Uploaded April 2021 | Updated September 2026, 9 hours ago
Bisque is an old strategy for using up the otherwise useless parts of shellfish, primarily arthropods like lobster, crab, and shrimp. The shells of these creatures are incredibly tasty. In fact, most of the flavor of their meat really comes from being cooked in proximity to the shells. So the soup is made around the shells, and traditionally it was thickened with either rice or potatoes, depending on the region. Today, most chefs use a roux and some cream, which is what we do, and it works beautifully. Of course, those who’d like to use some potato or some rice can easily do so.
I usually aim for maximum flavor. If the bisque turns out to have too concentrated a flavor, congratulations, you’ve made bisque concentrate. Freeze some and stretch the rest out with more stock or water, roux, cream, etc, to get the flavor intensity that you want. Since we like it to have some real kick, ours has a darker color, because it contains a lower proportion of starch/roux and cream.
Making bisque requires a couple of specific things. To make it properly, the shells should be crushed during the puree process. This can be done with a serious, industrial immersion blender such as the one I use. Or it may be done in a blender or food processor. If you want to avoid it entirely, make a really good stock on the shells, then make soup with it. Please note that this will definitely affect the flavor’s quality and depth.
Once pureed, the mixture must be strained through a fine mesh strainer or 4 layers of cheesecloth. A regular mesh strainer will not catch the tiny, crunchy pieces of shell. They are not tasty in soup.
We chose to garnish the finished soup with lobster meat we fried separately, in order to maximize our enjoyment. There certainly are recipes which put meat into the soup before and/or after the blending. Do as you will.
Makes enough for 4-6 people, about 1.5 quarts.
Equipment:
• large saucepan for simmering soup with shells
• smaller saucepan to receive strained soup
• fine-mesh (“chinois”) strainer or strainer lined with 4 layers of cheesecloth
• ladle
• flexible heatproof spatula
Ingredients:
2-4 cup shellfish shells raw or cooked; keep separate if using both
4 cup water or fish/seafood/shell stock
2 oz AP flour by weight
2 oz butter half a stick
1 ea carrot
1 ea onion
1 ea shallot
1 stalk celery
1 stalk leek frozen is fine
2-4 Tbsp tomato paste
1-2 leaves bay
5-8 sprig thyme optional
1 ea dried chili whole; optional
1/4 cup Cognac
1-4 Tbsp Dry sherry adds sweetness; exercise caution
1/2-1 cup heavy cream
Procedure:
1. If there is whole seafood, it needs to be cut up and the meat extracted. If it is raw, then reserve the meat in the refrigerator, covered, in a non-reactive container. Reserve raw shells separately from cooked ones.
2. Peel and chop the carrot, shallot and onion.
3. Peel the garlic and take off the heels.
4. Chop the celery and leek.
5. Get the larger saucepan moderately hot and melt the butter in it.
6. Combine the flour with the melted butter to make a roux.
7. Allow the roux to just barely pass the fluffy stage, not obtaining any color before adding the raw shells, if any.
8. Allow the raw shells to cook along with the roux. More color in the roux is an element which will lead to the bisque tasting more Cajun.
9. Add all the raw veg and the tomato paste to the roux and stir together.
10. Allow the veg to sweat briefly with the roux and any raw shells, which should be turning red.
11. Once the veg is starting to look a little translucent, deglaze any stuck roux with the combined cognac and sherry.
12. Add all the rest of the shells, the bay leaf, optional chili and sprigs of thyme, and pour over the water or stock.
13. Carefully bring the soup to a gentle simmer and allow it to cook for 30-45 min.
14. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs if they were used.
15. Blend everything as thoroughly as possible, and then strain it carefully to remove any and all chunks.
16. The resulting soup should be nicely thick and completely smooth. If it is too thick, it may be thinned with stock, cream, cognac or water, depending on its flavors and what else it needs.
17. It should also have its flavor adjusted with such things as lemon juice, hot sauce, white vermouth, cognac and/or sherry, etc.
18. To prepare some fried lobster (or crab) meat for garnishing the soup:
19. Take the raw chunks of meat and dredge them in about equal parts AP flour and ground dry mustard.
20. Fry the chunks carefully in butter.
21. When they are just beginning to brown, and the meat has firmed and turned white, they are done. Don’t overcook them.
22. Place the chunks of fried meat in the middle of a pool of bisque in a low, wide bowl and garnish with chopped green onion, parsley, chives, or chervil.
23. Enjoy promptly with some baguette and a good Chablis or local regional equivalent.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
Bisque is an old strategy for using up the otherwise useless parts of shellfish, primarily arthropods like lobster, crab, and shrimp. The shells of these creatures are incredibly tasty. In fact, most of the flavor of their meat really comes from being cooked in proximity to the shells. So the soup is made around the shells, and traditionally it was thickened with either rice or potatoes, depending on the region. Today, most chefs use a roux and some cream, which is what we do, and it works beautifully. Of course, those who’d like to use some potato or some rice can easily do so.
I usually aim for maximum flavor. If the bisque turns out to have too concentrated a flavor, congratulations, you’ve made bisque concentrate. Freeze some and stretch the rest out with more stock or water, roux, cream, etc, to get the flavor intensity that you want. Since we like it to have some real kick, ours has a darker color, because it contains a lower proportion of starch/roux and cream.
Making bisque requires a couple of specific things. To make it properly, the shells should be crushed during the puree process. This can be done with a serious, industrial immersion blender such as the one I use. Or it may be done in a blender or food processor. If you want to avoid it entirely, make a really good stock on the shells, then make soup with it. Please note that this will definitely affect the flavor’s quality and depth.
Once pureed, the mixture must be strained through a fine mesh strainer or 4 layers of cheesecloth. A regular mesh strainer will not catch the tiny, crunchy pieces of shell. They are not tasty in soup.
We chose to garnish the finished soup with lobster meat we fried separately, in order to maximize our enjoyment. There certainly are recipes which put meat into the soup before and/or after the blending. Do as you will.
Makes enough for 4-6 people, about 1.5 quarts.
Equipment:
• large saucepan for simmering soup with shells
• smaller saucepan to receive strained soup
• fine-mesh (“chinois”) strainer or strainer lined with 4 layers of cheesecloth
• ladle
• flexible heatproof spatula
Ingredients:
2-4 cup shellfish shells raw or cooked; keep separate if using both
4 cup water or fish/seafood/shell stock
2 oz AP flour by weight
2 oz butter half a stick
1 ea carrot
1 ea onion
1 ea shallot
1 stalk celery
1 stalk leek frozen is fine
2-4 Tbsp tomato paste
1-2 leaves bay
5-8 sprig thyme optional
1 ea dried chili whole; optional
1/4 cup Cognac
1-4 Tbsp Dry sherry adds sweetness; exercise caution
1/2-1 cup heavy cream
Procedure:
1. If there is whole seafood, it needs to be cut up and the meat extracted. If it is raw, then reserve the meat in the refrigerator, covered, in a non-reactive container. Reserve raw shells separately from cooked ones.
2. Peel and chop the carrot, shallot and onion.
3. Peel the garlic and take off the heels.
4. Chop the celery and leek.
5. Get the larger saucepan moderately hot and melt the butter in it.
6. Combine the flour with the melted butter to make a roux.
7. Allow the roux to just barely pass the fluffy stage, not obtaining any color before adding the raw shells, if any.
8. Allow the raw shells to cook along with the roux. More color in the roux is an element which will lead to the bisque tasting more Cajun.
9. Add all the raw veg and the tomato paste to the roux and stir together.
10. Allow the veg to sweat briefly with the roux and any raw shells, which should be turning red.
11. Once the veg is starting to look a little translucent, deglaze any stuck roux with the combined cognac and sherry.
12. Add all the rest of the shells, the bay leaf, optional chili and sprigs of thyme, and pour over the water or stock.
13. Carefully bring the soup to a gentle simmer and allow it to cook for 30-45 min.
14. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs if they were used.
15. Blend everything as thoroughly as possible, and then strain it carefully to remove any and all chunks.
16. The resulting soup should be nicely thick and completely smooth. If it is too thick, it may be thinned with stock, cream, cognac or water, depending on its flavors and what else it needs.
17. It should also have its flavor adjusted with such things as lemon juice, hot sauce, white vermouth, cognac and/or sherry, etc.
18. To prepare some fried lobster (or crab) meat for garnishing the soup:
19. Take the raw chunks of meat and dredge them in about equal parts AP flour and ground dry mustard.
20. Fry the chunks carefully in butter.
21. When they are just beginning to brown, and the meat has firmed and turned white, they are done. Don’t overcook them.
22. Place the chunks of fried meat in the middle of a pool of bisque in a low, wide bowl and garnish with chopped green onion, parsley, chives, or chervil.
23. Enjoy promptly with some baguette and a good Chablis or local regional equivalent.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
