Red Crustacean Butter (Beurre Colorant rouge)

Ingredients

• crustacean shell debris (all scraps and fragments)
• equal weight to shells by weight butter

Instructions

1. Gather all crustacean shell scraps and debris. Clean them thoroughly of all interior and exterior adhering matter.
2. Dry them completely in an oven or drying cabinet (étuve), then pound them finely. Add butter equal in weight to the dried shells, mixing as you pound.
3. Melt the mixture in a bain-marie (water bath), stirring frequently. Pass the melted mixture through a mousseline (fine sieve or cheesecloth) into a bowl of ice water. Once the butter has solidified and separated, press it firmly in a cloth (torchon) to extract all remaining water.