# ISO an easy lobster bisque recipe



## Wendy92153 (Dec 31, 2008)

Happy New Year!

I just finished enjoying my end of year lobster dinner, and decided I wanted to make lobster bisque from all those shells, bodies, legs and other leftover bits.  

MY problem is finding a relatively easy recipe for the bisque.  I've found some very complex ones that I am not comfortable attempting (yet).  I think I have a handle on making the lobster stock, but I dunno what to do with it after that.  

Thanking you all in advance for you assistance 

Wendy


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## Wendy92153 (Jan 1, 2009)

I've been doing some research and have an idea.  I found that Bisque is a cream and sherry based soup.  So my thoughts are this:

Make a roux with 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup flour.  Add 2 (?) cups light cream whisk the hell out of it (I don't think it should boil or even simmer?) .  Add 1/2 cup (?) budget cooking sherry, not sure when this should get added.  I have no idea how much cream base this should make, but I'm winging it here.

I'm going to use the lobster stock from cooksrecipe.com


Add HOT lobster stock to the cream base

and from there, I'm not sure where to go.....


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## Constance (Jan 1, 2009)

Here's a good looking recipe for lobster bisque:

Best Lobster Bisque Recipe | ifood.tv


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## FincaPerlitas (Jan 1, 2009)

If you're asking for a personal, kitchen-tested recipe from one of the DC members, I'm happy to share mine. I'm orginally from Florida and owned a seafood restaurant there, so my recipe uses whole Florida lobster tails, including the shells (for color and flavor), but you can easily adapt it for Maine lobster. It will be much better if you use the shells, not just the meat.

*Florida Lobster Bisque*

1 med. onion, chpooed
1 carrot, chopped
1 med. stalk celery, chopped
2 Tbsp butter
4 to 6 lobster tails
1 can beef broth
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup cream
1 Tbsp parsley, chopped (flat-leaf, if available)
1 Pinch thyme
1 Pinch marjoram
2 cans chicken broth
1 Tbsp tomato paste
Salt & pepper to taste
Corn starch or flour for thickening

Saute vegetables in butter until limp, add parsley. Stir, then add lobster tails and just enough beef broth to keep the vegetables from burning. Stir, cover and cook over low heat until the lobster shells turn red, about 10 minutes. Add tomato paste, chicken broth and wine. Re-cover and cook 15 minutes more. Remove lobster and strain broth. Shell the lobster, chop the meat and return it to the pot, discarding the shells. At this point you may refrigerate until ready to serve. I always make mine ahead of time and finish it just before serving.

To finish, add cream, salt and pepper, and thicken a little with a slurry of corn starch or flour, mixed with water and beaten until it's smooth. If you have a good dry sherry, you may add a float (or flame it) on top. Most people don't have (and don't want to pay for) good sherry. In which case, you're better off omitting it entirely. Cheap sherry is an abomination and can't be substituted without ruining the bisque, and sherry is totally unnecessary. I seldom add it.

NOTE: With minor adaptations, this recipe also works well with crawfish, shrimp and crab. In each case, use the shells to make your base and you'll get much better results.


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## FincaPerlitas (Jan 1, 2009)

Wendy, after posting I went back and re-read your original post and it seems like maybe your question is about using lobster stock as a base. My recipe doen't really call for lobster stock, but if you're comfortable making lobster stock you can certainly substitute it for the chicken stock I use. The only thing to remember is that it needs to have some lobster flavor to it, but not be overly seasoned. 

I think my recipe is about as easy as you'll find and you'll get a great result if you follow it without too many changes. Most importantly, don't use cheap cooking sherry in it. You'll absolutely ruin it.

You don't really need to make a roux.  A simple flour and water slurry will work fine.  However, if you want to make a roux, it should be a light roux of butter and flour, barely cooked, not a dark roux like you'd use for cajun/creole cooking.  Once made, remove it from the heat and add some of the stock to temper it, stirring well.  Add your cream to the bisque, bring it up to temperature but don't let it start to boil or get too hot.  Then stir in your tempered roux a little at a time until you get the consistency you want.

Good luck, and let me know if you have other questions.


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