I like the idea of sustainability but as time goes on, some of the farmed types seem to be damaging the environment in odd ways. Others are bad for the environment over greed and over crowding.
Generally USA farmed trout and catfish seem ok. Some feel the taste is off but we are happy with them.
I'm not big on microwaves as a main kitchen cooking device as to me a frying pan, stove top pan, stove top steamer, crockpot etc. suit me better. I do use them to reheat however.
Grin, Don and I like to make our own sausage patties. Came in real handy with the shippage issues caused by COVID. We have a TASIN grinder (real one, not Chinese knockoff). Don and I in tandem can grind up a porkbutt in 15-20 minutes including setup and teardown/cleanup. 15lbs or so. Bone with any scraps goes in crockpot with dry beans, onions, water, salt, garlic and sometimes Knorr's chicken broth base.
I don't care for trout but the catfish is okay. I use tilapia too with the stipulation that red curry paste and coconut milk can make almost anything edible.
I use the cat as a taster. I throw him scraps and there is a definite hierarchy in his preferences with wild caught at the top. I've no idea what he's picking up from the smell but there is something.
That is extreme. Not one chance I will ever save shrimp shells. Why?
Why not? Few people do but you can extract flavor from them and it makes a good broth. For six shrimp, no, but if you have enough over time. . . Ever wonder how they flavor fake crab meat?
Shrimp stock makes a delicious chowder, bisque, gumbo, paella, cioppino, etc.
Cindy Hamilton
I will try. I do a pound or two every week. I still not fathom the outcome.
Alright, here is what I think we differ... I boil my shrimp in water plus a glurg of vinegar and 2 tbsp old bay. Shells do not make stock. Maybe crunchy bbq chip.
Most of the flavor is shrimp is in the shell. That is why steamed shrimp in the shell are so good.
They make for a flavorful fish stock.
Miracles of modern chemistry:
I gave it up long ago. I had some for lunch and two hours later I was so dizzy I had to go home. Fortunately I had the car and not a motorcycle since I don't think I had enough balance to ride a bike.
Coincidence? Maybe. I've scarfed down enough real crab, shrimp, and lobsters that I doubt it was a shellfish allergy.
It may be some nutritional deficiency but I often eat the tails of cocktail shrimp. Call it DIY glucosamine.
I bought some once and the dog wouldn't even eat it. Places with crabs should be able to sue them for using the name "crab". That is where Mick can brag. The best crab comes from the Chesapeake Bay. Maybe it has something to do with the estuary nature of the bay, the water temperature or the industrial chemicals coming down the Susquehanna but they have a great taste. I picked out a Dungeness crab for the boys at the wharf in San Francisco and it was a notch above surimui. The salt water blue crabs here are not that great either. There is nothing like a heavy #1 Jimmy from St Mary's County.
Maybe it is my Southern Md heritage but I steam cocktail shrimp with Old Bay too. Pull off the legs, steam them in the shell and peel them when they cool. The Old Bay goes into the leg holes and "neck" hole and flavors the shrimp.
We used to catch blue crabs in the Delaware Bay and a couple of other places on the NJ coast. Still could not beat the Chesapeake for quantity or quality.
Back in the day, dad, Uncle Joe and I drove 30 miles to the DE bay, rented a rowboat and in the marshes next to the bay got two bushels of crabs.
Forget it today and they sell for hundreds of dollars a bushel.
Same thing in New England where lobsters were poor mans food and cost little.
Refrigerated shipping killed all that.
Why not? Free and fun to experiment with and if it doesn't work, you are out nothing.
Yup. Shells from 2lbs shrimp work fine to make a small batch of stock.
Kinda neat to live here! We have so many, they practically crawl out on the shore to get some space around them!
Exactly. 2lbs worth generally makes what I need but that may be graced by some heads and tails (depending on what I got).
There's a delicacy used in some part of Asia. It's just salted (with black pepper) shrimp shell, cooked fast in a hot fry pan (no or minimal oil). It's a munchie. It's actually good for you.
Mostly I steam shrimp from defrosted (or fresh local catch) and am peeling them before steaming.
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