A Simple Lobster Bisque for Valentine's Day
OK guys, how's this for a great fish course?
Lobster Bisque. A bisque is a cream soup that uses the shells of crustaceans (shellfish like shrimp & lobster) and is often pureed.
What's not to love? Sweet, succulent lobster, creamy base, and easy, too (but you don't have to tell her that).
There are recipes out there that call for setting things on fire (flambé), chopping up whole lobsters, and that have ingredient lists as long as your arm.
That's all well and good, but what we're aiming for here is maximum impact with a minimum of frazzled nerves, so you can both enjoy your romantic Valentine's Day dinner and not smell like you just crawled out of the sea.
Old Bay Seasoning
One of the ingredients in this quick and easy lobster bisque recipe is Old Bay Seasoning. Old Bay Seasoning is a popular spice blend that is particularly associated with seafood dishes.
It is a blend of herbs and spices that includes celery salt, paprika, and black pepper, and it is used to add flavor to a variety of dishes, including fish, chicken, and vegetables. It is named after the Old Bay Line, a passenger ship line that plied the waters of the Chesapeake Bay in the early 20th century.
Old Bay Seasoning is particularly popular in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, including Maryland and Virginia. It is often used to season seafood boils, and it is also a popular choice for seasoning crab cakes.
📖 Recipe
Lobster Bisque Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 - 2 cups cooked lobster meat you can now find lobster meat frozen or canned in most supermarkets - otherwise buy one and cook it yourself
- ½ cup dry sherry or dry white wine
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- ½ cup onion diced
- ¼ cup celery diced
- ¼ cup carrot diced
- Salt and white pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning or to taste
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cups whole milk
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 cup chicken stock if you have lobster stock, use that instead
Instructions
- Combine the lobster meat with the sherry. Cover and refrigerate.
- In a hot pan over medium heat, melt the butter.
- Once it stops sputtering, add the onion, celery, carrot, salt and pepper and Old Bay. Stir and let cook until the vegetables are translucent and are getting soft.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Add the flour and cook for two to three minutes, stirring all the time.
- While whisking, add the cold milk, half and half and stock and bring to a boil. Let boil for about 1 minute, still whisking constantly. Turn the heat down and let simmer until slightly reduced.
Now, you have two options.
- Option 1: using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth.
- Option 2: Strain the soup through a fine mesh strainer, pressing down on the solids.
- Taste, and add more salt, pepper or Old Bay, if you think it needs it.
- Add the reserved lobster and sherry to the pot and simmer for just a couple of minutes, so the lobster is heated through.
- Serve with crusty bread and maybe a little sour cream on the top. If you want to be really fancy, sprinkle on a little chopped tarragon as garnish.
Louise
Thank you for such a fabulous recipe! I have been on a quest for a good lobster bisque recipe for years, and yours is it. I do use Fish Stock, and that is probably a huge reason why it was so tasty. I also used baby langostinos from Trader Joes for the lobster since it is so pricey these days and it was perfed. Thank you reluctant gourmet! You have given me an easy elegant staple! Louise
Lily
I used to work in seafood restaurant(prep cook), and your recipe for Lobster bisque sounds like what the head chef made, so, I'm going to have to try it. Lily
Myra
FAN-TAS-TIC!!!! What a simple and easy recipe! Two thumbs up!! Had my sister-in-law and her hubby over for dinner tonight....they loved it! It was truly such a nice soup! Took a short cut because of limited time and skipped the celery and carrots (did not have these ingredients anyway) and, I did not blend or strain the soup...it was still perfect! I did double the recipe and it generously served 4. I used fish stock as well. very highly, recommend this, no fuss, lobster bisque!!
RG
Hi Myra,
Glad you enjoyed the soup and thanks for sharing the shortcuts. RG
Doris Foster
Fabulous Recipe
Thank you Doris - RG
Norma Baker
In my search for a Lobster Bisque recipe (for my "Dead of Winter Soup Dinner", we all bring different soups) I hit on this one. From all the comments, it sounds perfect. Wish me luck.
Hi Norma, good luck! - RG
angeles
I love the recipe. I do the same only I add prawn heads into the sautesse with fumet and the mirepoix into simmer, and once done I filter thru a Chinese, pushing all the solids in order to squeeze as much of the juice from the heads and veggies as possible. Then I plate with the lobster... try it! AWESOME!
Sounds delightful Angeles, I will give it a try. I just found prawns with their heads on while shopping at an Ikea in their Scandinavian food market. - RG
Bev
What do you mean in your recipe half + half? for Lobster Bisque
Hi Bev, half milk, half cream, a very popular and available product here in the United States. - RG
Lori
THANK YOU!!!!
I made this tonight and it turned out EXCELLENT!!!! I did substitute heavy cream for the 1/2 & 1/2 though because I was going for a richer texture. And it worked perfectly. I also had 2 lobster heads that I froze from last weeks 'bake' and used those as my stock base. My boyfriend asked me TWICE if I book marked the recipe! (and of course I did) He enjoyed it as much as I did. What a GREAT recipe!
You are very welcome Lori, glad you enjoyed it. - RG
Syd
So good! I just made it and it was lovely!!!!
Sherry O'Dett
excited to try this!
Linda
Enjoyed making this resipe with my husband very very good. It came out better than the restaurant and very simple. I had never made lobster bisque before and this one taste like I was a professional.
Thanks
Carol Jayne
Delicious and easy! The sherry made it and the seafood stock (instead of chicken stock). It was tricky though adding the salt to taste. I'm better with knowing an exact measurement. It definitely needed salt but I was afraid I'd add too much, then it's too late. Might help if people add it to their own individual bowls to taste. Thank you for your yummy bisque recipe!
karin h
Made this for my family. It was easy, excellent and we give it 4 thumbs up!
Ashley
I have some fish I wanted to add to this, would you recommend it with the lobster?
The Reluctant Gourmet
Why not Ashley? You are creating a seafood bisque recipe that I'm sure will be delicious.
Robyn
I made this recipe exactly as written and it came out perfect! I boiled lobster shells with a half an onion and a few carrots to make the stock. Great recipe! Everyone loved it!
G. Stephen Jones
Thanks Robyn for letting me know.
Oleta r Copsey
I made this last night as I love lobster bisque. Never made it before. Your recipe was the bomb. Exactly what I was looking for and I looked at many. You had the right combo. Thank you!