peppercorns; 2 teaspoons salt

The recipe How to Make Shellfish Stock can be made in around around 45 minutes. This main course has 425 calories, 14g of protein, and 2g of fat per serving. This recipe serves 4. This recipe covers 16% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. A mixture of celery stalk, thyme, carrot, and a handful of other ingredients are all it takes to make this recipe so yummy. It is a good option if you're following a dairy free diet.

Instructions

Break up larger pieces of shell: Break thick shells (lobster or crab) into smaller pieces by putting in a sealed, thick plastic bag and either rolling with a rolling pin or hitting with a meat hammer to crush.

Ingredients you will need

Lobster

Pasta Shells

Crab

Meat

Equipment you will use

Ziploc Bags

Rolling Pin

Cut up thinner shrimp shells with a chef's knife. Don't crush or cut too small. You can even skip this step if you want, if you are already dealing with broken up shell pieces (like cracked crab).

Ingredients you will need

Pasta Shells

Shrimp

Crab

Equipment you will use

Chefs Knife

Place in a large roasting pan and roast at 400°F for 10 minutes (this step you can skip, but it greatly enhances the flavor).

Equipment you will use

Roasting Pan

Put the shells in a large stock pot and add enough water to cover the shells with an inch of water.

Ingredients you will need

Pasta Shells

Stock

Water

Equipment you will use

Pot

Heat the water on high. As soon as you see that little bubbles are starting to come up to the surface, reduce the heat to medium.

Ingredients you will need

Water

Do not let the water boil! You want to maintain the temperature at just at the edge of a simmer (around 180°F), where the bubbles just occasionally come up to the surface.

Ingredients you will need

Water

Do not stir the shells! Stirring will muddy up the stock.

Ingredients you will need

Pasta Shells

Stock

Skim the foam. As the bubbles come up to the surface a film of foam will develop on the surface. Use a large metal spoon to skim away this foam.

Let the shells cook like this for about an hour; skim the foam every few minutes. The foam comes from shells releasing impurities as their temperature increases.

Ingredients you will need

Pasta Shells

Add the wine, onions, carrots, celery, tomato paste, herbs, peppercorns: Once the stock has stopped releasing foam, add the wine, onions, carrots, celery, tomato paste, thyme, parsley, bay leaf, and peppercorns.

Ingredients you will need

Tomato Paste

Peppercorns

Bay Leaves

Carrot

Parsley

Celery

Onion

Herbs

Stock

Thyme

Wine

Bring to a low simmer and reduce heat so that the stock continues to barely simmer, but not boil, for 30 minutes. If more foam comes to the surface, skim it off.

Ingredients you will need

Stock

Add salt and remove from heat.

Ingredients you will need

Salt

Strain through a lined sieve: Use tongs, a large slotted spoon, or a spider strainer to lift out and remove most of the solids from the stock. (Later put in a plastic bag and put outside in the trash! Shellfish shells have a way of stinking up a kitchen.)

Ingredients you will need

Shellfish

Pasta Shells

Stock

Equipment you will use

Slotted Spoon

Ziploc Bags

Sieve

Tongs

Dampen a few layers of cheesecloth and place over a large, fine mesh strainer, over a large pot or bowl.

Equipment you will use

Sieve

Cheesecloth

Bowl

Pot

Pour the stock into the strainer. Either use the stock right away, or cool for future use.

Ingredients you will need

Stock

Equipment you will use

Sieve

If you aren't going to use in a couple of days, freeze (remember to leave some headroom at the top of your freezer container for the liquid to expand as it freezes.)

Equipment

Ingredients

Servings:

946milliliters

shellfish shells, from shrimp, lobster, and/or crab 118milliliters

dry white wine 1large

yellow onion, sliced or chopped 1

carrot, roughly sliced or chopped 1

celery stalk, roughly sliced or chopped 2Tbsps

whole peppercorns 2teaspoons

salt

Recommended wine: Chardonnay, Muscadet, Riesling

Shellfish on the menu? Try pairing with Chardonnay, Muscadet, and Riesling. Buttery chardonnay is great for scallops, shrimp, crab, and lobster, while muscadet is a classic pick for mussels, oysters, and clams. If you've got some spice in your shellfish, a semi-dry riesling can balance out the heat. You could try Frank Family Vineyards Lewis Vineyard Reserve Chardonnay. Reviewers quite like it with a 5 out of 5 star rating and a price of about 62 dollars per bottle.