Lobster stock can be prepared at home from scratch, and it's, in fact, a good zero waste practice if you are boiling a lobster anyway.
This is a basic, plainly flavored seafood stock.
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What is lobster stock?
Lobster stock is prepared from lobster shells. The shells are infused in the boiling water over a slow simmering flame.
Once you have boiled a lobster, you get to take the meat out and what's left are the shells. That's the head, body, and tail.
Lobster meat can be added too, but there is no need for it because the shells add enough flavor to the stock. Besides, lobster meat is best eaten, without having been used to infuse a stock.
So the best part of this is the fact that the shells are used sustainably in your kitchen. They are not just thrown out, but instead used to create a flavorful stock!
This seafood stock recipe is prepared without wine and you just require lobster shells.
How to make it?
Here is a quick overview of how to make your own stock from lobster shells. The full recipe is located further below in the recipe card.
You can use a regular cold water lobster (the one with the claws) or a warm water lobster (as I did in the video and pictures).
Step 1
Place lobster shells in a cooking pot and cover with water.
Step 2
Simmer for about an hour or so.
Step 3
Strain your stock to separate from the shells with a cheesecloth.
📖 Recipe
Homemade Lobster Shell Stock
Instructions
- Place lobster shells into your cooking pot and over with water.Lobster Shells from one whole cooked Lobster, 5 cups Water
- Take to the heat and simmer for about 1 hour covered over a low to medium flame.
- Prepare a bowl with a large strainer and a cheesecloth placed over the strainer to fit in.
- Pour the stock into the cheesecloth and collect the stock on the other side in the bowl. Discard lobster shells.
- Use lobster stock in your food or prepare batches to refrigerate or freeze.
Equipment
- Fine Mesh Strainer with a Cheesecloth
Nutrition
Storing
The seafood stock can be stored in your fridge for months. However, I recommend using it up within a few weeks.
A better idea is to prepare batches and store them in your freezer. The stock will be good for at least a year in your freezer.
You can keep the stock in jars, containers with a lid or freeze it in an ice tray for small batches, which can then be placed into zip lock bags.
Lobster Stock Uses
Lobster stock can be used in many recipes as a base.
The idea is to enrich another dish with the stock.
Here are some recipe ideas to use up your homemade seafood stock:
- Lobster Bisque — A classic seafood “soup” and this stock is a main ingredient
- Other soups and chowders
- Risotto — Mainly seafood risotto but can be used in a mushroom risotto as an alternative to wine.
- Seafood Pasta Sauce — wherever it calls for a stock or broth or wine, as in the salmon white wine pasta recipe OR seafood Mac and Cheese
- Paella — A spanish seafood rice dish
- Sauce Base — add some of the stock to a bechamel sauce and reduce the quantity of milk to turn it into a seafood velouté sauce.
FAQs
Both are used interchangeably in modern language, but these are actually different terms. A stock is made from bones or shells, a broth is made with vegetables or meat/seafood.
You can use all the shells if you like. The head, body, tail, legs, and antenna.
You might have added some lobster tomalley to your shells. It's an inner organ of your lobster, and it's considered a delicacy in some places. Try not to add it to your shells to make a clear stock.
Strain your stock through a cheesecloth. You can use a fine-mesh skimmer spoon additionally. If it's cloudy, it's fine too, you can use it that way but if you want to clarify it further, there is another method to clarify with an egg white.
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