Even if your fishmonger doesn’t advertise shrimp heads or fish carcasses on their price board, they should be able to supply them to you, and they should be cheap. As I mentioned above, seafood stocks are quick to make, as 30-45 minutes of simmering is all that is needed. But I still make several quarts at a time and freeze the extra for a later date.

Ingredients

As with most stocks, you want some aromatics included in the recipe. Onions, carrots, celery, and garlic are the three most common options. Some recipes call for fancier flavor boosters such as fennel, kombu, or mushrooms. Others call for herbs and spices, such as bay leaves, thyme, or peppercorns. All of these are valid options, but I like to keep things simple and let the flavor profile be set by the final dish in which the stock is used. This goes for salt as well. I don’t salt my stocks. I salt the dish which uses the stock.

Shrimp heads and shells are more potent than fish carcasses with respect to flavor. Two to two and a half pounds of shrimp heads is enough to make 4 quarts of stock. For fish carcasses you need four to five pounds to make 4 quarts of stock. The type of fish carcasses isn’t very important, if the species is a non-oily white fleshed fish. Avoid oily fish such as bluefish and salmon. (Well, maybe if you’re making a salmon chowder, but…) Your fishmonger should be able to steer you right.

Making the Stock

I’m not going to formalize this as a recipe as it’s as it’s so simple. Put everything in a pot, let it come to a simmer, let the simmer go for 30-45 minutes, and strain the stock from the solids. OK, just a little more detail, for four quarts of stock:

1. Start with a generous two pounds of shrimp heads or a generous 4 pounds of fish carcasses. Both should be well rinsed. For the fish, also remove the gills and chop the carcasses into rough chunks.
2. Add the seafood to a 12 quart stock pot.
3. Chop one large onion, one large carrot and a celery rib and add them to the pot.
4. Add enough water to cover the ingredients, plus enough extra water so there are a of couple inches of depth to spare.
5. Heat on high until a light boil is reached. Immediately turn down the heat to a gentle simmer.
6. Simmer for 30-45 minutes. You may have the urge to simmer longer, but don’t!
7. Drain the stock through a fine mesh strainer into a large container. Discard the strained solids. Split the stock evenly between four quart containers. If necessary, top off the quart containers with water.