LOBSTER STOCK
Stock seems to hold a mystique for many home cooks. But, at the end of the day, stock is just a way to extract every bit of flavor and body out of ingredients. It’s a way to prevent waste.
If we start thinking of stock as more of a frugal technique and less of a rarified art, I believe that more people would make stock, and our food would taste better. It's why it is one of the first techniques they teach new students in culinary schools around the country.
While this “recipe” is for lobster stock, please know that you can substitute almost anything for the lobster: shrimp shells, fish bones, turkey wings, veal bones, roasted vegetables to make all manner of flavorful stocks.
To make lobster stock, you will need. Ingredients in parentheses are optional:
• Several pounds of lobster shells
• A little olive oil
• Onion, carrot and celery, cut into large chunks
• (garlic, fennel, shallot)
• (tomato paste)
• Peppercorns
• Bay leaves
• Sprigs of parsley or thyme
• (White wine)
• Cold water
How to Prepare Lobster Stock at Home
Crush the shells a bit with a hammer or meat mallet (or skillet). Brush with a little olive oil and roast in a 400 degree oven until they are bright red—about half an hour. They will smell awful, so make sure your exhaust fan is on or that you can open a window.
If using, brush some tomato paste on the shells during the last fifteen minutes of roasting. You can skip this step, but the flavor of the finished stock will have a milder lobster flavor.
Put the roasted shells in a stock pot along with the rest of your ingredients. Cover with cold water, and slowly bring the temperature up to a simmer. Adjust heat to maintain a slow simmer. Simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Strain and chill.
To save storage space, you can reduce the stock by half by gently boiling on the stove. Either way, store in the refrigerator for a week or in the freezer for 3 months.
How to Purchase Restaurant Quality Lobster Stock
Until now, classic lobster stock was unavailable to home cooks unless they: prepared it themselves, begged a professional chef for some or settled for a commercial brand loaded with m.s.g. and other chemicals
Now Available at Amazon.com
For years we suggested you purchase these products from a favorite gourmet web site but now that Amazon is stocking this product at prices 35% less, we suggest you buy them here:
More Affordable Lobster Stocks Online
Glace deFruits de mer Gold is our favorite commercial roasted chicken stock product but it may be too expensive for everyone. So we have been finding alternatives that are less expensive but still very good quality. These include:
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