Perfect Lobster Bisque Recipes

Steps:

• 1 bunch fresh chives, for garnish
• For the lobster broth: Heat a large soup pot on medium and add the butter, olive oil, garlic, carrots, celery and onions. Add the sea salt and some freshly cracked pepper and saute for about 8 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the brandy and burn off the alcohol. Pour in the white wine and reduce for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, tomato paste, peppercorns, lobster carcasses (keep meat for later), bay leaves, parsley and thyme. Top of with water, just enough to cover the shells. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour.
• For the dark roux: Heat a small saucepan on medium. Add the butter and flour and whisk continuously until amber in color and nutty smelling, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• For the bisque: Using strainer and cheesecloth, strain the lobster broth into a medium pot. Add the dark roux, heavy cream and saffron and mix. Let reduce on medium-low heat until thick, another 15 to 20 minutes.
• For the lobster meat: Heat a big pan on medium-high and melt the butter. Add the lobster meat and saute until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Spoon the lobster meat into a big bowl, ladle on the lobster bisque and top with chives. Enjoy.

Steps:

• Fill large stockpot with water and bring to a boil. There should be enough water to cover lobsters completely when immersed. Place live lobsters in boiling water head first to minimize splashing. When water re-boils, turn down the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not overcook lobsters. Remove lobsters from the pot using tongs; save all the water in stockpot as this is now a flavorful stock to be re-used.
• Place 10 cups of stock in a clean stockpot and put on low heat. Clean claws and tails of lobsters and reserve meat, legs, and swimmerets. After lobsters are cleaned, place shells in stockpot with 10 cups of stock. Cut bodies in quarters and place in stockpot, making sure to include all roe and tomalley in pot. Add 1 cup tomato paste and simmer on low heat for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Be careful not to have heat so high as to burn stock. Pour entire contents of pot through sieve into clean stockpot; this should now be 8 cups of glorious red stock.
• Place onions, celery, carrots, thyme, parsley and saffron in a large saute pan, add 4 cups stock from original stock pot and put on high heat for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup tomato paste and black pepper. Turn down heat and simmer 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Press entire contents of saute pan through sieve into stockpot of 8 cups previously made stock.
• To finish Bisque, put pot on medium heat. Add heavy cream slowly, using whisk to blend. Add sherry. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes; bisque will thicken slightly. Mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup water and slowly add to bisque with whisk. Simmer on low heat for another 20 minutes.
• If you prefer your bisque to be thicker, you may add more cornstarch, or perhaps, flour, but have found the bisque thickens nicely over low heat, and additional cornstarch or flour takes away from the wonderful flavor.
• Place pieces of previous cleaned lobster meat in bowl and add 1 cup of bisque. Garnish with legs and swimmerets around the bowl and one parsley leaf in center, if desired.

Steps:

• Bring large pot of water to boil. Add lobsters head first and boil until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Using tongs, transfer lobsters to large bowl. Reserve 2 cups cooking liquid. Cool lobsters.
• Working over large bowl to catch juices, cut off lobster tails and claws. Crack tail and claw shells and remove lobster meat. Coarsely chop lobster meat; cover and chill. Coarsely chop lobster shells and bodies; transfer to medium bowl. Reserve juices from lobster in large bowl.
• Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over high heat. Add lobster shells and bodies and sauté until shells begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add onion and next 8 ingredients. Mix in brandy and Sherry. Boil until almost all liquid has evaporated, about 4 minutes. Add fish stock, reserved 2 cups lobster cooking liquid and lobster juices. Simmer 1 hour.
• Strain soup through sieve set over large saucepan, pressing firmly on solids. Whisk tomato paste into soup. Simmer until soup is reduced to 3 cups, about 15 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• Add cream to soup and simmer 5 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in 1 tablespoon water. Add to soup and boil until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Mix lobster meat into soup and stir to heat through. Ladle soup into bowls.

Steps:

• Stock: In a large pot lined with a steamer basket, bring 1 inch salted water to a boil. Steam lobster tails, top-side down, until just cooked through and tails curl under, 6 to 8 minutes for small tails and 8 to 10 minutes for large. Transfer to a plate and let cool. When cool enough to handle, use kitchen shears to cut through underside of tails. Remove meat from shells; reserve shells. Run a paring knife along back of each tail and remove vein. Cut meat into bite-size pieces; cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high. Add shells and cook until fragrant and deep red in color, about 4 minutes. Add fish stock, wine, and 6 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, skimming impurities from surface, until reduced to 6 cups, 40 to 45 minutes. Strain stock into a large liquid-measuring cup or heatproof bowl. Wipe out pot. (Stock can be stored in airtight containers in the freezer up to 3 months.)
• Bisque: In same pot, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add fennel, onion, and garlic and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaf, paprika, and cayenne; cook 1 minute. Add brandy, sherry, and strained lobster stock; season generously with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer 30 minutes. Remove thyme and bay leaf.
• Working in batches, puree soup in a blender until smooth. Return soup to pot. Let cool 15 minutes. Whisk together cream and cornstarch, then stir into bisque. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring, until thickened slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning as desired.
• Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add lobster meat and cook until just warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour soup into bowls and serve, topped with lobster, fennel fronds, and a squeeze of lemon, if desired. Soup can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 2 days.

Steps:

• In a saute pan heat a little oil over med-high heat and saute shallots, onions, and garlic for one minute.
• Deglaze the pan with the white wine.
• Add the worcestershire, tabasco, and thyme and saute for another minute.
• Deglaze the pan with the sherry.
• Add the paprika, hot water and lobster base and combine well.
• Stir in tomato paste and add the bay leaves.
• Simmer for 10 minutes.
• Whisk in heavy cream and the butter and bring to a boil.
• Add the lobster and simmer until cooked through.
• Serve with crusty garlic bread.

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, celery, and carrot. Cook and stir until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, and season with salt and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
• Pour the vegetable and broth mixture into the container of a blender, and add 1/4 cup of the lobster meat. Cover, and process until smooth. Return to the saucepan, and stir in the half-and-half, white wine, and remaining lobster meat. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently until thickened, about 30 minutes.

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, add 2 inches of water; bring to a rolling boil. Add lobsters, cover, and steam for 8 minutes. Remove lobsters, reserving liquid. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from claws and tail, reserving any juices; refrigerate meat and juices. , In the same Dutch oven, cook carrots and onion in butter over medium-high heat until tender, 5-8 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook until it starts to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Stir in wine and simmer until reduced by half. Add lobster shells, bodies, reserved cooking liquid, reserved lobster juices and stock. Bring mixture to a simmer; cook 1 hour. Strain mixture, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible; discard shells and solids. , Return liquid to Dutch oven. Add rice and cook until extremely soft, 25-30 minutes. Puree in a blender until smooth. Add cream, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring mixture to very low simmer; add reserved lobster meat and cook until heated through. If desired, sprinkle with additional black pepper and parsley.

Steps:

• Heat the water in a large stock pot to boiling. Drop in the lobsters and cook covered for 12 minutes. Remove the lobsters from the pot; reserve 4 cups of the water. Let the lobsters cool.
• When the lobsters are cool enough to handle, crack the shells and remove all the lobster meat. Finely dice the meat and set aside. Reserve the shells.
• Melt half the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the lobster shells and pour in the Cognac. Heat until the Cognac is warm, then flame it with a match. When the flames subside, stir in 1/2 cup shallots, the garlic, tomato paste, wine, reserved cooking liquid, the tarragon, thyme, red pepper flakes, and bay leaves. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain through a sieve into a bowl.
• Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a stock pot over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons shallots and sauté 2 minutes. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the strained lobster stock; whisk until well blended. Whisk in the milk and cream and heat over medium heat until hot. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Whisk the egg yolks together in a small bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the hot soup and then return to the pot; whisk until thoroughly blended. Stir in the reserved lobster meat. Heat for several minutes and serve immediately.