Luxurious Lobster Bisque Recipe

There are several different kinds of seafood soup, ranging from thick and chunky chowders and stews, to more delicate bisques. Bisques are often made with lobster – the one on the menu at Red Lobster isn't all that great, but Trader Joe's lobster bisque is actually decent (and can be used to make a quick and easy pasta sauce). Even better, however, is homemade lobster bisque, which is a bit of a time-consuming labor of love but well worth the effort. As developer Patterson Watkins tells us, "This was an absolute treat to make. One of those recipes where the effort and the reward are both really enjoyable."

The reward, in this case, is a velvety, deeply flavorful soup that's perfect to serve for a special occasion. Patterson tells us, "The bisque base is silky with a nice flavor balance between the cream, sherry, and homemade lobster stock. You'll get those rustic vegetal elements from the mirepoix, some subtle baking spice notes from the sherry, and a combo of buttery richness from the lobster and cream." She admits that the 100% scratch-made nature of this bisque may be intimidating, as is the lengthy list of ingredients and steps, but she assures us the recipe really isn't all that difficult. As she says, "Making stock is easy. Turning that stock into delicious bisque is just as easy. The hardest thing in this recipe, literally, is the lobster shells." 

This lobster bisque does require quite a few ingredients — 17 in all. Still, many of the ingredients are pantry staples, while others can be gathered up in a quick swing through the supermarket produce department. The stock is made with lobster tails, celery, carrots, shallots, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, tarragon, black peppercorns, salt, and white pepper, while the bisque also requires butter, sherry, flour, heavy cream, tomato paste, and chives.

To make the stock, separate the shells from the lobster meat.

Place the shells in a large pot.

Cut the lobster meat into bite-sized pieces and refrigerate until ready to use.

Place the celery, carrot, shallot, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, tarragon, peppercorns, salt, and white pepper in the pot with the lobster shells.

Cover the shells and veggies with water and bring to a boil over high heat.

Cover the pot with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Drain the stock through a fine mesh strainer, discard the shells and dregs, and set the stock aside.

To make the bisque, melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.

Once melted, add the shallot, celery, carrots, and garlic, and saute for 3 minutes.

Deglaze with sherry and bring to a simmer.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sherry has almost completely evaporated, about 5 minutes.

Add the flour, stir to combine with the veggies, and cook for 1 minute more.

Add the stock (about 6 cups), cream, and tomato paste to the pot and whisk to combine.

Bring to a low simmer, whisking frequently, and cook for 20 minutes or until the soup has thickened and the veggies are very tender.

Transfer the soup to a blender (working in batches, if necessary) and blend until smooth.

Return the blended soup to the pot and heat over medium-low until reheated.

To serve, divide the lobster meat between bowls.

Ladle the soup over the lobster meat and garnish with chopped chives and tarragon.

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This bisque is made with precooked lobster, so that's one prep step already done for you. You can cook your own lobster if you wish, though, and store it in the fridge for up to three days. If you are using whole lobster shells instead of tails, you may need to rinse them out before they go in the pot if you don't want any lingering bits of tomalley (the green goo that makes up the lobster's liver and pancreas). Boil the shells just briefly, then cover the pot and simmer. If there's any foam or other solids on the surface, you can simply skim it off. Any additional residue will be removed when you strain the stock.

If you want to break the recipe up into more manageable steps, the stock can be made ahead of time. It can be refrigerated for up to five days before you use it in the soup. If need be, you can also freeze it to use months in the future.

If you think the Midwestern combo of chili with cinnamon rolls sounds strange, wait til you hear what they serve with seafood soups in Maine. Believe it or not, the restaurant at the Dolphin Marina in Harpswell accompanies bowls of both lobster stew and fish chowder with blueberry muffins. It may seem unusual, but then again, sweet-and-savory is an enduringly popular trend for a reason. Muffins should go just as well with a delicate bisque as they do with thicker stews and chowders, and Watkins attests to just how surprisingly well it works. "The blueberry muffin and lobster bisque is a great combo, which I have actually eaten. Salted butter on a toasty muffin — swoon — and paired with the creamy+sweet+rich+savory bisque. Man, it is really tasty."

Another idea is to use this soup as the starter course for a main meal. It would be ideal for a special occasion like Valentine's Day. (The soup is slightly pinkish, after all.) If you want to go all-out surf-and-turf-style, you could serve it with a well-prepared steak. For a lighter meal, the bisque can serve as a main course, accompanied by a green salad and chunks of French or Italian bread for dipping. If you want to do a "funny Valentine" theme, you could even make a meal out of the two odd couples: blueberry muffins and bisque, along with chili and cinnamon rolls. (As a bonus, both sides do double duty as dessert.)

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