Lobster carcass for shellfish stock. Shutterstock photo
July 2023
By Jean Kerr
One of my favorite winter pastimes is making my own stocks and broths. The careful roasting and simmering of the bones and vegetables is a labor of love to be sure, but one that fills the house with crazy good smells of simmering chicken, turkey or beef that will become the base of something to warm your cockles on a cold winter day.
But when summer rolls around, it’s time for summer feasts with family and friends, like the traditional lobster bake Randy Randall describes on page 16 of this issue. In New England, we sure love our lobsters, but when it’s over, you end up with your own personal shell midden. (Don’t forget to put the trash out on time, right?). If I’m eating at our favorite lobster shack or seafood joint, I often ask to take the bodies home. Once in a while I get odd looks from our server, but knowing what a wealth of flavor lies in that detritus I persist. And if you’re eating lobster at home, you have the added advantage of being able to use the cooking liquid that you used in the pot.
I actually freeze the shells and leftover bodies until I have enough of a supply to turn them into stock, which you can freeze for later or use as a base for a variety of seafood delights: bisques, stews, pasta sauces and more.
Making seafood stocks is faster than the long simmering, skimming and barely bubbling, that meat stocks require. I’ve replaced the browning of bones with flambéing the shells in rum. All stocks freeze well, and this one is no exception.
Jean Kerr is the author of four cookbooks, including, “Mystic Seafood” and “Maine Windjammer Cooking.” She is the former editor of Northeast Flavor Magazine and a regular contributor to Cruising World.
Lobster Stock
There are plenty of ways to make stock, this is just my version. (I like the pyrotechnics!)
INGREDIENTS
- Four cooked chicken lobsters* or bodies and shells of 8 lobsters
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/3 cup dark rum or brandy
- 1/2 cup cleaned and thinly sliced leeks
- 1/2 cup of celery, preferably with leaves, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped shallots
- 1/4 cup chopped carrots
- I cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon fresh or dried herbs such as tarragon, thyme or chives
- 4 cups lobster cooking liquid or 2 cups store bought clam, seafood or fish stock and 2 cups of water
- 1/3 cup tomato paste
INSTRUCTIONS
If there are unopened shells, crack them over a bowl to catch any juices and reserve the meat. Crack or chop the claws into smaller pieces. Break the bodies apart.
Melt the butter in a sauté pan. Add shells and sauté for five minutes or until the butter has a pink tinge being careful not to burn. Add the rum. Tipping the pan away from you, touch a match to the pan and flambé until the flame subsides. Add the remaining shells, the vegetables and sauté until vegetables are softened.
Transfer everything to a large stockpot, add the wine, herbs and other liquids to cover. Simmer gently for 45 minutes.
Strain the lobster stock, discarding the vegetables and shells and whisk in the tomato paste until completely incorporated. Bring to a boil and reduce until you have 3-4 cups of stock. Season to taste.
*Lobsters between one pound and a pound and a quarter are referred to as “chix” or chicken lobsters.
