Crab stock is a mainstay in my kitchen during Dungeness crab season, which in California runs from November through June. But you can legally catch red and rock crabs all year long, and they make a fine stock, too. After picking the meat out of the crabs, I use the leftover shells to make this rich broth.
Use this stock in Crab Risotto or in Crab Curry.
Crab Stock
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 30 mins
Total Time
1 hr 45 mins
The vegetables in here are what I use, and are open to substitution: The only ones you really need are the onions (or leeks), celery and fennel. Fennel adds a lot here. If you can't find it, add fennel seeds, or even a shot of ouzo or other anise-flavored liqueur. Use any crabs you have available: Dungeness, blue crabs, stone crabs, rock crabs, snow or king crabs, really anything works. A couple of pointers: Don't let this boil (just a gentle simmer is all you need) and don't be tempted to simmer it for more than 2 hours or it will lose flavor and get cloudy. I typically go for 90 minutes.
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Serves: 5 quarts
Ingredients
- Bodies and shells from 3 to 4 Dungeness crabs or 6 to 12 smaller crabs
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- Tops from 1 fennel bulb chopped
- 1/2 pound mushrooms, or a handful of dried, chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup white wine
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
- Salt
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot and saute the vegetables over high heat for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are translucent. Add the tomato paste, stir well and cook over medium heat for another 2 or 3 minutes, until it darkens.
- Add the crab shells and bodies and smash them all with a potato masher. Mix well to coat with the tomato paste and to disperse the veggies. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring a couple times.
- Add the white wine, bay leaves and peppercorns and bring to a boil. Let this cook for a minute or two, then pour in enough cold water to cover everything by about an inch; normally this is about 10 cups. Let this simmer very gently for 90 minutes to 2 hours. Add salt to taste.
- Turn off the heat. Set up another large pot or bowls and put a fine-meshed strainer over it. Line the strainer with a plain paper towel or cheesecloth and ladle the stock through this set-up into the large pot or bowls. Do not try to get the last dregs of stock, as this will be full of debris. Discard the shells, etc.
- Let the stock cool for 15 to 30 minutes, then use or pour into quart jars. The stock will keep for a week in the fridge. It will freeze well for 2 months, but after that it deteriorates rapidly.
Making this today with leftover king crab shells from New Year’s Eve dinner. Have not had good luck w/seafood stock in the past but this recipe looks foolproof. Wish me luck!
I made this yesterday from dungeness crab shells from my Newport OR commercial fishing daughter’s take home pick. I only used the shells of the legs and body meat, and not the backs as in the recipe, although I did save a quart of the salted water we cooked the crabs in for the saltiness (we did take the backs and guts/gills off the crab before cooking). I was a little reluctant only because I hate to waste ingredients, meaning those used for the stock that had to be strained out. But I did have some bulb fennel tops from the last of my garden that needed to be used, as well as some carrots that had to have some bugs cut out. Literally all but 4 of the ingredients were Newport local. I was pessimistic on the first taste, before the gentle simmer, but was pleasantly surprised at the finished product. The shells that were strained out smelled like ammonia, but the broth had a nice depth and felt good on my stomach to sip on. Thanks for the guidance on making this crab broth! I would have never thought of making this.
Making this with brown crab or chancre crab from the Channel Islands uk. It’s just simmering now and smells delicious. Thanks for the recipe
Great recipe. I had many crabs left over from a town crab festival and I didn’t want them to be thrown away. I did not remove the parts described in the recipe and it Came out great! The broth has a wonderful crab taste without any odd taste or smell. I did boil the broth to concentrate it a little more. I’ ll use my broth for She Crab Soup.