Earners Crawfish Bisque Recipe 465

EARNER'S CRAWFISH BISQUE RECIPE - (4.6/5)

Steps:

• To Prepare Crawfish: Scald live crawfish in almost boiling water for about 15 minutes. Drain and cool. Peel crawfish and save the meat and fat in separate bowls. Grind the crawfish. Set aside. Clean about 200 heads to stuff. Set aside. To Make Gravy: Grind onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic and parsley. In a large heavy pot, heat oil; add flour to make a roux. Stir constantly until browned. Add ground vegetables. Cook on low fire about 30 minutes. Add tomato paste and crawfish fat. Cook about 30 minutes. Add hot water and let cook on low fire. Add 2 1/2 cups ground crawfish tails, salt, and pepper. Cook on high fire about 20 minutes. To Make Stuffing for Heads: Preheat oven to 400ºF. Grind onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic, and parsley. Fry remaining crawfish tails and ground vegetables in hot cooking oil; cool. Add remaining crawfish fat and eggs. Mix in bread crumbs, salt, and red pepper. Stuff the crawfish heads. Dip the stuffed part of head in flour and place on cookie sheet. Bake 20 minutes. Add baked crawfish heads to gravy. Cook on low fire about 1 hour. More hot water may be added if too thick. Stir carefully. Serve in soup bowls over rice. Garnish with green onions.

CRAWFISH BISQUE

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot set over high heat. Crush the crawfish shells and add to the pot, cook for 15 minutes while stirring frequently.
• Add the flour to the pan and stir, then add the garlic, onions, lemongrass, celery, fennel and ginger. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes.
• Add the rice, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, bay leaf and thyme. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the brandy and cook for several minutes while stirring. Add the stock and the cream, and stir. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to a slow simmer. Simmer for 25 minutes and then remove from the heat.
• Puree in a blender and strain through fine mesh strainer. Fold the crawfish tails into the bisque and add the lime zest, some salt and pepper and hot sauce. Serve hot.

CRAWFISH BISQUE

Steps:

• For the crawfish stock: Remove the meat from the crawfish tails and set aside. Place the shells and heads in a large stockpot. Add water to cover. Add the carrot, celery, onion, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the stock.
• For the bisque: Melt the butter in the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the bell pepper, celery, onion, tomato, and Cajun seasoning and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and tomato paste and cook until bubbly and beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in the crawfish stock and sherry and cook until it evaporates, about 1 minute. Stir in the cream and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the soup begins to thicken.
• Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Alternatively, use a standard blender and puree in batches. (Be sure to remove the lid cap to allow steam to escape.) Stir in the reserved crawfish meat and cook until heat through, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Divide the bisque between serving bowls and garnish with parsley, if desired.

L.AFAYETTE AIRPORT FIRE DEPARTMENT CRAWFISH BISQUE

Steps:

• Soak the live crawfish in cold water for at least 10 minutes, and then thoroughly wash them, a small batch at a time, in a colander set under cold running water.
• Combine the water, the 2 cups of coarsely chopped onions, 3 of the parsley sprigs, the bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns in a heavy 8-to 10-quart pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Using tongs drop in the crawfish and boil them briskly, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
• With the tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the crawfish to paper towels to drain. Then boil the liquid remaining in the pot over high heat until it is reduced to about 2 quarts. Strain the stock through a fine sieve lined with a double layer of dampened cheesecloth and set over a saucepan. Reserve 6 cups of the stock, and discard the vegetables and seasonings.
• When the crawfish are cool enough to handle, shell them one at a time in the following manner: With your hands, break off the ridged tail, snap it in half lengthwise and lift out the meat in one piece. Set the meat aside, but discard the tail shell. Some or all of the yellow fat, or "butter" from the body of the crawfish may slide out when you break off the tail. If it does, reserve it.
• Snap off the large claws and the smaller legs of the crawfish and-if you like-break the claws with a nutcracker and pick out the bits of meat. Discard the claw shells and legs. Cut off the top of the head just behind the eyes and discard. Then scoop the body shell clean with the tip of a finger or thumb and pick out any fat. Set this shell and all the fat aside, and discard the intestinal matter.
• Put all of the crawfish meat and fat through the finest blade of a food grinder, or chop it as fine as possible. There should be about 3 cups of the ground meat. Reserve the meat and 48 of the crawfish body shells, which in Louisiana are referred to as crawfish "heads".
• To prepare the bisque, bring the reserved 6 cups of crawfish stock to a boil over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and cover tightly to keep the stock hot.
• In a heavy 6- to 8-quart casserole, warm the brown roux over low heat for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring it all the while. Add 2 cups of the finely chopped onions, the celery and 2 tablespoons of the garlic. Stirring frequently, cook over moderate heat for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft but not brown.
• Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, the 3 remaining parsley sprigs and 2 teaspoons of the salt. Stirring constantly, pour in the hot stock in a slow, thin stream and bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Immediately reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.
• Strain the entire contents of the casserole through a fine sieve set over a deep pot, pressing down hard on. the vegetables and seasonings with the back of a large spoon to extract all their juices before discarding the pulp. Then return the crawfish bisque to the casserole.
• Meanwhile, prepare the stuffed crawfish "heads" in the following manner: In a heavy l2-inch skillet, melt 6 tablespoons of the butter over moderate heat. When the foam begins to subside, add the bread crumbs and, stirring frequently, fry them until they are crisp and golden brown. With a rubber spatula, scrape the crumbs into a deep bowl and set them aside.
• Add the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter to the skillet and melt over moderate heat. Drop in the remaining cup of finely chopped onions, the scallions and the remaining 2 teaspoons of garlic and, stirring frequently, cook for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft but not brown.
• Scrape the contents of the skillet into the bowl of toasted bread crumbs. Add 2 cups of ground crawfish meat, the ¼ cup of chopped parsley, ½ teaspoon of the red pepper and the remaining teaspoon of salt, and mix the stuffing ingredients together gently but thoroughly.
• For each stuffed crawfish head, scoop up about 1 tablespoonful of the stuffing and pack it tightly into one of the reserved shells. Immerse each head in the beaten eggs and turn it about in the flour to coat it evenly. As you proceed, set the stuffed heads aside on a platter or wax paper.
• Preheat the oven to its lowest setting, then line a large shallow baking dish with a double thickness of paper towels and set it on the middle shelf of the oven.
• Pour vegetable oil into a deep fryer or large heavy saucepan to a depth of 2 to 3 inches and heat the oil until it reaches a temperature of 350° on a deep-frying thermometer.
• Deep-fry the coated stuffed crawfish heads, seven or eight at a time, turning them about with a slotted spoon until they are golden brown on all sides. As they are fried, transfer them to the paper-lined dish and keep them warm in the oven until you are ready to serve them.
• Shortly before you plan to serve the bisque, bring it to a simmer over moderate heat. Stir in the remaining cup of ground crawfish meat and 1 teaspoon of red pepper and simmer, partially covered, for about 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Ladle the bisque into a large heated tureen or individual soup plates and, just before serving, drop in the crawfish heads.

ANN AND EUGENE PATOUT'S CRAWFISH BISQUE

Steps:

• Rinse crawfish; place in large pot of boiling water. Cook for one minute. Remove crawfish from water. Cool.
• Remove tail meat from crawfish: break off the ridged tail, snap in half lengthwise, lift out meat in one piece. Place tail shells in large pot. Remove black vein if it remains. Carefully remove the yellow fat from tail and body so the mud sack doesn't burst; add to pot. Snap off claws and smaller legs; place in pot. Clean out the body cavity, called the head; discard eyes. Rinse shells; place in pot.
• Add 2 cups crawfish fat to pot with 3 quarts water; simmer stock until reduced to 2 1/2 quarts, about 30 minutes.
• Chop half of the onions, green peppers and celery finely.
• Melt butter in large skillet; saute finely chopped vegetables for 10 minutes, until very soft. Add 1/2 cup crawfish fat; cook 2 or 3 minutes more.
• Chop 1 pound of crawfish tails very fine. Add to skillet; simmer 3 minutes.
• Mix 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, 1/4 each teaspoon white and black pepper, salt and 5 or 6 dashes hot pepper sauce into crawfish mixture. Simmer 3 minutes. If mixture is not thick enough for stuffing, add bread crumbs.
• Add 2 tablespoons each parsley and green onion; cool and use to fill crawfish heads.
• Lightly dredge the opening of the stuffed heads in flour. Oil cookie sheet; bake heads at 350 degrees until brown, about 20 minutes. Refrigerate, if not using immediately.
• Make roux: combine oil and flour in heavy skillet; cook over very low heat, stirring occasionally. Roux will begin to color slowly, taking about 45 minutes to reach desired nut-brown color. Toward end of cooking, watch roux carefully, making sure it does not burn. Roux may be made ahead and reheated.
• To assemble dish, dice remaining onion, green pepper and celery; add to boiling stock. Return to boil. Pour a little of the stock at a time into hot roux, stirring. Return roux mixture to stockpot, bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 45 minutes. Five minutes after adding roux, stir in remaining cayenne, white and black pepper, salt to taste and hot pepper sauce.
• To serve, put stuffed heads in bisque and cook for eight minutes; add remaining 1 1/4 pounds of tails (this includes approximately 1/2 pound removed from live crawfish); cook another two minutes. Adjust seasoning.
• Stir in remaining green onion and parsley. Serve over rice in individual bowls.

CREAMY CRAWFISH BISQUE

Steps:

• Melt 1/2 cup butter in a heavy-bottomed stock pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook and stir the leek, carrot, and celery in the melted butter until tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
• As the vegetables cook, melt 1/2 cup butter in a skillet over medium heat. Make a roux by cooking and stirring the flour into the butter until just a little golden, just enough to cook off the flour taste. This is not a heavy gumbo roux.
• Stir the tarragon, thyme, bay leaf, tomato paste, and cayenne pepper to the vegetable mixture; stir to distribute evenly. Pour the brandy over the mixture; cook and stir until the heat cooks off most of the brandy, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour 1 cup of the fish stock over the mixture.
• Pour the hot mixture into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway. Hold the lid of the blender in place with a folded kitchen towel and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the mixture moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour back into the stock pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the mixture in the pot without using the blender.
• Stir in the roux and 1 cup more of the fish stock to the pureed mixture; return to heat, stirring well.
• Blend the diced tomatoes and about 3/4 of the crawfish tails together in a blender until smooth; stir into the stock pot. Add the remaining fish stock; stir. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer another 2 to 3 minutes. Stir the heavy cream through the liquid; return to a simmer, but do not allow to come to a boil. Season with the salt and white pepper. Serve hot in bowls garnished with the remaining crawfish tails and the paprika.

CREAMY CRAWFISH BISQUE

Steps:

• Melt 1/2 cup butter in a heavy-bottomed stock pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook and stir the leek, carrot, and celery in the melted butter until tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
• As the vegetables cook, melt 1/2 cup butter in a skillet over medium heat. Make a roux by cooking and stirring the flour into the butter until just a little golden, just enough to cook off the flour taste. This is not a heavy gumbo roux.
• Stir the tarragon, thyme, bay leaf, tomato paste, and cayenne pepper to the vegetable mixture; stir to distribute evenly. Pour the brandy over the mixture; cook and stir until the heat cooks off most of the brandy, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour 1 cup of the fish stock over the mixture.
• Pour the hot mixture into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway. Hold the lid of the blender in place with a folded kitchen towel and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the mixture moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour back into the stock pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the mixture in the pot without using the blender.
• Stir in the roux and 1 cup more of the fish stock to the pureed mixture; return to heat, stirring well.
• Blend the diced tomatoes and about 3/4 of the crawfish tails together in a blender until smooth; stir into the stock pot. Add the remaining fish stock; stir. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer another 2 to 3 minutes. Stir the heavy cream through the liquid; return to a simmer, but do not allow to come to a boil. Season with the salt and white pepper. Serve hot in bowls garnished with the remaining crawfish tails and the paprika.

CRAWFISH BISQUE

Steps:

• Heat soup pot at medium heat. Finely chop bacon, onions, garlic, celery hearts then throw in heated pot. Sauté until bacon browns and onions become transparent. Cut butter and melt. Sprinkle in flour and whisk to make paste add more if needed. Cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add wine and stir to get out lumps.
• Add crawfish cook for 5 minutes Add bay leaves stirring 1 minute Add stock stirring slowly, add mashed potatoes and seasoning. Stir well to incorporate pots. Simmer 30 minutes Add cream and simmer 5 minutes.
• Serve with a crusty bread.
• This works just as well with lobster.