Smell those shrimp they'r beginning to boil...
Shrimp Stock for Gumbo
Ingredients: Per 5lbs of shrimp
- Shells/heads from 5 pounds of shrimp
- 2 tbls lard
- 1 medium onion, peeled, cut into eighths
- 1 carrot, peeled, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 celery stalk, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 2 bay leaves
- Two 1/4-inch-thick slices lemon
- 2 smoked chilli peppers, coarse shopped
- 6 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
Directions
Melt lard in a stockpot over medium heat. Add all remaining ingredients. Cook, stirring often, 10 minutes. Add 4 quarts water, and cover; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer, uncovered, 1 hour. Strain; discard solids.
Made 2 gallons of gumbo stock off the heads of 20 pounds of 10/12 shrimp. Shrimp are roughly 30% head and gut, 70% tail meat. So about to get busy on ~14# of shrimp meat.
Buddy works at the Alabama mariculture center and they've been doing research in techniques to grow 'farm raised' saltwater shrimp. By law they can't grow and sell to public but when they're done with all the measurements and research the shrimp gotta go. We get them at a nominal price that goes right back to the research center.
They've got it down to about one pound of shrimp food in, makes one pound of shrimp out. They realize 1:1 for farmed protein, that is stunningly good. These were grown from hatched shrimp eggs in 80 days.
The site below does a good job laying out the mariculture mission of the site where my buddy works.
Official Web Site of Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
www.outdooralabama.com