This is for the shells from shrimp, crab, crawfish or lobster, or similar critters - whether you catch or buy them. If your shells were cooked in a spicy boil, you have a decision to make: rinse them first, or not. If you don't want the boil spices to clash with your intended use, give them a good rinse or three. But if you prefer the addition of those spicy "seafood boil" flavors, go commando!
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lb shells
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Ingredients
- 1 lb shells — crush larger shells, such as a dungeness top
- 2 qt water — Amount approximate. Enough to cover.
- 1/2 cup dry white wine 1/2 c
- 2 cup onion
- 1 cup carrot
- 1 cup celery stalk
- 1/4 lb mushrooms sliced or diced
- 4 cloves garlic — smashed, leave paper on.
- Some to taste Radish Greens
- 2 leaf Bay Leaf
- 1 Tbsp peppercorns
- 3 sprig thyme
- 3 sprig parsley — intalian flat-leaf is preferred, but curly is ok.
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds — crushed
- 2 clove star anise — Consider ommitting if you used fennel tops
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 Tops Fresh fennel bulb — Just the tops. Slicing the bulb into the aromatics is an experiment for another day.
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Roast mirepoix (onion/carrot/celery) and mushrooms in 400°F oven until just start to brown. Then add shells and roast until they start to brown. WATCH CAREFULLY, they can easily be burned — probably 10 minutes max.
- Heat olive oil, peppercorns, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, coriander, mirepoix, mushrooms, shells and tomato paste. Sautee a bit, not too much. Then add wine to deglaze.
- Add star anise and radish greens to pot, cover with the contents of the sautee pan, then cover with. You can skim the "impurities" if you like, but you want to disturb it as little as possible. Never, ever stir stock.
- with 20 minutes to go, add the parsley, gently pushing it down below the surface.
Finish
- Moving quickly, get the solids out, filter the stock and do a quick chill. Then refrigerate overnight.
- Use in 3 or 4 days (not longer), or check out https://killernoms.com/WildGameStock.php#storage for longer term storage techniques. It freezes great if you get all the air out and freeze it super cold (-10°F or below), 2-3 months otherwise.
Recipe Notes
Using un-rinsed crawfish shells from a REALLY spicy boil had a predictably spicy and delicious result, which will be great in things like ramen but would clash with many recipes. Going to try a well-rinsed batch next.
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