Can't Find Fish or Shellfish Stock? Make It At Home! (Recipe)
So, it turns out it's stupid easy to make homemade fish stock (recipe included)
In preparing an article for the soon-to-begin The Ravenous Traveler culinary travel column on EuropeUpClose.com, I interviewed the Spanish cooking school bncKitchen to learn the secrets of paella, and the recipe that they sent me called for fish fume. Fish fume is a reduced fish stock or fish glace (glace de poisson), and, though I've eaten it a hundred times as part of risottos and soups, I soon discovered that fish stock isn't so easy to find in the United States.
At first, this seemed like nonsense: Shouldn't fish stock be located somewhere near the chicken broth? But the more I researched, the more I got the point: Fish stock should be fresh. It is too delicate to stay fresh on grocery shelves, and I would have to make my own if I were to create a killer paella.
So I visited the nearest seafood shop (ABC Seafood on Powell for all you Portlanders) and asked for trimmings. Now, for anyone else who hadn't already dug their grave like had, they could have just purchased shrimp with heads and tails on and then removed the choice shrimp meat and made stock using the leftovers (shells, heads, and tails). This is pure common sense. It is free and so easy that it quickly feels as natural as turning a turkey carcass into stock or saving broccoli stems to make a rich vegetable soup. In my case, unfortunately, I had already purchased the shrimp for my paella without heads.
At the seafood shop, I tried to buy shrimp shells or alternative trimmings—neither of which the shop had for sale. Fortunately, they did have fresh local crab for $3/lbs. I bought a pound, and, combined with the shrimp tails, it was enough to make the three cups of fish stock that I needed. Plus, I got to Portlandize paella by substituting local crab for cuttlefish.
Here's my recipe for fish or shellfish stock using a whole crab and shrimp tails. Note that you can substitute a number of lesser fish parts for the crab and shrimp shells. For example, you can make fish or shellfish stock using the shells from lobster or king crab or from the bones, tails, and heads of white fish (more oily fish make an oily stock—ugh!).
Fish or Shellfish Stock Recipe:
Yields 3 to 4 cups of stock depending on your tastes
Ingredients:
complete shell from 1lbs whole crab
tails from 1lbs shrimp
1/2 chopped onion
1 chopped piece of celery
1 chopped tomato
handful of thyme
two bay leaves
5 peppercorns
(optional: tbsp butter)
Recipe for making shellfish stock:
1. Add shrimp tail shells and crab shells to a pot; add four cups of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add all of the other ingredients and reduce to a simmer.
2. Cook for 35 to 40 minutes or until fish stock has reduced to the desired consistency.
3. Strain using a metal colander or metal wire strainer. Make sure there aren't any pieces of shell left in there, and you're done. Freeze or use immediately.
In preparing an article for the soon-to-begin The Ravenous Traveler culinary travel column on EuropeUpClose.com, I interviewed the Spanish cooking school bncKitchen to learn the secrets of paella, and the recipe that they sent me called for fish fume. Fish fume is a reduced fish stock or fish glace (glace de poisson), and, though I've eaten it a hundred times as part of risottos and soups, I soon discovered that fish stock isn't so easy to find in the United States.
At first, this seemed like nonsense: Shouldn't fish stock be located somewhere near the chicken broth? But the more I researched, the more I got the point: Fish stock should be fresh. It is too delicate to stay fresh on grocery shelves, and I would have to make my own if I were to create a killer paella.
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| Prepare to get your hands dirty. Ok, it's not that bad. |
So I visited the nearest seafood shop (ABC Seafood on Powell for all you Portlanders) and asked for trimmings. Now, for anyone else who hadn't already dug their grave like had, they could have just purchased shrimp with heads and tails on and then removed the choice shrimp meat and made stock using the leftovers (shells, heads, and tails). This is pure common sense. It is free and so easy that it quickly feels as natural as turning a turkey carcass into stock or saving broccoli stems to make a rich vegetable soup. In my case, unfortunately, I had already purchased the shrimp for my paella without heads.
At the seafood shop, I tried to buy shrimp shells or alternative trimmings—neither of which the shop had for sale. Fortunately, they did have fresh local crab for $3/lbs. I bought a pound, and, combined with the shrimp tails, it was enough to make the three cups of fish stock that I needed. Plus, I got to Portlandize paella by substituting local crab for cuttlefish.
Here's my recipe for fish or shellfish stock using a whole crab and shrimp tails. Note that you can substitute a number of lesser fish parts for the crab and shrimp shells. For example, you can make fish or shellfish stock using the shells from lobster or king crab or from the bones, tails, and heads of white fish (more oily fish make an oily stock—ugh!).
Fish or Shellfish Stock Recipe:
Yields 3 to 4 cups of stock depending on your tastes
Ingredients:
complete shell from 1lbs whole crab
tails from 1lbs shrimp
1/2 chopped onion
1 chopped piece of celery
1 chopped tomato
handful of thyme
two bay leaves
5 peppercorns
(optional: tbsp butter)
Recipe for making shellfish stock:
1. Add shrimp tail shells and crab shells to a pot; add four cups of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add all of the other ingredients and reduce to a simmer.
2. Cook for 35 to 40 minutes or until fish stock has reduced to the desired consistency.
3. Strain using a metal colander or metal wire strainer. Make sure there aren't any pieces of shell left in there, and you're done. Freeze or use immediately.
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