Lobster Bisque

[Anna N]

I would like to make a lobster bisque (lobsters are on sale right now!) The recipes I've consulted all suggest removing the meat from the cooked lobster and then smashing the shell. My dumb question is: Do you discard the innards and just use the shell?

[Jinmyo]

Yes. Dispose of the innards by poaching in butter and consuming.

[Anna N]

Yes. Dispose of the innards by poaching in butter and consuming.

I guess I didn't phrase my question very well! I will have no problem disposing of the lobster meat! I am really asking about the stuff within the body cavity.

[Fat Guy]

You should discard everything except meat, shell, and (if it's in there) the roe. The roe can be added back in later on (you mix it with butter, then stir the roe-butter in to finish the chowder -- it gives a nice coral color to the finished product and adds some extra lobster flavor).

Here's my favorite recipe:

http://recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r254.html

[Anna N]

You should discard everything except meat, shell, and (if it's in there) the roe. The roe can be added back in later on (you mix it with butter, then stir the roe-butter in to finish the chowder -- it gives a nice coral color to the finished product and adds some extra lobster flavor).

Here's my favorite recipe:

http://recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r254.html

Thanks, Steven. That's the answer I needed. Anna N

[Clerkenwellian]

You should discard everything except meat, shell, and (if it's in there) the roe. The roe can be added back in later on (you mix it with butter, then stir the roe-butter in to finish the chowder -- it gives a nice coral color to the finished product and adds some extra lobster flavor).

Here's my favorite recipe:

http://recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r254.html

looks lovely, but

"Separate the tails and claws from the four live 1.5-pound lobsters."

shouldn't you kill the things first? How do you do this, without dropping them head first in boiling water?

[sandra]

Kill them with a skewer - push it in between the eyes and all the way thorugh the head -

Some people like to cool them in the fridge beforehand, supposedly makes them groggy, I think it just makes them cold!

[Rachel Perlow]

So, did you make your bisque?

[Anna N]

So, did you make your bisque?

Yes, I did, Rachel, but it needs work! So I was really, really hoping nobody would ask. I used a Mark Bittman recipe as a guideline but I'm not blaming Mark - I tried to stretch too little, too far!

Anna N

[Katherine]

I pick out the meat over a bowl and throw everything in the pot, including the lobster juice that runs out. Makes for good flavor. The limiting factor in how strong you can make it is the saltiness, so one lobster makes a stock that will serve 2.

[Suzanne F]

Anna N -- I hope that when you discarded the stuff in the cavity, you still kept the body meat. You know, the bits just above the gills in that sort of half-moon-shaped honeycomb framework of cartilage. To me, that's even better than the tail or claws!

[Anna N]

Anna N -- I hope that when you discarded the stuff in the cavity, you still kept the body meat.  You know, the bits just above the gills in that sort of half-moon-shaped honeycomb framework of cartilage.  To me, that's even better than the tail or claws!

Suzanne, I have much to learn and many more questions to ask. For instance: Let's say you don't want to make bisque immediately, can you clean out the body cavity and then freeze the shells until you have three or four? How long do you think you could freeze them for? Avoiding freezer burn seems like it might be quite a problem as the broken shells are razor sharp and would cut through most wrappings. I am very wary of how perishable shell fish can be and so if I can't deal with them immediately I err on the side of caution and simply dump them in the garbage.

Anna N

[JosephB]

I'll take the shells! Besides using them for stock, you can make infused oils with them. There are instructions for doing this with lobster or shrimp shells in Jean Georges' first book, "Simple Cuisine" (1990).

[Paul Bacino]

Steve,

The link to your favorite recipe..is inactive. I'd like to bump this back again?

Others have any good recipes?

r

[Garth]

Shells are essential to good lobster or shrimp bisques.break lobster shells with a mallet saute for 10mins along with any aromatics you're using , then a cognac reduction, then sherry reduction, cover shells with h2o or fish stock & simmer covered for a couple hours. Off heat puree everything in blender & strain it, then strain it again using a CHINOIS & discard anything left behind. Dont use flour or cornstarch or tomato paste just reduce awhile then finish with heavey cream & reduce. besides giving the soup nearly all of it's flavor the shells make it thick. I like to get it pretty tight here at the end & finish with a bottle of cream sherry(in proportion) & a splash of cognac. Ladle over cooked meat in bowls & garnish. It's a really easy soup to make.

Edited November 5, 2012 by Garth (log)

[Paul Bacino]

Sounds good!! Garth

Thanks for the Reply

Best Paul

[Bjs229]

Shells are essential to good lobster or shrimp bisques.break lobster shells with a mallet saute for 10mins along with any aromatics you're using , then a cognac reduction, then sherry reduction, cover shells with h2o or fish stock & simmer covered for a couple hours. Off heat puree everything in blender & strain it, then strain it again using a CHINOIS & discard anything left behind. Dont use flour or cornstarch or tomato paste just reduce awhile then finish with heavey cream & reduce. besides giving the soup nearly all of it's flavor the shells make it thick. I like to get it pretty tight here at the end & finish with a bottle of cream sherry(in proportion) & a splash of cognac. Ladle over cooked meat in bowls & garnish. It's a really easy soup to make.

Great recipe

I do however use some tomato product and fennel.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[janeer]

Steve,

The link to your favorite recipe..is inactive. I'd like to bump this back again?

Others have any good recipes?

r

Here is my variation