This flavorful, nutritious fortified shrimp stock is perfect for soups and stews. Use it in your shrimp bisque, gumbo, ramen, risotto, or my personal favorite – shrimp étouffée.
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You’ve just gone through the laborious process of peeling, cleaning, deveining a pound (or several) of everyone’s favorite shellfish – shrimp. You’re ready for them to go into your dish and ready to toss those shells into the garbage. You let out a little yelp, shocked, as I slap your hand and confiscate those glorious shrimp shells. We’re saving those to make some liquid gold – shrimp stock! Don’t worry about how I got into your house.
Making homemade shrimp stock is a quick, easy, and low-cost way to add depth to your seafood dishes while reducing food waste. If you keep vegetable scraps in your freezer (and you absolutely should!), making this stock is a great way to use those up!
Freezing Shrimp Shells
After peeling shrimp, I usually just toss all of the shells into a freezer bag and label it with the date. I would not store them in the freezer for longer than 3 months. If you’re going to use them within the next few days, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-3 days.
What Makes this Shrimp Stock “Fortified”?
“Fortified” simply refers to a stock that has been enriched with herbs, spices, and aromatics. Some cooks even purchase store-bought stocks, and fortify them at home with additional ingredients for more richness.
To Salt or Not to Salt
Whether or not you add salt to your shrimp stock will depend upon your intended use for it. If I’m using it in a dish right away, I will go ahead and salt it. If I’m saving it for later use, I prefer to leave it unsalted. That’s because when I’m ready to make a recipe that requires stock, I like to have more control of the sodium level in the dish.
Something to remember is that as the stock reduces, the salt will become more concentrated. For this reason, you may opt to add salt to the broth after it has cooked down.
What Ingredients Do I Need for Shrimp Stock?
Feel free to get creative with the veggies and aromatics that you add to your stock. For this recipe I use:
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – I use the oil to sauté the shrimp shells.
- Shrimp Shells – shells from 2 pounds of shrimp; cleaned. I sauté the shells for increased flavor.
- Yellow Onion – cut into large chunks; you don’t need to worry about dicing or slicing.
- Garlic – unpeeled, cut in half crosswise
- Carrots – whole
- Celery Ribs – whole
- Cilantro
- Thyme
- Bay Leaf
- Black Peppercorns
- Kosher Salt (see notes)
- Water
Yield
This recipe makes about 4 cups (32 ounces) of shrimp stock. We begin with 6 cups of liquid. As the stock simmers (uncovered) it will reduce.
How to Make Fortified Shrimp Stock
- Begin by heating the oil in a large pot.
- Add the shrimp shells and let them cook until pink and fragrant.
- Add the remaining ingredients and cover with water.
- Allow the contents to come to a gentle boil.
- Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. The liquid should reduce to about 4 cups.
- Remove from heat and strain the stock through a sieve or cheesecloth so that only the clear liquid remains.
NOTE: You may opt to caramelize the vegetables prior to adding the herbs and water for an even richer flavor.
How to Use Shrimp Stock
The possibilities are actually endless, friend.
Shrimp étouffée
- Gumbo
- Soup
- Stew
- Ramen
- Risoto
- Shrimp and Grits
- Any seafood dish that requires liquid to deglaze
Try it out and let me know what you think! When you make it, be sure to snap a pic and tag me on Instagram or Facebook!
Peace,
Adri
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Fortified Shrimp Stock | Keto, Low-Carb, Whole30
This flavorful, nutritious fortified shrimp stock is perfect for soups and stews. Use it in your shrimp bisque, gumbo, risotto, or my personal favorite - shrimp étouffée.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 6 ounces Shrimp Shells (shells from 2 pounds of shrimp; cleaned)
- ½ Yellow Onion (about 175 grams) cut into large chunks
- 1 Head of Garlic, unpeeled, cut in half crosswise
- 3 large Carrots, whole (about 250 grams)
- 5 Celery Ribs, whole (about 250 grams)
- 1 small bunch of Cilantro, whole (about 10 grams)
- 1 small bunch Fresh Thyme, whole (about 5 grams)
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 teaspoon Black Peppercorns
- 3/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt (see notes)
- 6 cups Water
Instructions
- To a large pot over medium heat, add the extra virgin olive oil and heat for about one minute.
- Add the shrimp shells and sauté until they turn pink in color.
- Add the remaining ingredients and cover with water.
- Allow the contents of the pot to come to a gentle boil.
- Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. The liquid should reduce to about 4 cups.
- Remove from heat and strain the stock through a sieve or cheesecloth so that only the clear liquid remains.
Notes
As the stock reduces, the salt will become more concentrated. You may opt to salt the stock at the very end, to taste. You may also choose to omit salt altogether for more control of sodium in the dish that you use the stock in.
You may opt to caramelize the vegetables prior to adding the herbs and water for an even richer flavor.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 30Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 250mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g
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