Shrimp are very tasty and relatively cheap, and generally as easy to cook as seafood gets. The most challenging aspect of cooking shellfish is usually peeling and deveining them, so many home chefs skip those steps and purchase shrimp already peeled and deveined. But in doing so, they lose a major flavor component: the shell. If you buy whole shrimp still in the shell and take a little time to peel them, you have a wonderful opportunity to make a simple ‘shell stock’, which will multiply the flavor of any shrimp or seafood dish exponentially. As for deveining, some chefs actually view the step as unnecessary.

Watch a video of one of Chef Jim Gray’s favorite recipes: Shrimp Bisque, and see for yourself how easily you can enjoy the full ocean-infused flavor of shrimp.

Kitchen Guy’s Shrimp Bisque Recipe

Ingredients

1 1/4 pounds shrimp, shelled and deveined, shells reserved

1/4 cup butter, unsalted

1/2 cup white wine

2 quarts water

1 bay leaf, preferably Turkish

3 medium carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons rice, long grain and wild

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3/4 teaspoon cayenne

2 teaspoons salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

lemon juice

Method

Cook shrimp shells in 1 tablespoon butter in a 4-quart pot over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until golden. Add white wine and boil, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add water and bay leaf and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes. Pour shrimp stock through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing on shells and then discarding them. While stock is simmering, cook shrimp in 1 tablespoon butter in a 6 quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until just cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Add remaining butter to pot, and then cook carrots, celery and onion over moderate heat until softened. Stir in rice, tomato paste, cayenne, salt and shrimp stock and simmer, covered until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Set aside 12 shrimp and stir remainder into bisque. Puree bisque in batches in a blender, using caution when blending hot liquids, then pour through a strainer into another pot. Stir in cream and cook over low heat until heated through, taking care not to let the soup boil. Stir in lemon juice and salt to taste. Cut reserved shrimp into 1/4-inch dice and use as part of garnish for bisque along with fresh chopped chives.

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tks, EVAN