Homemade Seafood Stock Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is seafood stock made of? ›

Seafood stock is made from a mixture of water and/or broth infused with seafood shells or bones (carcasses), vegetables, and aromatics. Here, I toast the shells in a pan to bring out their flavors. The shells then simmer in a liquid with vegetables until the stock turns a deep golden-brown color.

Remove the stock from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean container; let cool completely. Refrigerate the stock for up to 3 days or freeze in airtight containers for up to 2 months.

You can use shrimp shells, crab shells, lobster shells, even fish bones. Once you've made the stock, you can use it in any recipe that calls for any kind of seafood stock.

Chicken Broth

It won't have the flavor of the sea like fish broth, but it adds a background umami flavor that won't overpower other flavors in your soup. It's a common substitute in many seafood soup recipes. Homemade chicken broth is best but a good quality organic boxed chicken broth is fine too.

Stocks are prepared with a few basic ingredients including bones, mirepoix, herbs and spices, and sometimes tomatoes or wine.

Generally speaking, a seafood broth is the same thing as a seafood stock, especially when we're referring to store-bought versions. In the culinary world, the word stock is more common when referring to fish, lobster, crab, and shrimp stock.

Once made, you can store seafood stock in a freezer for up to 6 months until needed. Read on for storage tips, but trust us when we say you can't beat the flavor on homemade stock!

Most are added to stock at the beginning of cooking, but if you prefer a stronger flavor you can refresh herbs and other seasonings during cooking. We don't recommend adding salt when making homemade stock. That's because the flavors in stocks come from bones, meat, mirepoix, bouquet garni, and sometimes wine.

Overcooking will dissolve the calcium in the bones and create a chalky, cloudy broth. When you notice the head and bones are falling apart, remove the pot from heat. Use tongs and “fish” out the bones and head. The head can provide a great deal of meat, so reserve what you can for a simple soup.

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.

What can I do with empty crab shells? ›

If you are talking of a couple of crab shells, throw it into the compost pile, or into the river. It is all good food for bacteria, etc, to recycle into the web of life.

* 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.

The best fish bones to use for making fish stock are ones from mild, lean, white fish like halibut, cod, or flounder. As a general rule, you'll want to avoid salmon, trout, mackerel, or other oily, fatty fish since their strong flavor will likely overpower your finished dish.

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool. Add a few tablespoons of flour or cornstarch to the bowl and whisk until it's blended smooth. Next, bring the soup to a simmer and add the mixture back to the pot. Pro tip: Don't dump in the entire mixture at once.

Fish fumet, often called the 'liquid gold' of culinary creations, is a rich and flavorful broth derived from simmering fish bones, aromatic vegetables, herbs, and spices.

For chefs who prefer an alternative to making seafood stock from scratch, seafood base is a perfect substitute. A seafood base is much more concentrated, flavor-heavy, thicker than a made from scratch seafood stock. Seafood base is an easy to use substitute to the long-simmered seafood stock.

Seafood stock is a versatile and flavorful liquid base, primarily used in cooking to enhance the taste of a variety of seafood dishes. It is made by simmering fish or shellfish, such as shrimp, crab, or lobster, in water with aromatic ingredients like vegetables, herbs, and spices.

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.

Seafood Stock (water, Pollock, Extracts Of Shrimp, Cod, Clam), Contains Less Than 2% Of: Yeast Extract, Salt, Natural Flavoring, Dehydrated Garlic.