In this creamy Lobster Bisque Recipe you’ll find chunks of sweet lobster meat in a beautifully rich, seasoned broth made from the strained liquid of the sautéed lobster shells, vegetables and herbs.
Hi everyone, it’s Kevin from Kevin Is Cooking. Special thanks to Rachel for letting me contribute here on The Stay at Home Chef. For today’s post I’m sharing my Restaurant Quality Lobster Bisque Soup.
Restaurant quality? Yes. Delicious and rich? Yes. This one is definitely for those special occasions and worth the time it takes to make it, too.
For that incredible, nuanced flavored soup you need to start with fresh lobster. Yes! Don’t be afraid, these guys come with strong rubber bands to hold those claws together. You’re safe. 🙂
I prefer steaming over boiling lobsters as the reserved liquid needed isn’t so diluted.
As for that old wives tale about lobsters screaming as they hit their hot water demise… Lobsters can’t “scream” because lobsters don’t have lungs. The noise heard is caused by air trapped in the shell – when heated the air expands and gets forced out through small gaps, causing the sound. Rest easy now!
After the lobster is steamed, the meat removed, set aside and the shells broken down, the shells go into the soup pot filled with sautéed carrots, celery and onion.
Sherry and clam juice are poured over all and herbs like tarragon and thyme are added, too.
Tomato paste is stirred in and a low and slow hour long simmer is needed to develop the flavors.
The resulting broth is strained and the lobster shells tossed. They did their job, thanks for coming.
The secret to a creamy texture here is that I do not make it any fatter with a roux butter based sauce, but with using rice!
Rice is added and steamed for 30 minutes and then the entire mixture is blended in a food processor or blender until smooth. Cream is added and then the delicious, succulent lobster chunks go in.
Serve with toasted bread or a side salad for a complete meal. Cheers!
This was very good. Used half &half to save calories. Probably would have been better with full cream. Didn’t do any of the straining just used an immersion blender for everything.
love
10 stars
Finally, nearly the recipe I remember from childhood! Nice work, and thank you for the very clear direction on creating that flavorful true lobster broth base. Yummmm.
Rite on . . . bisque, if done right, can offer even more flavor than plain lobster, and plain lobster is at the very top of my “best ever” list.
I made two batches of bisque: one was this recipe and the other was one made with roasted tomatoes and a pinch of cayenne pepper. I was hoping to pick the best recipe but I found elements of each that I liked. In the end I combined both batches and it resulted in one of the best bisques I have ever had. This recipe was too sweet while the other batch did not have the texture and richness This recipe produced.. Going forward I would make this recipe because it was simpler, however I would reduce the amount of sherry by half to reduce the sweetness and would add a little cayenne pepper for balance. The use of the rice was the key to this recipe, it gave it the perfect texture. Excellent recipe.
This is by far the best lobster bisque I have ever tasted.
So beautiful ! I would run to your place with a plate ( or maybe a big pot ! 🙂 Thank you so much !
I prefer to chop the lobster pieces so that each spoonful will have small pieces.
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I think it would be criminal to use all of a succulent steamed lobster for bisque. I only use leftovers from a 6 Lb lobster.
O I completely disagree! This dish isnt a by product like some old hot dog.. It IS a heavenly WHOLE meal! Of course you would want to use ALL of the lobster to make the best bisque possible.. blasphemy I say ! Blasphemy!