Special Lobster Bisque Recipes

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:

• 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:

• Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper and celery salt until well blended. Gradually stir in the milk so that no lumps form, and then stir in the chicken stock. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the soup begins to thicken. Add the onion and lobster; season with paprika. Cook and stir for 10 more minutes. Stir in the cream, heat through and serve.

Steps:

• Twist off the claws and tails from the lobsters. Remove the meat, discarding the green tomalley and reserving the shells. Coarsely chop the meat to measure about 2 1/2 cups, and transfer to a bowl; cover and chill.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a Dutch oven over medium. Add the lobster shells, and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Stir in the sherry, and cook until the liquid is nearly evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add the celery, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, 4 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until reduced to about 2 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl; discard the solids. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a medium skillet over medium. Add the onions, carrots, mushrooms, tomato paste, cayenne and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the reserved lobster stock and simmer until reduced to about 2 cups, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Puree the mixture with an immersion blender until smooth. Place over medium heat, stir in the milk and cream, and bring to a simmer. Add the lobster meat, reserving 1/4 cup for garnish.
• To serve, ladle the bisque into bowls and top with the reserved lobster meat and chives.

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:

• 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.

Steps:

• Boil water, add salt followed by Lobster, boil for 6 minutes. Remove lobster from water with tongs and place in cold water to cool. Reserve cooking liquid, this is your fish stock. If opting to use a ready cooked lobster you can substitute with other fish stock from a cube.
• Once cool enough to handle, place lobster on its back and with a chefs knife, cut the lobster from underneath, all the way from the tail to the head. Rinse away any tomally from the head cavities. Remove and refrigerate claw and tail meat.
• Heat 25 g. of the butter in your soup pot. Add the crushed lobster shells. Each piece should be not more than roughly 1 square inch. All pieces should be in contact with the butter, fry at medium high heat for 5 minutes until colour and smell is maximised.
• Deglaze the pot with the white wine, leaving the shells in the pot. Add the parsley, reserved salted boiling water and the chicken stock. Leave to boil slowly for 45 minutes. Place a lid on the pot after half the cooking time.
• Meanwhile, prep your veg and sautee in the rest of the butter. Once the stock is ready, drain the stock, taking care to remove any shell and parsley. Add the stock to the vegetables with the Thyme, Bayleaf, Tomato Pure, Brandy and Sherry. Boil slowly under a lid for another 45 minutes.
• When ready to serve, blend the bisque, add cream and reheat. Heat a tiny knob of butter with half the lemon juice in a pan, add the reserved lobster meat, fry over a moderate heat for 1 minutes. Add the rest of the lemon juice to the bisque. Place the lobster meat in a heated soup bowl and serve the bisque in front of the guest for added drama.