Lobster Bisque

A single lobster goes through many iterations in my household, until every last drop of flavor gets extracted from all its parts—lobster bisque being the last stop on that train. The first of which was ganjang lobster (soy marinated tail meat and tomalley, raw), next was the claw and rest of whatever meat I could get from every nook and cranny (including the legs) for a delightful lobster salad, and last is this bisque produced by pulverizing the shells, boiling it, and straining it into a broth packed with lobster flavor (and a hint of bourbon from the Blanton Distilling Company that was a gift–Adam may kill me for using a $200 bottle of whiskey for this but NO RAGRATS.)

The straining part is probably the most time consuming, but the bisque is simple in that it doesn’t need much to make it delicious. Instead of boiling, I had steamed the pieces instead (when making the lobster salad) so all of the juices had been collected in the bowl as well and it didn’t lose flavor to the boil. I am not fond of celery so I don’t add much—you can if you would like.

Ingredients

• 1 whole lobster shell, all meat removed
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup onion
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon celery
• 1 tablespoon carrot
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons bourbon, sherry, cognac, or white wine
• 1 cup heavy cream (or milk, or half an half)
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a food processor, blend the water with the lobster shell. Place in a pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes. Strain and set broth to the side.
2. On medium high heat, saute garlic, celery, carrot, and onion until translucent. Add flour and stir and cook until golden. Add broth, tomato paste, heavy cream, alcohol of your choice, salt and pepper to taste and blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Thicken over a simmer.