Stumbled into a shrimp boil in Mobile and now I can't stop thinking about the stock

Went down to Mobile last month for a delivery and wandered into a dockside boil where the guy running it said "the shells are the whole flavor, city folks throw away the gold," and he simmered them for 2 hours before adding the shrimp, so has anyone else tried reserving their peel stock for sauces or soups instead of dumping it?

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wesley_fox921mo ago

Man, that takes me back. Buddy of mine runs a crawfish joint outside Baton Rouge, and he kept a bucket of shrimp shells behind the line. One slow Tuesday he threw them in a pot with some celery and old bay, simmered it for the whole shift. Used that stock to make a risotto for the staff meal. We were all scraping the pan. He said he never dumped another shell after that, it's his secret weapon now.