From Scraps to Soup

If you haven't spent a lot of time in the seafood aisle of the grocery store, there are a few ways to buy shrimp: whole (you may need to remove head and vein), EZ Peel (head and vein removed), or fully peeled and tail removed. The less prepared they are, the cheaper they are, but the more work for you. I love the EZ Peel as a good middle ground. In order to remove the vein, they slice the shell the whole length of the shrimp, giving you a super easy place to start peeling (hence, EZ Peel). This leaves minimal effort to prep the shrimp and can save you $1-2/pound.

Not only do you save a few bucks, but now you have this resource which is rich in minerals and vitamins as well as flavor. Take the shells (legs, tails, and all) and put them in a container in your freezer to accumulate and not have your fridge smell fishy until you are ready to use.

 

Now it's time to use up those shells. (Note: you're about to stink up your kitchen, so open a window!) I'm combining a few recipes for corn broth and shrimp stock, including one that used both for a chowder base. In addition to shrimp shells (from 1lb shrimp), I saved 6 half corn cobs and shells from 2 leg sections of snow crabs. 

 

Dump those, and enough water to cover, in a large soup pot. I love these large Pyrex measuring cups for if you want more precision. One of the recipes called for 9 cups of water, and since I was using a lot of base ingredients, I upped that to 12.

Next add, some veggies, onion and celery for depth of flavor. You can use scraps for these too. Most veggie broth recipes call for using onion skins and the tops you would generally cut off. Your celery can 100% be a wilted stalk, a great way to clean out the fridge. (Side note: wilted celery can also be revived but storing in cold water. The wilting is due to water loss, and it will perk back up.)

Add all of this to the soup pot, along with a couple bay leaves and some whole peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

It's that easy! Strain out all the solids (now you can compost those), and once it's cooled, portion and freeze what you won't use within a few days. I was super pleased after a taste test that this broth had a rich flavor with none of the bitterness I experienced with my first attempts at veggie broth.

Now what to do with this super flavorful broth? Keep in mind that both seafood and corn are a bit sweet, so while you can use this anywhere you would normally use broth, it will work better for things that can tolerate some sweetness. 

For both corn broth, shrimp broth, or combo like I made, it was recommended to use a base for soups or chowders.

 

For straight corn broth, it was suggested to make grits. 

I'm foreseeing some decadent risotto in my near future!