Lazy Crab Bisque Recipes

CRAB BISQUE

Steps:

• If the shells are not already cooked, you will want to break them up into smaller pieces, drizzle a little olive oil on them and roast them in a 350-degree oven until they become fragrant and just begin to brown. This may take about 30 minutes.
• In a large stockpot, place shells, coarsely chopped onion, celery stalks, leek, and carrot. Cover all ingredients with enough water so the shells are completely submerged by 1 to 2 inches. Cook the stock on low for 3 to 4 hours. Strain stock, discard all solids. Return stock to a pan, and reduce by half by turning up the heat until the stock just begins to boil.
• Place 2 tablespoons of butter in a 2-quart pot with the shallots, and celery. Saute until the shallots and celery become soft. Add 2 tablespoons of flour and cook until the roux becomes fragrant. Add seafood stock and sherry. Stir until the soup becomes thick. Add cream and heat through. If you desire a bisque that is smooth, process the soup with a food processor or a stick blender, then strain the soup with a fine sieve. Return soup to the pot. Add cooked crab if desired. Serve immediately.

CRABMEAT BISQUE MADE EASY

Steps:

• Spray a stockpot with cooking spray.
• Melt butter in the prepared stockpot over medium heat; cook and stir celery, onion, paprika, seafood seasoning, thyme, salt, and white pepper until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Whisk flour into vegetable mixture until smooth and dissolved. Pour seafood stock over vegetable mixture.
• Mix half-and-half, cream, and milk into broth mixture; decrease heat and simmer until bisque is thickened, about 15 minutes. Add crabmeat and simmer bisque until crabmeat is heated through, about 5 minutes more.

CRAB BISQUE

Steps:

• Break up the large pieces of crab shell: If you have large pieces of crab shell, you'll want to break them into smaller pieces. A good way to do this is to put them in a plastic freezer bag and use a rolling pin or wine bottle to roll over them to break them up a bit. Don't crush them.
• Roast the shells: For extra flavor at this point, put them on a roasting pan in a 400°F oven for 10 minutes. That will help bring out more of the crab flavor.
• Cover the shells and (almost) simmer: Put the crab shells in a large stock pot and cover with an inch of water. Put the heat on medium high and slowly heat up the water. When you see little bubbles of air starting to rise to the surface, lower the heat to medium. Do not let the water boil! You want to keep the water temp at just below a simmer, around 180°F if you have an instant thermometer. The bubbles should only occasionally come up to the surface. Do not stir! Stirring the shells will muddy the stock. As foam develops on the surface of the water, skim it away with a large spoon. Keep skimming off the foam every so often, and maintaining the heat at just below a simmer, for about an hour.
• Add the wine, carrots, onions, celery, tomato paste, herbs, and peppercorns: Once the stock is no longer generating foam, add the wine, carrots, onions, celery, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaves, parsley and peppercorns. Increase the heat to return the stock to a low simmer, then lower the heat to maintain that very low simmer for 30 minutes. Skim off any new foam that develops. Add salt and remove from heat.
• Remove the large solids and strain through a lined sieve: Use tongs or a spider strainer to remove and discard the largest pieces of shells from the stock. Then place a few layers of dampened cheesecloth or paper towels over a large, fine mesh strainer placed over a large bowl or another pot. Pour the stock through the strainer to strain. Discard the solids. Either use the stock right away, or cool for future use. If you aren't going to use the stock in a couple of days, you can freeze it. Remember to leave enough headroom at the top of any jar you use so that the liquid has room to expand as it freezes. You should use frozen shellfish stock up within 2 months. Makes 2 to 3 quarts. Reserve 4 cups for the crab bisque, refrigerate or freeze the rest.
• Sauté the shallots in butter: In a large, 4 or 6 quart saucepan, melt butter on medium heat, add the shallots and cook gently until translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add the wine, stock, rice, tomato paste, and then simmer: Add the wine, stock, white rice, and tomato paste. Raise the heat and bring to a simmer; reduce heat to continue to simmer until rice is completely cooked, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for several minutes.
• Add two thirds of the crab meat, and then purée: Add about two thirds of the crab meat to the soup. Working in batches, ladle the soup into a blender and purée until completely smooth. Return puréed soup back to soup pan.
• Add the cream, remaining crab meat, salt, and cayenne: Add cream and gently heat soup until it is hot enough for serving. Add the remaining one third of the crab meat. Add salt and cayenne pepper to taste (about 1⁄2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne).

LAZY CRAB BISQUE

Steps:

• Mix all the above ingredients; heat and serve.

CORNISH CRAB BISQUE WITH LEMONY CROUTONS

Steps:

• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large saucepan, add the onion, fennel, carrot and bay leaves with a pinch of salt and cook for 10 mins until really tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 min more, then stir in the tomato purée for another 1 min. Add the brown crabmeat, saffron, brandy and some pepper, stirring until the brandy has bubbled away. Add the stock and stir until smooth. Cover with a lid and simmer for 15-20 mins or until the vegetables are soft.
• Using a hand blender, blitz the soup until smooth. Pass the soup through a sieve back into a clean saucepan, making sure you push through as much liquid as possible. Add the cream and simmer for another 5 mins - the soup should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add a few drops of lemon juice, taste and season or add more lemon if necessary, then chill until ready to serve.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Toss the croutons with the remaining oil, the lemon zest and some black pepper on a baking tray. Bake for 10 mins, tossing halfway through, until crisp and golden. Leave to cool, then store in a plastic container until ready to serve. The soup and croutons can be made up to 1 day ahead.
• To serve, reheat the soup and divide between shallow soup bowls. Spoon a mound of white crabmeat into the centre of each bowl, then drizzle with a little oil and add a few of the reserved fennel fronds. Float a few croutons on top and serve with a little extra black pepper, if you like.

DECADENT AND EASY CRAB BISQUE

Steps:

• Saute onion in the butter, over medium heat, until translucent.
• Add 2 T. of the flour to the onions, mixing well with a wooden spoon. Cook for about a minute.
• Add 3 cups of the half-and-half, heavy cream, salt and pepper. Whisk while bringing up to a boil (you can turn up the heat a bit here - just be careful not to scald the cream).
• Shake 2 T. of the flour and 1 cup of the half-and-half - using a jar with a lid. Shake until the flour is blended well.
• Add to the soup by whisking. Keep whisking until the soup thickens.
• Stir in the crab and cook for about 5 more minutes.
• Ladle the soup into the bowls and garnish with snipped chives, if desired.

REAL CRAB BISQUE

Steps:

• Melt butter over low heat.
• Mince green onion, celery, and carrot in food processor, then add to the butter, cover& sweat until tender, approximately 5 minutes.
• Whisk in flour and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Whisk in chicken broth and milk.
• Bring to a boil, whisking often.
• When it comes to just a boil, quickly stir in cream, seasonings, sherry and crabmeat.
• Heat through, then serve.

CRAB BISQUE

Steps:

• If using live crabs, add to pot of boiling water using tongs. Cover pot and cook over high heat until crab shells are red, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain crabs in a colander.
• Put crabs (cooked or frozen uncooked) into a large metal roasting pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and pound shells with meat pounder to crush (including claws).
• Heat butter and oil in same pot over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then cook onion, carrot, celery, and garlic with bay leaf, thyme, clove, peppercorns, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add Cognac, wine, and crushed crabs and bring to a boil. Add broth and water and return to a boil. Skim foam, then simmer, covered, stirring and skimming occasionally, 1 hour.
• Put colander in a large bowl, then drain crab broth, reserving solids for crab butter (if making). Transfer broth to a medium saucepan.
• Ladle out 2 cups broth and transfer to a 1-quart saucepan. Add rice and simmer, covered, until very tender, 15 to 20 minutes (not all of liquid will be absorbed).
• Blend together rice with cooking liquid and 1 cup more crab broth in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), then add to remaining broth in medium saucepan.
• Just before serving, reheat bisque over medium heat until hot, then stir in tarragon, lemon juice, cayenne, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
• Ladle bisque into bowls and spoon a little crabmeat into center, then drizzle with some of crab butter (if making).

CRAB BISQUE

Steps:

• Melt butter in oil in a large pot and saute onions, carrots and celery until onions are translucent.
• Add the other ingredients except cognac, cream and salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil and cook about 45 minutes.
• Strain into another pot and add cream and cook on low for about 10 minures.
• Season with salt and fresh ground pepper.
• Add cooked meat from 1 large Dungeness crab and heat.
• Add cognac and serve hot.

WINNING CRAB BISQUE

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, saute the onions, celery and green pepper in margarine until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Reduce heat to medium; add the potatoes and milk. Cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until potatoes are just tender, stirring occasionally., Remove 1-1/2 cups of the potato mixture; mash and return to the pan. Reduce heat to low. Stir in half-and-half and process cheese. Cook and stir until cheese is melted. Add the crab, salt and pepper. Cook 10 minutes longer or until heated through.