Lobster Bisque
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Lobster bisque reminds me of luncheon dates with my mom at Legal Seafood. We would always stop at Legal Seafood in the Short Hills mall in New Jersey, for a bowl of lobster bisque after an afternoon of shopping. The trick was always to save the buttery sourdough dinner rolls that were served before the meal for dipping in the rich bisque. Whenever I have leftover lobster meat from a lobster boil I will either make lobster bisque or a lobster roll.
While I give instructions for homemade seafood stock as well for making your own stock it can easily be swapped for store bought seafood stock. I like making my own to use up all parts of the lobster though it lengthens the process.
Lobster Bisque
Table of contents
What Makes a Good Lobster Bisque Recipe?
I’ve had more than my fair share of lobster bisque, enough to consider myself a connoisseur. There are a lot of bad lobster bisque recipes out there which can often be disappointing since it’s a luxurious soup that can often be on the pricier side. My two qualifiers of a good lobster bisque are:
The key to good lobster bisque is consistency and a generous amount of lobster meat.
- Consistency. The bisque should be thick enough to just coat the back of a spoon but not so thick that it is clearly thickened with a slurry mixture and develops a weird gelatinous consistency. Instead of using a slurry or roux base I cook rice in the broth and blend it. It should be a silky and luxurious soup – not chunky. Adding rice to a soup until it is extremely soft and then blending it helps to thicken a soup while keeping the desired texture.
- Lobster meat. Don’t skimp on the meat! I reserve some of the lobster meat to use for garnishing in each bowl before serving but this recipe is packed with chopped lobster meat!
All About Lobsters
Whole lobsters are preferable for the bisque because of the amount of meat that can be taken out of them and because homemade stock can be made from the shells. However, there are a variety of other ways to obtain the main ingredient.
Already cooked lobster meat can be found at many seafood stores. Frozen lobster tails can also be quickly poached and chopped for use in this recipe and the shells can be used for stock. Many seafood markets also sell high-quality seafood stock that you can substitute if you don’t want to spend the time making your own.
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
- Lobster – This recipe can be made using cooked whole lobsters or lobster tails. Because it the meat is already cooked, it’s added at the end of this recipe so it doesn’t overcook in the bisque.
- Mirepoix – The vegetables that are sautéed as the base of the lobster bisque to create a flavorful foundation are carrots, celery and onion. This combination is referred to as sofrito in Italian and is often called a mirepoix in French. While they are later strained out in this recipe they work to flavor the soup.
- Seafood stock – I find that creating your own seafood stock for the soup using reserved lobster shells creates a deeper lobster flavor than can be achieved in many store bought stocks. If using store bought seafood stock I recommend looking at a local seafood market.
- Rice – Any medium to long grain rice variety can easily be used for this. The rice is added to act as a gluten-free thickening agent for the soup. It’s cooked until it’s very soft then blended into the broth and strained for a smooth soup. This method cuts down on the amount of cream needed to create a rich, velvety soup.
- Brandy – Brandy is used to enhance the flavor of the soup. If you don’t have brandy, sherry can also be used.
- Herbs – A mixture of thyme, tarragon and bay leaves are used in this soup recipe to deepen the flavor. Tarragon has a licorice flavor that complements seafood like lobster well.
- Cream – Heavy cream is used to finish the soup and add the creamy finish.
How to Make Lobster Bisque
For the seafood stock:
Step 1: Roast the shells and vegetables.
Heat oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Add the shells, onion, carrots and celery to a baking sheet and roast until browned, about 30 minutes.
Step 2: Simmer the stock.
Add to a large stockpot with the tomato paste, 12 cups (3 quarts) of water, the garlic and peppercorns. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 hour.
Step 3: Strain the broth and store.
Strain broth through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the solids. Season with salt to taste. Refrigerate broth in an airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 6 months.
For the lobster bisque:
Step 1: Cook vegetables.
Heat a large heavy pot over medium-high heat then add the oil and heat through. Add the onion, celery, and carrot (a mirepoix) and sauté until the onion becomes translucent and soft, about 10 minutes.
Step 2: Reduce brandy.
Add the garlic, thyme, tarragon, bay leaves, peppercorns, brandy, stirring, until almost all liquid is evaporated, about an additional 5 to 8 minutes.
Step 3: Simmer broth.
Add the tomato paste and stir to combine then add the fish stock and 2 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally until the mixture has reduced by about a third, about 30 minutes.
Step 4: Strain the soup.
Remove the pot from the heat and pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large saucepan, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the leftover solids.
Step 5: Add rice and simmer.
Return the bisque to the pot over medium-low heat. Add rice and cook until the rice is extremely soft, about 30 minutes.
Step 6: Blend until smooth.
Add mixture to blender and blend until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve then return to the pot.
Step 7: Add cream and lobster.
Whisk in the cream and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add ½ pound of the lobster meat and stir to combine, reserving some for garnishing the soup.
Step 8: Serve.
Divide among warmed soup bowls and top with the remaining lobster and finish with a bit of the brandy (optional).
Tips and Tricks for This Recipe
Swaps and substitutions
- Use store bought seafood stock rather than homemade for a quicker soup.
- An immersion blender is great to cut down on dishes but using a regular blender archives the smoothest results.
How to make this soup dairy-free
Since the soup is thickened with rice as it is blended it becomes extremely smooth. While I still finish the recipe with cream it can be omitted for a dairy-free alternative.
Other Recipes to Try
If you enjoy this lobster bisque recipe, I recommend checking out some of these:
Lobster Bisque
Ingredients:
For the homemade seafood stock:
- 2 (2-pound) cooked Maine lobsters, meat removed and reserved for bisque or 6 cooked Maine tails, meat removed and reserved
- 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
- 2 large carrots, roughly chopped
- 4 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 head garlic, top ¼ trimmed off
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- Kosher salt, as needed
For the lobster bisque:
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 7 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 cup brandy, plus additional for serving (optional)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 8 cups seafood stock (recipe above or use store bought)
- ⅓ cup long-grain white rice
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Kosher salt, as needed
- Freshly ground black pepper, as needed
- ¾ pound cooked lobster meat, chopped, divided
Instructions:
For the homemade seafood stock:
- Heat oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Add the shells, onion, carrots and celery to a baking sheet and roast until browned, about 30 minutes.
- Add to a large stockpot with the tomato paste, 12 cups of water, the garlic and peppercorns. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 hour.
- Strain broth through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the solids. Season with salt to taste. Refrigerate broth in an airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 6 months.
For the lobster bisque:
- Heat a large heavy pot over medium-high heat then add the oil and heat through. Add the onion, celery, and carrot (a mirepoix) and sauté until the onion becomes translucent and soft, about 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic, thyme, tarragon, bay leaves, peppercorns, brandy, stirring, until almost all liquid is evaporated, about an additional 5 to 8 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and stir to combine then add the fish stock and 2 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally until the mixture has reduced by about a third, about 30 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a large saucepan, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the leftover solids.
- Return the bisque to the pot over medium-low heat. Add rice and cook until the rice is extremely soft, about 30 minutes.
- Add mixture to blender and blend until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve then return to pot.
- Whisk in the cream and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add ½ pound of the lobster meat and stir to combine, reserving some for garnishing the soup.
- Divide among warmed soup bowls and top with the remaining lobster and finish with a bit of the brandy (optional).
DID YOU MAKE THIS?
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Love this recipe! When friend/family eat lobster, they always give me the lobster heads/body because they don’t know any better. To me, this is the best part of the lobster. I used them to make your recipe and it came out awesome! It tasted even better the next day and what I was happy about is that the cream did not separate from the stock. It was creamy and even tastier. The rice was the secret ingredients. Awesome recipe! Thank you!
YAY!! I love lobster bisque so much and now you have me craving it! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for sharing!
This was wonderful! I had lobster stock in the freezer from a summers worth of lobster and found this lovely recipe. Other than my premade stock, I followed the recipe exactly and it did not disappoint. I will make this again and I will most definitely be trying additional recipes from you. Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing Meredith! I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe!!