Crock-Pot Lobster Bisque Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is lobster soup the same as lobster bisque? ›

While lobster bisque is considered to be a type of soup, there are a few differences that set the two appetizers apart. Bisque is far creamier and richer than traditional soup, which consists mostly of broth, veggies and spices.

What Is Bisque? A bisque is a thick cream soup that chefs purée and strain for a fine, smooth final result. Traditional bisque recipes feature seafood like lobster, crayfish, shrimp, or crab as the main ingredient—chefs typically grind the crustacean shells into a fine paste to thicken the mixture.

Traditionally, the shells were ground up and strained to make a lobster stock thickened with rice or beurre manié (a softened butter and flour mixture) and cream. The mixture is then flavored with sherry. The lobster meat was reserved for dishes like lobster thermidor—none were added to the bisque.

The main ingredient of a bisque is usually a shellfish like lobster, crab, shrimp, or crayfish, but occasionally other ingredients such as tomato, pumpkin or chicken are used.

In American recipes, using a combination of lobster shells, bodies, claw meat, and tail meat provides the bisque its telltale taste and feel. Depending on the recipe, you will remove the lobster from the body, dice it, and add the chopped lobster meat to the broth and develop flavors that way.

Tomato – A fresh tomato will help add color and flavor to this soup. Tomato Paste – You will need tomato paste to add flavor, color, richness, and body to the bisque.

Why is my lobster bisque bitter? If you used a whole lobster carcass (including head and gills) to make the stock, it's important not to cook it for too long as they tend lend a bitter taste to the stock. Instead remove head and gill parts and use only the shells.

Most modern bisques are thickened using rice. Some cook the rice in the broth and strain it out later, using only the left-behind rice starch to thicken the soup. Others puree the rice into the soup to thicken it. Almost all bisques are finished with hot cream for a velvety texture.

Measure 1 C of ice and stir it into the sauce: the thermal shock will help release more flavor from the shells and in general. When the ice has melted add the water, the bay leaf and cinnamon. Stir well and let simmer over low heat for about 40 minutes until the bisque has almost a gravy consistency.

What goes with seafood bisque for dinner? ›

Serve the seafood bisque with freshly baked biscuits or crusty bread. If it's a lunch or main course soup, add your favorite salad.

Most of the ingredients—fish, clams, veggies—float in the thick liquid as small chunks (not blended). For this reason alone, lobster chowder is not the same thing as a lobster bisque. Lobster chowder is thick and very chunky. Lobster bisque is thick and mostly smooth.

Obsessed with bisque but don't have lobster on hand? Although you'll be missing out on that characteristic lobster texture, you can totally substitute in shrimp or even a tender white fish like tilapia or cod. If you love seafood flavors in creamy soups, we highly recommend you give this crab bisque a try!

Authentic recipes for bisque actually ground the shells of the crustacean into a fine paste, using that to thicken the soup. Nowadays, it is more common to use rice as a thickener.

Although a bisque and a chowder are both cream-based soups and most often feature seafood, it is their consistency that defines them and makes them quite different from each other. Whereas a bisque is smooth, a chowder is chunky, chock full of hearty pieces of ingredients such as potato and clams or corn.

Light Cream, Clam Broth From Concentrate, Lobster Meat, Butter (Cream, Salt), Water, Sherry Wine, Wheat Flour, Contains 2% or less of: Tomato Paste, Corn Starch, Chicken Base (Chicken, Salt, Rendered Chicken Fat, Dextrose, Sugar, Natural Flavor, Roast Chicken Flavor [Rendered Chicken Fat, Natural Flavor, Safflower Oil] ...

Traditionally a bisque is a thick and creamy soup with a base of mirepoix and shellfish served with the diced meat of the latter.