Sherried Crab Bisque Recipes

Steps:

• Crabs: Preheat oven to 425 F. Place crabs on a roasting pan and bake in the oven about 30 minutes, until deep red and slightly browned. In a stockpot set over medium heat, add olive oil and roasted crabs, breaking them up with a wooden spoon as they cook, 5 minutes. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery (the "holy trinity" of Cajun cooking) and stir, cooking just till the vegetables soften, 5 minutes.
• Stock: Add wine and stir to deglaze the pan. Turn heat to high and cook 6-8 minutes, until the wine has nearly evaporated. Add tomato paste and water. Stir, bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat. Cover and simmer, 45 minutes.
• Bisque: Remove the crab shells from the stock and discard. (If you miss a couple small pieces of shell, don't worry: they'll get strained out later.) Ladle the stock into the blender, then add the juice of half a lemon and ¾ cup bread cubes. Season with a big pinch of salt and a small pinch of pepper. Cover and let sit so the bread can absorb some of the liquid, 30-60 seconds. Blend on low speed (to avoid splattering hot liquid) for 30 seconds. As the soup blends, turn to high to emulsify, 1 more minute. Taste to adjust for seasoning and texture-the soup should coat the back of a spoon. Add remaining bread, small pinches of salt and pepper, and blend on high to further thicken and emulsify, 1½ more minutes. Taste again for seasoning, then strain through a chinois to remove any small shell pieces, using the back of a ladle to push the soup through into a bowl.
• Assembly: Ladle bisque into individual serving bowls. Chop chives into ½-inch lengths (you should have about a ½ cup total). Garnish each bowl with crab meat and chives. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• 1. Sauté the shallots in the butter in the top of a double boiler over direct heat until very soft but not browned. Stir in flour; add the warm cream or milk slowly, stirring as you add. Place over simmering water, add Worcestershire sauce, pepper and crab meat . Let cook stirring frequently, over simmering water for 15-20 minutes. Cover and keep warm, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat. Add beaten egg to warm mixture. Season to taste with salt . Slowly add sherry just before serving. Ladle soup into warm soup bowls. Top each serving with a dollop of whipped cream , or sprinkle with paprika or chopped chives or Old Bay spice. Very good. --- You may want to try this too: Frosted Tomato Crab Bisque: Just add to the above recipe: 10 oz. can cream of tomato soup, undiluted and 1 teaspoon groud marjoram Add to all ingredients in the above recipe.Then chill for 2 hours.

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, saute the onions, celery and green pepper in margarine until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Reduce heat to medium; add the potatoes and milk. Cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until potatoes are just tender, stirring occasionally., Remove 1-1/2 cups of the potato mixture; mash and return to the pan. Reduce heat to low. Stir in half-and-half and process cheese. Cook and stir until cheese is melted. Add the crab, salt and pepper. Cook 10 minutes longer or until heated through.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, saute celery, onion and green pepper in butter until tender. Add the next nine ingredients; mix well. Stir in crab; heat through. Discard the bay leaves. , Freeze option: Freeze cooled soup in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally.