Lobster Bisque is a superb soup made from left over lobster. That's right leftovers. When you have a lobster dinner with many guests ; you will always have a number of lobster bodies (carapaces) left over that have not been picked through. too messy for some people. Well keep asking them back because they are the foundation of this great French Lobster Bisque. With out the bodies you can't make the dish.
And remember to reserve five cups of lobster broth from the initial cooking.
First, pull out the sack the head of the lobster. Remove and separate the green tamale from the red coral (mash up the coral very well , it will be going into the soup at the end. Set them in the refregerator. Cut off the gill feathers using a pair of scissors; they are bitter. Coat the shells with olive oil and place in a pan shell side up in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes.
While the lobster shells are roasting, don't char them. Make Veloute Sauce using the lobster broth. Melt half a stick of butter with 3/4 cup of flour until the flour starts to lightly brown add the lobster broth and whisk until it boils. Add several finely minced garlic cloves to the sauce. Put this sauce in a large enough soup pot to hold the lobster bodies and about 2 quarts of liquid. Stir in a two quarts of V8 JuiceŽ. This is a versatile tomato based vegetable broth that is outstanding to use in many seafood recipes that call for a laborious to make tomato & vegetable broth that requires peeling, choping, cooking and pureeing. You will find it in my Bouillabaisse dish too.
Now add the lobster bodies. I crack them up a bit to achieve a better lobster flavor. Add a bit of stock to the roasting pan to wash out the sticky lobster substance on the bottom of the pan. (this is called deglazing) Add it to the pot and start it to boil. When it boils a gray mess of bubbles may form on the top, skim it off. Add a bay leaf and a small amount 1/3 of a teaspoon of some finely ground saffron.
Turn down the pot and simmer for 2 hours while covered. Don't let it start to boil again or you will have burning issues. Stir frequently and do not skim any more of the top off.
Stir the soup thoroughly to mix the top liquid into the soup and then quickly remove the lobster bodies to a colander over the pot to catch their juices back into the soup. You don't want to lose that red gold color that forms on the top.
Drain the entire pot through a very fine sieve into another pot. Keep on low and add a cup of sherry and several cups of heavy cream to your liking. Now if you are fortunate to have some left over lobster meat, finely dice it and add to the pot; remember thars meat it them legs (be sure to remove it before roasting the bodies) And add the now finely mashed red coral to the pot and blend into the soup.
Serve in large soup saucers. Serve with buttered toast. If you want you can mix the left over tamale with butter and heat slightly until the butter melts and place in a small bowl for you guests that like tamale can have it on their toasts. Try it it is tasty.
V8 JuiceŽ. is a registered trademark of the Campbell Soup Co.
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We highly recommend that for your Maine lobster recipes to come out
perfectly tasty that you use only live, fresh, quality, Maine Lobster.
Nothing compares to the fresh live Maine lobster for taste and texture.
Frozen and canned lobster products really do not compare in quality and a
definite frozen or canning taste and texture is noticeable with frozen
and canned Maine lobster meat and products.
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