Homemade Shellfish Stock Recipe made with empty seafood shells (2024)

Homemade Shellfish Stock is a luscious liquid full of lobster flavor. Use to make soups, bisque, and pho. Needless to say, the aroma that will permeate your kitchen will make you hungry. Shellfish stock is just as quick and easy to make as chicken bone or beef bone stock. Most importantly, don’t throw away your seafood shells. Make shrimp stock, crab stock, or seafood stock. Homemade Shellfish Stock Recipe made with empty seafood shells (1)

What is the Difference Between Stock and Broth:

Broth is a liquid cooked with meat. In fact, the major difference is stock is made with bones. Consequently, it normally contains a mirepoix (celery, onion, and carrots). Stock often has bones or shells. Often times the bones will release marrow into the liquid thereby making it healthier and tastier. While roasting can be skipped it does, however, enhance the flavor of the stock. Stock is therefore used as a base in many other recipes such as soups, gravies, or other items.

Homemade Shellfish Stock:

In any case, don’t throw out your lobster, shrimp, crab, clam, or mussel shells. By the way, I simply place my shells into a freezer bag until I have enough to make stock. Subsequently, I freeze my lobster shells and shrimp shells separately. However, if you are going to make a seafood stew they can all be stored together. Often times I smash the shells. Smashing lobster shells will make them easier to store in the freezer. Hence, to smash place shells into a large sealable plastic bag and smash the shells with a hammer.

In conclusion, I allowed my stock to chill overnight in the refrigerator and the butter solids came to the surface.

Personal Notes:

Nonetheless, homemade stock tastes far better than any you could purchase. Not to mention, if I have shelled out the money for seafood I don’t want to waste anything. This stock can also be canned. Follow canning directions for pressure canning from the manufacturer.

Without a doubt, the quickest way to preserve the stock is to freeze it.

Nevertheless, if you can’t find Marsala Wine or are in need of a good Stock Pot Amazon has both. Check out my Turkey Bone Broth.

Homemade Shellfish Stock:

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups of water
  • 3 cups white wine
  • 1/3 cup sliced onion
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup Marsala wine or white wine * (optional)
  • 1 sprig dill
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/3 cup sliced celery
  • 8 lobster shells, or 2 cups shrimp shells, or 2 large crab shells,
  • 1/3 cup sliced carrots

Directions:

First, preheat your oven to 4oo* F. Second, place your shellfish shells onto a baking sheet. Roast the shells for 10 minutes. However, roasting the shells will enhance the flavor of your stock. Allow shells to cool slightly before placing them into a large stockpot. Next, place the carrots and celery in the bottom of the pan. Add in the remaining ingredients except for the shells. Place the shells on top.Homemade Shellfish Stock Recipe made with empty seafood shells (2) Finally, bring the liquid to a simmer. Don’t allow the stock to boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 3 – 4 hours. Once the stock has finished cooking remove it from the heat. Allow it to cool. Strain through a sieve to remove the shells and any large particles.

Homemade Shellfish Stock Recipe made with empty seafood shells (3) Lastly, place the 1 1/2 cup per quart-size freezer bag.Homemade Shellfish Stock Recipe made with empty seafood shells (4) Date and label each freezer bag. Lay the bag flat in the freezer. Stores for up to six months. If desiring a clear broth pour through a sieve to remove butter solids.

Homemade Shellfish Stock Recipe

Homemade Shellfish Stock Recipe how to make DIY seafood shell broth from scratch to create other recipes. Pour into freezer bags and freeze.

Course Lunch, Dinner, Appetizer

Cuisine American

Keyword Bread for Soup, Clamshells, Crab, Homemade from Scratch, Lobster Recipe, Mussel, Shellfish, Shrimp, Stock

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours

10 minutes minutes

Total Time 3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 7 cups

Calories 157kcal

Author LaRena Fry

Equipment

Stockpot

Ingredients

  • 6 cups water
  • 3 cup white wine
  • 1/3 cup sliced onions
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup Marsala Wine optional
  • 1 sprig dill
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/3 cup roughly chopped celery
  • 8 approximately 2 cups lobster shells, or shrimp shells, or crab shells, or clam shells,
  • 1/3 cup roughly chopped carrots

Instructions

  • First, preheat your oven to 4oo* F.

  • Second, place your shellfish shells on to a baking sheet and place into the oven. Roa

  • Roast the shells for 10 minutes.

  • Allow shells to cool slightly before placing them into a large stockpot.

  • Next, place the carrots and celery in the bottom of the pan.

  • Finally, add in the remaining ingredients except for the lobster shells.

  • Place the shells on top.

  • Finally, bring the liquid to a simmer.

  • Don't allow the stock to boil.

  • Reduce the heat and let simmer for 2-3 hours.

  • Once the stock has finished cooking remove from the heat.

  • Allow to cool.

  • Strain through a sieve to remove the shells and any large particles.

  • Lastly, place the 1 1/2 cup per each quart-size freezer bag.

  • Date and label each freezer bag.

  • Lay the bag flat in the freezer.

  • Stores for up to six months.

  • If desiring a clear broth pour through a sieve to remove butter solids.

Notes

Nutrition Facts
Servings7.0
Amount Per Serving
Calories157
% Daily Value *
Total Fat13g21%
Saturated Fat8g41%
Monounsaturated Fat4g
Polyunsaturated Fat1g
Trans Fat0g
Cholesterol38mg13%
Sodium361mg15%
Potassium87mg2%
Total Carbohydrate2g1%
Dietary Fiber0g2%
Sugars1g
Protein2g3%
Vitamin A156%
Vitamin C1%
Calcium16%
Iron0%
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

Nutrition

Calories: 157kcal

Homemade Shellfish Stock Recipe made with empty seafood shells (6)Homemade Shellfish Stock Recipe made with empty seafood shells (7)

Homemade Shellfish Stock Recipe made with empty seafood shells (2024)

FAQs

Can crab shells be used for stock? ›

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions. Seafood shells and bones: Seafood shells provide tons of briny, sweet flavor in this stock. You can use any combination of shrimp, crab, and lobster shells - or fish bones. We'll discuss more on that below!

Can clam shells be used for stock? ›

* Both raw and cooked shells are a wonderful addition to the seafood stock pot. Stock made of shrimp, crab and crawfish shells is one of the secrets of Cajun cookery. Lobster, clam and mussel shells make wonderful stock as well.

What to do with left over crab shells? ›

Making Shellfish Stock for Crab Bisque

To make this creamy, flavorful crab bisque, you will need to make some homemade shellfish stock, so it pays to keep your leftover shells and freeze them until you have the occasion to make the stock. Making stock isn't hard, like making chicken stock, it just takes time.

How long does homemade seafood stock last? ›

Discard the shells, etc. Let the stock cool for 15 to 30 minutes, then use or pour into quart jars. The stock will keep for a week in the fridge. It will freeze well for 6 months, but after that it deteriorates rapidly.

What can be made out of crab shells? ›

Crab shells, carcasses or even whole crabs can all be used to make a simple crab stock which will add depth and flavor to seafood soups.

What is the difference between seafood stock and seafood broth? ›

Generally speaking, they're the same thing. In the culinary world, fish broth is more commonly referred to as fish stock. But in recent years, the words “bone broth” have become sort of an umbrella term, used mostly by health and food bloggers, for all types of broths and stocks.

What is the disadvantage of clam shell? ›

Limited Reusability: Clamshells are typically designed for single-use, which can generate waste.

What to do with leftover mussel shells? ›

Larger, heavier shells I wash on the top rack of my dishwasher. Smaller or thinner shells I hand wash and dry. Some people do boil their leftover mussel shells with herbs and seasonings of their choice to make a seafood stock. And, of course, it can be reduced to use as a sauce or as a part of one.

How to clean clam shells for cooking? ›

Soak the clams: In an 8-quart Dutch oven combine 4 quarts cold water and 1/3 cup salt; add clams. Soak for 15 minutes. As they soak, the clams will filter out sand and much of the salt from their systems. The sand will sink to the bottom of the pan.

What do crabs do with their old shell? ›

Following the molt, the crab will eat the exoskeleton it has just shed. Ingesting this calcium rich shell allows the animal to stock up on nutrients needed to synthesize the next shell.

What happens to discarded crab shells? ›

After the shells are washed and dried, they're "pulverized into fine powders," he explained, then treated with chemicals.

Can I use clam juice for seafood stock? ›

Straight from the bottle, clam juice is a perfectly suitable replacement for fish stock, or fumet, in any recipe. It adds a marine baseline to soups, stews, and braises, similar to what fish stock would provide, and, because clams are naturally rich in glutamates, it has an inherent flavor-enhancing quality.

Can you freeze homemade seafood stock? ›

To freeze: allow seafood stock to cool completely, then transfer to freezer safe, airtight containers. We like to store ours in extra large glass jars, then label them with the name and date they were made. To freeze smaller, individual portions: pour cooled stock into ice cube trays, then freeze.

Can stock be cooked too long? ›

Cook it too long, though, and you get into a case of seriously diminishing returns. Throughout my testing, I tasted my stocks as they cooked, and I generally found about one and a half hours to be a reasonable endpoint—plenty of time for a flavorful, rich broth, but not so long that it's a major commitment to make it.

Are crab shells used for anything? ›

But instead of just throwing them away, researchers are “upcycling” these shells into porous, carbon-filled materials with a wide variety of uses. Now, a team reporting in ACS Omega has used this “crab carbon” to create anode materials for sodium-ion batteries — an up-and-coming competitor to lithium-ion chemistries.

Can I put crab shells in my compost pile? ›

A better idea: Invite the neighbors to a big lobster or crab feast, and after dinner put all of the shells on the compost pile. Burying them with a garden fork will not only hide them from birds but also set the heap to “bake,” cooking up the best compost you've ever made.

Can crab shells be reused? ›

2 Recently, the waste crab shells have been reused as resources for chitin and chitosan, drug delivery systems, and removing metals from aqueous solutions.

References

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