Recently, my sister Marylou gifted me a box of Aneto fish broth that she had bought, but thought she would never use. I decided to use the broth to make a shrimp risotto, something I’ve made many times over the years, but always using chicken stock. (I love chicken stock…)
Well, let me tell you that shrimp risotto was a revelation. I had no idea it could taste so amazing. What had I been thinking all these years using chicken and not fish stock????
But there was a problem. As good as the Aneto’s fish broth is (and it is amazingly good), I inherently hate stock-in-a-box. Something about it just makes me nervous. I’m never 100% sure when I twist off the cap that it hasn’t been opened before. Give me stock in a can or give me homemade stock….
I looked online to see if I could find a canned fish stock as good as Aneto’s, and found this nice round up and taste test comparison of fish stocks. Aneto’s stock-in-a-box came out on top – no surprise given my experience with using it. But there was no canned version…
Okay, it was time to start making my own fish stock. I had seen my brother Joe’s shrimp stock in progress over the years (we text each other pics while we’re cooking), and had always been intrigued by the idea. But until now, I never had a need for shrimp stock.
Turns out making shrimp stock is easy-peazy, if you think ahead. That means, whenever you buy shrimp, either fresh or frozen, buy it with shells on. After peeling your shrimp, save the shells in the freezer in a zip lock bag or other more environmentally-friendly container. When you have enough, thaw them out and make shrimp stock!
There are almost as many recipes for shrimp stock out there as there are good cooks. Some are as simple a shrimp shells, water, and peppercorns. Others add white wine, and some use leeks and fennel. This is the one I came up with based on what I found on the web and what I had in my fridge and pantry. Feel free to come up with your own shrimp stock recipe – I’ll put some links at the end of this post to get you started.
And if you make shrimp risotto – trust me on this – always use a fish stock.
Shrimp Stock
Ingredients
- 4 cups shrimp shells
- 2 quarts filtered water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 coarsely chopped medium onion
- 1 coarsely chopped medium carrot
- 1 coarsely chopped stalk celery
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 peppercorns
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Saute the shrimp shells in olive oil over medium high heat in a stockpot with the onion, carrot, and celery till slightly browned in spots. Add tomato paste and cook a minute or two to brown it slightly. Add water, bay leaf, peppercorns, thyme and sea salt. Bring it to a boil over high heat, skim the foam, then lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes, skimming as needed.
- Cool a bit, then strain the broth though a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth. Let it cool completely, then freeze for up to 3 months. Better yet, use it right away and make shrimp risotto.
A Few Shrimp Stock Recipes to Get You Started
- Spruce Eats Shrimp Stock
- Awesome Rich Shrimp Stock from Food.com
- Emeril Lagasse’s Shrimp Stock
- David Tanis’s Shrimp Broth from the NYTimes
- America’s Test Kitchen’s Simple Shrimp Stock (Made with no veggies)
- Shellfish Stock from the Guardian
