bisque

[Luckylies]

I have a few pounds of crawfish squirming in my fridge and I want to make bisque. Where do I begin?

[highchef]

I have a few pounds of crawfish squirming in my fridge and I want to make bisque. Where do I begin?

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if they're alive purge them in salt water for an hour or two before cooking. I like the bisque recipe in the new Folse book, but cannot look it up right now as I have to go get kids. I think a real bisque is made from shells and all, reserving some tail meat for garnish. will fill in the blanks in an hour or 2.

[highchef]

In Folse' book he makes about 3 quarts of bisque with 2 lbs of tails and shellfish stock. 1cup flour for roux (which means 1 cup oil) 2 quarts stock and 1/4 cup tomato sauce. make a roux, throw in trinity 2:1:1 of onion, bellpepper and celery. slowly ladle in stock, add tomato juice and creole seasoning to taste.Add tails. He puts in tarragon and so do I, also add a couple spoons of chopped garlic to the trinity and salt and pepper to taste. I add a tablespoon or 2 of heavy cream in each bowl.

I cannot remember where the recipe was that I saw for blending cooked shells and all and straining is. It may be another dish entirely.

[Luckylies]

Got it. this sounds good highchef. I vaguely remember a cordon bleau bisque class I attended as a child, I'll try to throw int hat sorta know how in to my preperation. thanks!

[fiftydollars]

I have been mis-using and abusing Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles lobster bisque recipe ever since I learned that my food processor easily and efficiently turns a bunch of whole shellfish into delicious soup.

His recipe is down, dirty, and brutal. You’re not going to read through a long description on how to most humanely kill off the lobsters. In fact, from what I can tell he prescribes just angrily cutting through the live lobsters and searing the still-moving parts with oil… To his defense, however, he does quite conscientiously give advice on saving wear on your blade by cutting between the joints and not necessarily through the shells.

After the brutal searing, the lobster parts are simmered with stuff and whatnot, eventually pureed in a food processor, and strained before serving.

The lobster version is great, but I became pretty fond of making this with Dungeness crab when it was around $2/lb a few months ago (I also tried this with shrimp, but I was disappointed by the relative lack of violence).

[highchef]

I have been mis-using and abusing Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles lobster bisque recipe ever since I learned that my food processor easily and efficiently turns a bunch of whole shellfish into delicious soup.

His recipe is down, dirty, and brutal. You’re not going to read through a long description on how to most humanely kill off the lobsters. In fact, from what I can tell he prescribes just angrily cutting through the live lobsters and searing the still-moving parts with oil… To his defense, however, he does quite conscientiously give advice on saving wear on your blade by cutting between the joints and not necessarily through the shells.

After the brutal searing, the lobster parts are simmered with stuff and whatnot, eventually pureed in a food processor, and strained before serving.

The lobster version is great, but I became pretty fond of making this with Dungeness crab when it was around $2/lb a few months ago (I also tried this with shrimp, but I was disappointed by the relative lack of violence).

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that was the bisque recipe I was thinking of earlier. The other would be easier, but I ask again "Is the crawfish searing necessary ?" and I would also add if I get into this (which I have to because I'm going to make another dish from Les Halles soon) why don't I make crawfish butter and use it for both dishes? I like bisque and I've got a ton of tails right now. If I made butter it'd save the mess of pan searing the live bugs, and I could make a large batch and use for seasoning all summer. The butter is made shells and all and well strained. I know my processor couldn't handle crab shells, but crawfish shells ought to be ok. If not, I guess it'll be time for a new one! bisque is also a recipe here for stuffing the heads. It's not as gross as it sounds. It's really the body cavity cleaned out. Very good stuff, well seasoned and sauced. Do check the motor on your food processor if you do the Les Halles version though!

[edsel]

if they're alive purge them in salt water for an hour or two before cooking.←

I can't remember where I saw this (maybe the old Justin Wilson show on PBS?), but supposedly you can add a pinch of cornmeal and a dribble of milk to the water. The crawfish develop indigestion and purge themselves....

The Folse recipe is rather different from what I usually think of as "bisque". Dark roux-thickened sauce covering stuffed crawfish "heads". Sounds yummy.

[My Confusing Horoscope]

The Folse recipe is rather different from what I usually think of as "bisque". Dark roux-thickened sauce covering stuffed crawfish "heads". Sounds yummy.

It's good!

The meaning of the word must be different in Louisiana. When I first ordered a bisque outside Louisiana where I grew up and got a soup, I just about fell out of my chair.

[Malawry]

I made a super-simplified version of crab bisque for my girls yesterday...

Soften mirepoix in butter with Kosher salt. Add canned tomatoes, bay leaf, pepper, basmati rice, and plenty of fish stock (clam juice works too if you don't have fish stock laying about). Bring to a boil and simmer until the rice is completely cooked through and soft, about 25 minutes. Add picked backfin crabmeat. Puree in blender. Finish with picked jumbo lump crab and some heavy cream. Some of them insist on putting a sprinkle of Old Bay on top.