Shrimp Head Stock

I've made shrimp stock many times but never with all shrimp heads.  What a difference the heads make! The heads are definitely where most of the flavor is.  Whenever I visit Karen in Corpus we try to make a point to call the Shrimp Pimp. He delivers the best Gulf Shrimp right to your front door. Once he has weighed the shrimp and pulled the heads off I usually have him toss the heads. The last time I bought from him I decided to keep the heads and schlepp them back to Fort Worth to make some stock.  

Some Notes to Self and Observations:

• Using a stock pot with a pasta insert makes it easier to strain the massive amount of solids.
• Always start with COLD water.  The stock will be more clear than cloudy this way.
• When using the heads of the shrimp, versus the shells, to make stock the stock will have a much darker color.  This may make a difference in the recipe I will use it in.
• The most laborious task while making is the skimming of the foam. I will never perfectly remove all the foam so I don't worry about it.  I get what I can.
• Always salt at the end.  I found with the heads, I did not have to use salt at all.  The heads provided a perfect kiss of salt from the ocean.
• Uses:  soup bases, grits for shrimp and grits, cook pasta or rice in the stock for extra flavor
• This recipe halves well. This can be made with 1 to 2 pound of heads.  Adjust other ingredients accordingly.

This is the basic.

 Rinse the heads and throw in a large pot.  I used my 16 quart stock pot with a pasta insert

 Prepare all the vegetables and seasonings and throw on top of heads.

 Fill pot with enough COLD water to cover ingredients by two inches.

Bring to a boil.  When the stock is boiling, skim off any foam that forms at the surface.  Lower your heat and let the stock gently simmer for about an hour, hour and a half.  Skim foam off as needed.

Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer.  When using this large amount of shrimp heads, cooking them in the pasta insert basket made it easy for the first straining.  For the second straining I lined a fine mesh strainer with a towel to catch the fine particles and sediment.

Let the broth cool then divide into Ball jars or freezer baggies to freeze. 

Shrimp Head Broth
Makes approximately 6 quarts broth

Ingredients:
4 pounds Shrimp heads, rinsed
2 medium yellow onions, coarsely chopped
4 large celery stalks with leaves, washed and coarsely chopped
4 medium carrots, washed and coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed 
4 bay leaves
2 tsps black peppercorns

Method:
In a large stock pot, place all ingredients and cover with enough COLD water to cover by 2 inches.

Bring to a boil.  Skim off any foam that forms on the surface. Lower heat to allow the stock to simmer very gently for about and hour to an hour and a half.  As any foam forms, skim it off.

Allow the stock to cool for awhile before straining.  

Since I used my stock pot with the pasta insert it allowed the first straining to be really easy; just like straining the spaghetti when you lift the basket out. For the second straining, strain through a fine mesh strainer that has been lined with a piece of muslim, several layers of cheese cloth, or a fine kitchen towel. This will catch any tiny bits and sediment.