David Tanis's Shrimp Broth
- Total Time
- About 40 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1tablespoon olive oil
- Shells from 1 pound shrimp
- 2large thyme sprigs
- 3garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1bay leaf
- 1ounce dried shrimp, optional
- Salt and pepper
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Preparation
- Step 1
Pour olive oil into a small pot over medium-high heat. Add shrimp shells, thyme sprigs, garlic, bay leaf and dried shrimp if using. Let sizzle for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, taking care not to let mixture brown.
- Step 2
Add 7 cups water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve. May be prepared several hours ahead.
Private Notes
Comments
The secret is to simmer the broth so that it reduces significantly in volume. Remember that "simmering" is done with the lid off of the pot. You keep the temperature just below the point where the water would boil. I like to reduce the shrimp liquid to about 60% of the original volume. For 7 cups of water, you'd have a yield of a little over 4 cups of strained liquid. Sometimes this takes about 30 minutes, but sometimes it takes a little more or less. Go by volume, not by time.
This broth is the best! I always save my shrimp shells and when I accumulate a large amount I make this and freeze it. Then I use it for shrimp risotto, add saffron to it for shrimp with saffron over orzo. Also, it may be used in any soup or chowder calling for a rich seafood flavor.
It's broth. It's supposed to be watery, not thick.
3 Qt pot is ideal. Substituted the dried shrimp with a dab of anchovie paste. Otherwise,followed the recipe except had to use dried tyme. After 30 minutes of simmering it was reduced 30%. Smells like Big Easy shrimp gumbo already.
How can 7 cups of water fit in a small pot?
The secret really is toasting the shells, it gives a much deeper flavor to the stock.
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