shrimp stock

Being a Filipina, I’ve always been taught not to be wasteful.  So when it comes to the shrimp shells, chicken bones, etc., I always feel compelled to not throw them away — I guess fearing that my mom will come over and literally start going through my garbage, lecturing me on how things are “still good”.

Besides sidestepping Asian guilt, there are benefits of making your own stock using left overs: 1) saving money, 2) controlling the flavors, 3) monitoring the amount of salt.

The Basics

• Uncooked shrimp heads and shells; about 3-4 handful (I think that translates to about 2 lbs of shelled shrimp) – If you don’t have the heads, that’s fine, but the stock is going to be less intense.
• Veggies – I used an onion, couple cloves of garlic, celery, and half of a lemon
• Spices – Fresh thyme, 2 bay leaves
• Water

The Rundown

1. Prep the veggies.  Roughly chop the onion and celery.  Wash the lemon and slice into big pieces.  They can be big chunks because you won’t be eating them.
2. Put veggies and shrimp heads and shells in a medium size pot.
3. Add enough water to fully cover all ingredients.  Be careful not to add too much water or the stock will be diluted.
4. Add a couple pinches of salt.  Add bay leaves.
5. Tie the the stems of the thyme together with cooking twine, if you have some.  And let’s try to avoid a Bridget Jones situation: do not use blue yarn!  Add thyme to the pot.
6. Cook on medium heat until simmering — not a rapid boil.
7. Put cover on and cook for about 30-45 minutes.
8. Put a strainer/colander in a large boil.
9. Carefully pour stock into the strainer.  You should be able to carefully lift the strainer up to remove all the veggies, shells, etc.
10. You can use immediately, or wait for the stock to cool to room temp.  Once cooled, you can freeze it for about 1-2 weeks.

Additional Notes

• I think the best way to freeze it is to put the broth into Zip-lock sandwich bags.  Make sure they don’t leak!  Lay them flat in Tupperware so they are stacked like pancakes.  This way when you freeze it, you will have serving size amounts that are ready to go!

Tags: one pot, simple, stock