Crawfish Bisque
User Reviews
5
Crawfish Bisque
Description
The Crawfish Bisque recipe involves multiple components starting with crawfish butter, which extracts deep flavor by cooking smashed crawfish shells in melted butter with brandy, then straining. This butter provides a rich, shellfish-infused fat base. Separately, a broth is made by lightly frying crushed crawfish shells in oil with aromatic vegetables such as fennel, carrot, onion, garlic, and optional matsutake mushrooms. Tomato paste, vermouth, and bay leaves add depth and complexity to the broth.
The bisque is assembled by sautéing onion in part of the crawfish butter, deglazing with vermouth or brandy, then adding the prepared broth and rice for texture. Crawfish meat is incorporated, and heavy cream is added to finish, creating a smooth and velvety soup with balanced seafood richness and a touch of creaminess. The dish is seasoned to taste and garnished with chopped dill, parsley, or chives.
Crawfish Bisque is suited to serving as a main course accompanied by crusty bread and a green salad. Variations exist in Cajun cuisine, often serving the bisque with a spoonful of rice in the bowl's center. This bisque showcases the depth of flavor that can be achieved by utilizing crustacean shells and meat in multiple components of a dish.
Ingredients
CRAWFISH BUTTER
- 1/4 pound crawfish heads and shells cooked, from tails
- 1/2 pound butter unsalted
- 1 tablespoon brandy
CRAWFISH BROTH
- 3 crawfish heads and shells up to 4 pounds, from tails
- 1/4 cup safflower oil grapeseed or other neutral oil
- 1 fennel bulb chopped with fronds
- 2 carrot chopped, large
- 2 cups onion chopped
- 4 garlic chopped, cloves
- 1 ounce matsutake mushrooms optional, dried
- 1 6- ounce tomato paste canned
- 1 cup dry vermouth
- 5 bay leaf
BISQUE
- 6 tablespoons crawfish butter see above, divided
- 1/3 cup onion chopped
- 2 tablespoons vermouth or brandy
- 5 cups crayfish broth (see above)
- 1/3 cup rice
- 1 pound crawfish meat
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream or to taste
- salt to taste
- dill parsley or chives for garnish, chopped
Instructions
BUTTER
- To make the crawfish butter, smash the shells to a pulp. This can be done in a mortar and pestle, or in a strong blender or food processor -- or with a mallet in a bowl. You really want to mash everything well so you get more flavor from the shells.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the shells to it. Cover and put into a 170°F oven and let this cook for 90 minutes, stirring now and again. Strain the butter through a fine-meshed sieve that has a paper towel set inside it; this filters all the debris out.
- Pour into a container and let it cool. TIP: For long storage, let the butter solidify and pop it out of the container, leaving behind the gellified liquid at the bottom of the container. Leaving this in contact with the butter over time can make it got rancid.
BROTH
- To make the broth, heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the crawfish shells and smash them to bits with a potato masher. Crush and stir them as they cook until they are all in pieces. Let this cook for a few minutes, then mix in the fennel, carrot and onion. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Mix in the garlic, dried mushrooms and tomato paste. Turn the heat as high as it will go and stir-fry this for 2 minutes.
- Add the vermouth and stir well. Let this boil for 1 minute, then add enough cool water to cover the shells by 1 inch. Add the bay leaves and let this simmer gently for 90 minutes to 2 hours. Do not let it boil.
- Strain the broth by pouring it through a fine-meshed sieve with a paper towel set inside. Set aside or chill quickly and store.
BISQUE
- Heat 2 tablespoons crawfish butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onion until soft and translucent. Do not let it brown. Pour in the vermouth or brandy and let this boil for a minute.
- Add the rice and crawfish broth and bring it to a gentle simmer. Simmer until the rice is soft, about 25 minutes. Add salt to taste.
- Pour the soup into a blender along with 1/4 pound of crayfish meat. Puree, in batches if you need to.
- Wipe out the soup pot and return the pureed soup to it. Heat the bisque over medium-low heat just to the steaming point. Add the rest of the crawfish meat and heat for 2-3 minutes. Mix in the heavy cream, then stir in the remaining crayfish butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Serve at once, garnished with the herbs.
Notes
- Serve Crawfish Bisque with crusty bread and a green salad for a complete meal.
- A Cajun variation includes serving the bisque with a spoonful of rice placed in the center of the bowl.
- When storing crawfish butter, let it solidify and remove it from the container to avoid rancidity caused by residual liquid.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 8people
Amount Per Serving
Calories 409 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 409kcal | 20% |
| Carbohydrates | 23g | 8% |
| Protein | 5g | 10% |
| Fat | 32g | 49% |
| Saturated Fat | 16g | 80% |
| Cholesterol | 75mg | 25% |
| Sodium | 236mg | 10% |
| Potassium | 582mg | 12% |
| Fiber | 4g | 16% |
| Sugar | 6g | 12% |
| Vitamin A | 3729IU | 75% |
| Vitamin C | 14mg | 16% |
| Calcium | 57mg | 6% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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