Shrimp shell broth? Anyone know about this? page

[Lily Marie]

I shelled some prawns this morning and had a strange urge to keep the shells. I want to put them in the pressure cooker and make some broth. I must be craving something or other.

How would be a good way to go about this?

Shells, water, sea salt and cook for a few hours? 3?
I'm a noob when it comes to pressure cooking and broths.

Anyone have any advice?

[naiadknight]

Don't do it in an aluminum pot. I made that mistake. The broth tasted funny and the pot stained. Otherwise, throw it in your (nonaluminum, noncopper) pressure cooker, add enough water to a depth of twice the shells, a splash of vinegar, and let 'er rip for half an hour.

[cori93437]

Shrimp stock has a short cook time. No pressure cooker required!

About 4 cups shells and tails from 2 lb. of Shrimp (or heads, shells, and tails from 1 lb)
1 red or sweet yellow onion, rough chopped
1 stalk celery, rough chopped
1 carrot, rough chopped
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 Lemon sliced
2 Fresh Bay Leaves
1 sprig parsley
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig chives
1 sprig oregano
good pinch of fennel seed (about 1/8 tsp.)
1 tsp. Black Peppercorns
2 Tbsp. tomato paste.
6 cups water
Splash olive oil or butter... pinch of sea salt

Heat oil and saute shells until pink... add rest of ingredients except water, cover and cook lidded for 10-15 min.
Add water and bring to just a boil, then reduce to simmer and let it go for about 30 min.
Strain and enjoy... freezes fine.

I have to admit that I'm NOT allowed to do this in the house... LOL
My husband has a shellfish allergy and any fishy smell makes him ill... and this WILL make a fishy smell.
I do it on the grill outside.

Sometimes I do a fish and shrimp stock... in which case I let the fish bones/heads cook longer and then add the shrimps at the end.

And yes... always stock in a non-reactive cooking vessel IMO.

[Lily Marie]

Thank you very much for your help.
Good thing my pressure cooker is stainless steel.

That recipe looks really good, Cori. I'll have to try it when we can open the windows and doors. Very small house can't handle the stink. haha

[primalpete]

Yep shrimp shells are great for seafood stock.

[onalark]

Agreed. Shrimp stock is delicious!

[jammies]

I love court bouillon made with shrimp shells!

Court Bouillon Recipe - Basic Court Bouillon

[Lily Marie]

It's sooo good!
I just used the shells from about 1 pound of prawns, 1.5 teaspoons of sea salt and a couple pieces of kombu(kelp) to add more minerals.

I'm making some soup with it tomorrow. veggies and sardines.

[Bron]

make sure you include the heads! just not the digestive tract

the point of a pressure cooker is to reduce cooking time, so you'd only need 15 mins I reckon. not hours.

i make stock with prawns (the aussie term) whenever we eat prawns then use it for the base of fish stew. yum! (though DH wasn't fussed on it)

[Lily Marie]

I didn't have the heads, but I also didn't use the digestive tracts. No poo in my broth! haha
I've always called the big ones prawns and the little ones shrimp. Prawns are 1 to a fork. A nice meaty meal. In my opinion, of course.