Prawn shuckings

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Goodweed of the North said:
Ok. You lucky guys and gals that live in coastal areas know some thngs I don't know, from lack of exposure. Just what is the difference between a bisque and a chowder? I've had both and they seemed very similar to me. Is it just that a chowder is chunkier? Or maybe, the meals I had were misnamed and there is a real difference in the two. Please share the info.:)

Painting with a very broad brush GW. Chowder usually includes potatoes.
Bisque does not. Both seem to be Cream/milk based. Then again there are bisque versions in the South that do not include milk or cream, and there are probably other regional versions and definitions. It is an interesting question. Maybe start a new thread, and pose the question to see what others have to say!
 
Goodweed - basically ... a bisque is a pureed seafood soup, a chowder has chunks and lumps. Take exactly the same recipe ... if you puree it - it's a bisque, leave it chunky and it's a chowder.
 
:)Ok.Heres a question can you roast the shells in the oven a bit somewhat like beef bones to pull out more flavor before making stock?. As I always find I dont have enough shells to make a decent stock.
 
hmmm--good question jpmcgrew! Never tried it but I wonder if it might not have a funny smell. If you do experiment or someone has already tried it let us know. I rarely have enough shells, too, and it takes me months to save them up. So if that works I'm ready to try it.
 
Yabbie

Bilby, could you enlighten us Yanks on what "yabbie bisque" is?
Yabbie Picture

It has a sweeter taste than crayfish (which is the Australian Rock Lobster), and is substantially smaller. Crayfish can (depending on the cook) come out a bit dry or tasteless. Less likely to happen with yabbies, although not impossible, as they are cooked quicker, more like a prawn in that respect. Usually they are served whole and unshelled, either in a sauce with rice or part of a salad. In pasta they are more normally completely shelled. Possibly because they are farmed, they are processed quicker and seem to not gain that water logged taste that crayfish also suffer from. A main course featuring unshelled yabbies would probably include no less than a dozen. Because of their small stature, you seldom bother taking out the meat from the claws, like you would from a lobster or crab.

The sweetness of the yabbie gives a bisque a lovely delicate flavour. I have ever only had it in better class restaurants - well for Perth, which specialises in laid-back!

Oh and if you go to File 4 of the above link, you will see a picture of a bilby and her young.
 
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Extract from today's DAILY EXPRESS:-

WE'RE ALL SHELL-SHOCKED.
Lobsters and even prawns feel pain, the scientists are telling us.
So does this mean that anyone who eats them is guilty of shellfishness?
 
Thank you Bilby! I always like learn what folks in other parts of the world call their food. Especially when I work with recipes from that part of the world.

jcmpgrew, I am leary about roasting the shells, as the high points and edges would probably burn. However, I love to saute the shells of shrimp before I add the water to make the stock. This also keeps the shells from floating up out of the liquid while it simmers.
 
I love to saute the shells of shrimp before I add the water to make the stock. This also keeps the shells from floating up out of the liquid while it simmers.
This has me very curious. What about sauteing them keeps them from floating?
 
Thank you Bilby! I always like learn what folks in other parts of the world call their food. Especially when I work with recipes from that part of the world.

jcmpgrew, I am leary about roasting the shells, as the high points and edges would probably burn. However, I love to saute the shells of shrimp before I add the water to make the stock. This also keeps the shells from floating up out of the liquid while it simmers.
:)Probably really stink up the house as well.
 
The heads and all they contain, so call that what you will. Mustard? Brains works for me! As to whether a prawn technically has a brain or just a pot of nerve endings, can't say I have ever considered the issue!

Or do you discard the heads when you are doing your stock? All the recipes I have seen use the heads as well as the shells.
 
The heads and all they contain, so call that what you will. Mustard? Brains works for me! As to whether a prawn technically has a brain or just a pot of nerve endings, can't say I have ever considered the issue!

Or do you discard the heads when you are doing your stock? All the recipes I have seen use the heads as well as the shells.
:)Yes I would use the heads for sure.I wasn't trying to jerk your chain I was just having a bit of fun with you.To take the joke further you must need teeny tiny tweezers to get the brains out:LOL:Living on different continents our language isn't alway the same. No cut down intended.
 
:)Yes I would use the heads for sure.I wasn't trying to jerk your chain I was just having a bit of fun with you.To take the joke further you must need teeny tiny tweezers to get the brains out:LOL:Living on different continents our language isn't alway the same. No cut down intended.
Didn't take it any other way! Just wasn't too sure whether I did things differently to the rest of the participants of the thread. I certainly find a lot of threads on this site mean different things to me while several I have no idea what anyone is even talking about!
Tiny tweezers indeed!!!!:LOL:
 
:)Hey Bilby,I adore a good Aussie movie one of my favorites is Welcome to Woop Woop.Theres another called Stricktly(sp) Ball Room and of course Prissilla(sp?) Queen of the Dessert.Any more recommendations.Woop Woop was almost impossible to get here got it on VCR but cant find it on DVD
 
:)Hey Bilby,I adore a good Aussie movie one of my favorites is Welcome to Woop Woop.Theres another called Stricktly(sp) Ball Room and of course Prissilla(sp?) Queen of the Dessert.Any more recommendations.Woop Woop was almost impossible to get here got it on VCR but cant find it on DVD
I have heard of Woop Woop but not seen it. Strictly Ballroom was good but Baz Luhrmann has gone a long way since! Personally couldn't stand Priscilla.
Malcolm (with Colin Friels as Malcolm) was a movie in the 80's which was very funny at the time but not sure if it has stood up to the times. Last Train to Fremantle is meant to be very good but I haven't seen it. As well there is the Crocodile Dundee movies (but only the first one was any good), The Castle, The Dish, Muriel's Wedding, Wolf Creek, Crackerjack, The Extra. Rogue is just out at the moment with Michael Vartan from Alias.

Most of the movies we get here are American. We don't have a huge film industry, for that matter we don't do a lot of (acting) tv either! In truth, I'm probably not the best person to ask as I only go to the movies once or twice a year. Rom might be of more use.
 
I have heard of Woop Woop but not seen it. Strictly Ballroom was good but Baz Luhrmann has gone a long way since! Personally couldn't stand Priscilla.
Malcolm (with Colin Friels as Malcolm) was a movie in the 80's which was very funny at the time but not sure if it has stood up to the times. Last Train to Fremantle is meant to be very good but I haven't seen it. As well there is the Crocodile Dundee movies (but only the first one was any good), The Castle, The Dish, Muriel's Wedding, Wolf Creek, Crackerjack, The Extra. Rogue is just out at the moment with Michael Vartan from Alias.

Most of the movies we get here are American. We don't have a huge film industry, for that matter we don't do a lot of (acting) tv either! In truth, I'm probably not the best person to ask as I only go to the movies once or twice a year. Rom might be of more use.
:)Americans loved Priscilla,you gota see Ball Room is really great.I liked Muriels Wedding in fact Tony Collette is becomng very popular in the States like In her Shoes and Little Miss Sunshine shes done more just cant think of them right now.I love Terrance Stamp.Is he an Aussie?
 
:)Americans loved Priscilla,you gota see Ball Room is really great.I liked Muriels Wedding in fact Tony Collette is becomng very popular in the States like In her Shoes and Little Miss Sunshine shes done more just cant think of them right now.I love Terrance Stamp.Is he an Aussie?
Nah, Terrance Stamp is English originally but I think now lives in the US. He was well known for spaghetti westerns.

Paul Mecurio from Ballroom, is one of our judges on Dancing with the Stars. Sonia Kruger, the hostess of Dancing, was also in Ballroom.

If you have seen Chuck and Larry Get Married (or similar), you might want to check out Strange Bedfellows. There was a big hooha that Bedfellows got ripped off.

Oh, Japanese Story won quite a few awards and had Toni Collette in too.
 
This has me very curious. What about sauteing them keeps them from floating?

I don't have a proven answer, but can offer a good theory. I was taught that when you make stock, you always start with cold water, to coagulate the proteins, unless you roast or caramelize the bones/whatever first. I used to always start with raw shells/heads for shrimp stock, celery, carrots, onions, parsley stems, etc., along with the cold water. The proteins in the shells, as well as the "juices" on the shell, will coagulate as the water heats up. These proteins float upwards as a foam. I think that the "foam" causes the shells to float. I used to weigh the shells down with a plate to keep them submerged.

One of the cooks I work with always sautes his shrimp shells/heads when he makes shrimp stock. I started doing that as well, as I liked the flavor that caramelized all that stuff imparts on the stock. It wasn't until I cooked shrimp stock by sauteing the shells first that I noticed the shells didn't float after it came to a boil.
 
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