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How to make a delicious batch of shrimp stock with the leftover shells, heads, and tails removed from the wild shrimp you buy from local fishermen or seafood shop. Ready in only 30 minutes to enjoy sipping on its own or as a base for gumbo and chowder.
One of the best things about shrimp stock is that it is ready in only 30 minutes!
Shrimp stock also called shrimp broth is not only fast, but it also is amazingly flavorful and as you can see from the photo. It often turns out a very rich orange-pink color as well.
In fact, the batch I made shown in the photo is the exact color of fresh-squeezed guava juice!
If making a seafood-based stock has not been something you’ve been able to bring yourself to try, start with shrimp broth as it is a more agreeable task to many. Lobster stock or crawfish broth are other delicious option.
Here is a snippet of me skimming a pot of shrimp stock to give you some idea. A longer, detailed how-to video is provided below along with the written recipe.
Shrimp Sourcing Tips
It is important to source only wild shrimp (we buy our jumbo pink shrimp directly from the fisherman right off the boat!). This is actually far easier in some locations than non-oily fish heads for fish stock. It can be easier than sourcing bonito flakes for a basic bonito broth recipe too.
Whatever you do, always avoid the farmed shrimp and pay extra for the truly wild ones. Beware of deceptive language too…“sustainable” seafood emblazoned on the label is usually lingo for farm-raised.
The conditions of farmed shrimp are nothing short of horrific in many instances. Much of it comes from third-world countries with little to no regulations of any kind. One Florida shrimp fisherman told me that farmed shrimp in Asia often swim in polluted, toxic pools with “free range” chickens walking on open-air platforms above them. The chicken droppings fall directly into the water as “feed” for the shrimp!
Once you have a quart of homemade shrimp stock ready, use it to make this delicious island-style conch chowder recipe.
Wild Shrimp Stock
How to make a delicious batch of shrimp stock with the leftover shells, heads, and tails removed from the wild shrimp you buy from local fishermen or seafood shop. Ready in only 30 minutes to enjoy sipping on its own or as a base for gumbo and chowder.
Ingredients
- 1-2 pounds wild shrimp heads, shells, tails only
- 2 quarts filtered water
- 1/8 cup white wine vinegar or ACV
- 1 carrot optional
Instructions
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Remove heads, shells, and tails from the wild shrimp and place in a 1-gallon pot. *If you've never removed the head of a shrimp before, it's easy. Simply place your index finger and thumb on the crease between the bottom of the shrimp head and the top of its abdomen and twist.
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Add filtered water and optional chopped carrots. Stir in vinegar.
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Bring the pot to a boil on the stovetop, skimming off any white foam as it rises to the top.
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Once the stock is boiling, turn down to a very low simmer for a minimum of 30 minutes. Simmer the stock longer to improve the flavor if desired – up to 3 hours.
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Strain the stock, cool and use immediately or store for several days in the refrigerator in a glass jar. Freeze what you will not use in a few days.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Crawfish may be substituted for the shrimp.
Homemade apple cider vinegar or commercial ACV packaged in glass bottles may be substituted for the white wine vinegar.
More Information
My Youtube playlist of over ten videos on all aspects of making stock and bone broth
Turkey Broth
The Healthiest Bone Broth
How to Make Duck Stock
Homemade Beef Bone Broth Recipe (chicken broth recipe too)
5 Reasons Why Your Stock Won’t Gel
Stock versus Bone Broth
Meat Stock Recipe
The Perfect Simmer on Your Broth
I have several pounds of crab shells in my freezer from a crab feed a couple of months back. I’ve never made shell stock before. Would crab shell stock be made the same way as shrimp shell stock? Maybe I should simmer it longer because the shells are heavier?
I am from Brazil and my grandmother would make this shrimp broth all the time and use it in native dishes from the north of Brazil. it’s pretty tasty. This is how she did it though: after boiling the shrimps’ heads (after washing them with lemon) she would blend the shrimp and water. Then pass the juice through a colander covered with a cheese cloth. The broth would be shrimpy, reddish and perfect for those seafood recipes.
Thanks for this, I’ll pin it for later. I actually just made a vat of chicken stock and put several quarts in the freezer. that way, I can just defrost it in about 10-15-minutes (seems kind of long typing it out when a microwave probably does it in 2 minutes– oh well).
Holy cow! How can anyone watch this video and think the shrimp were boiled?
oops! I just saw the video and it makes sense now. before I saw the video, I was just going by your written recipe which sounded like you remove the heads etc and use the meat to make the stock. But no!
Sarah- why remove the heads, tails and shells? Seems like they might have goodies in them as do the heads, tails, trotters etc of other stock animals we use?
You use the heads, tails and shells for making the stock and the shrimp bodies to eat in a separate dish.
I will never stop eating seafood.
@Katie we all need to come to grips with the fact that we live in a toxic soup world. Perfectly clean food is not possible really anymore unless you live on an isolated farm somewhere and the truth is that it hard to be healthy without seafood as the soils are so depleted so even though grassfed is awesome, you need food from the sea to fill in the gaps.
@Kimberly you don’t boil the shrimp.
@Kimberly you remove the heads, tails and shells and that is what you simmer to make the stock. The shrimp as shown in the video are set aside for preparation with the main course.