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visual recipe: lobster bisque
If clam chowder is the shellfish stew of the working man, lobster bisque has the aura of wealth and decadence. But does it have to be that way? I set about finding out.
Our local fishmonger has a very nice policy: they give away lobster bodies. That is, after they’re done cooking lobsters and stripping them of their claws and tails, they give the rest away to anyone who wants them. After all, most people just throw the rest away because there’s nothing worth eating there, right? Wrong!
In fact, lobster bodies have a lot of meat, although you have to work harder to get it. When I was a kid eating lobsters on our frequent visits to Maine, my dad taught me the secret, which he learned from his own father who was a professional fisherman. In those days, lobster was poor people’s food and he often brought a brace of them home for my grandmother to cook, usually by throwing them into a pot of tomato sauce.
In honor of my frugal Sicilian roots, I decided to take these bodies and see if I could make something from them, with a nice lobster bisque going at the top of my list. A few problems first: Most recipes want you to start with live lobster and call for the tail and claw meat to be used. That was out. Second, while I bought the bodies on Saturday, I didn’t get to cook the bisque until Tuesday! Yes, yes, our phobias of decaying seafood scream at me that I am irresponsible. Maybe I did wait too long, but I’m not yet doubled over in pain either. Still, I don’t think I’ll make that gamble again.
Next I went in search of recipe, one that wasn’t too difficult, didn’t require hours of simmering, and used everyday ingredients. (No saffron threads, thank you!) I settled on a recipe from Bon Appetit at the Epicurious.com site. (Follow along below in words and photos to see how it came out.)
The verdict? A moderate success. Melanie pronounced it too fishy and it did have a slightly off-flavor. I should have omitted the tomalley, the green pasty lobster liver found inside the body. Usually I love it, but I think it’s the first to start to go as the cooked lobster sits. It definitely imparted a strong, not entirely pleasant flavor. Still, it was not enough for me to say I didn’t like it.
I think I will try this again. I may use one fresh lobster, if only for the fresh tail and claw meat, and I won’t wait four days after purchasing the bodies. All in all, a frugal lobster bisque is not a pipe dream, but is entirely possible. Let’s see if I can improve on the results next time.
Photo notes:
- I’ve assembled most of the ingredients I’ll use: thyme, tarrgaon, tomato, tomato paste, onions, fish stock, brandy, sherry, lobster bodies, heavy cream, bay leaves, peppercorns, celery, and carrot. The original recipe uses garlic, but Melanie can’t eat it, so I’ll substitute a shallot.
- First, I separate the lobster bodies. Shells and legs go in one bowl. The body meat—still in the shells—go in another. A third is for bits I won’t use.
- Digging the bits of meat out from the little chambers is hard work, but it yields a surprisingly large amount of meat. From the time I was a child I always worked to get this meat when eating lobster.
- The empty shells and the legs go in a large Dutch oven with some oil and saute until they turn brown.
- The vegetables are added and cooked and then the brandy and sherry go in. That’s reduced almost to a syrup and most of the stock goes in. This is allowed to simmer for an hour.
- Like father, like daughter. Isabella has learned the proper headgear for the kitchen.
- Those little cans of tomato paste are a chore. When you use a little what do you do with the rest? I scoop it out onto wax paper, form it into a log and then roll it up and freeze it. Later, I can slice off Tablespoon-size chunks. Here I used 1/4 cup.
- After the shells and veggies have simmered an hour, the liquid is strained into a large saucepan. The tomato paste is whisked in and the broth takes on a deep rich color.
- Doesn’t that look good?
- Nearly done! Add in the heavy cream, which changes the color somewhat. Then a little cornstarch to thicken it up.
- Serving it up!
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