Alton Brown Lobster Bisque Recipes

STUFFED LOBSTER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Place lobsters in pan and chill in freezer for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place 1 layer of river rocks* in the bottom of a wide pot and fill with 1-inch of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Spread herbs across rocks, then quickly place lobsters on top. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and place in ice bath to halt cooking.
• Lay paper towels across a cutting board. Bring one lobster to the board and using your chef's knife, cut the lobster straight down the center, from head to tail. Remove tomalley and discard. Remove legs and claws. Using a rolling pin, roll over legs to extract the meat. Roughly chop the meat.
• Move claws to pan and roast for 4 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions and stir to coat. Follow with the lemon zest and scallions. Once onions are translucent add the leg meat. Then add the crackers and toss, off the heat, until all the liquid has been absorbed.
• Spoon filling into the open body cavities. Brush tail meat with olive oil and place upright on the pan along with the claws. Roast 10 to 14 minutes or until the stuffing browns and tail meat becomes opaque.
• Crack claws and remove the meat. Serve on top of stuffed lobster with extra-virgin olive oil on the side for dipping.
• *Smooth river rocks are available from your local landscape company

STUFFED LOBSTER

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450ºF.
• Place the lobsters in a roasting pan and chill in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place 1 layer of river rocksSmooth river rocks are available from your local landscape company. in the bottom of a wide 12-quart pot and fill with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Spread the herbs across the rocks, then quickly place the lobsters on top. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and place in ice bath to halt cooking.
• Lay paper towels across a cutting board. Bring one lobster to the board and, using your chef's knife, cut the lobster straight down the center, from head to tail. Remove tomalley (the green digestive gland) and discard. Remove legs and claws. Snip off the joint of each leg with kitchen shears. Using a rolling pin, roll over the legs to extract the meat. Roughly chop the meat. Repeat with second lobster
• Move the claws to a half sheet pan and roast for 4 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a 10-inch sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and stir to coat. Once onion is translucent, about 3 minutes, add the lemon zest and leg meat and stir to combine. Remove the pan from the heat, add the crackers, and toss until all the liquid has been absorbed.
• Make a dish out of aluminum foil, shaping it so that the lobster bodies can lay flat in it. Spoon the filling into the open body cavities. Brush tail meat with olive oil and place the foil dish with the bodies on the pan along with the claws. Roast until the filling browns and the tail meat becomes opaque, 12 to 16 minutes.
• Crack the claws and remove the meat. Serve on top of stuffed lobster with extra-virgin olive oil on the side for dipping.

LOBSTER BISQUE

Steps:

• Fill large stockpot with water and bring to a boil. There should be enough water to cover lobsters completely when immersed. Place live lobsters in boiling water head first to minimize splashing. When water re-boils, turn down the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not overcook lobsters. Remove lobsters from the pot using tongs; save all the water in stockpot as this is now a flavorful stock to be re-used.
• Place 10 cups of stock in a clean stockpot and put on low heat. Clean claws and tails of lobsters and reserve meat, legs, and swimmerets. After lobsters are cleaned, place shells in stockpot with 10 cups of stock. Cut bodies in quarters and place in stockpot, making sure to include all roe and tomalley in pot. Add 1 cup tomato paste and simmer on low heat for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Be careful not to have heat so high as to burn stock. Pour entire contents of pot through sieve into clean stockpot; this should now be 8 cups of glorious red stock.
• Place onions, celery, carrots, thyme, parsley and saffron in a large saute pan, add 4 cups stock from original stock pot and put on high heat for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup tomato paste and black pepper. Turn down heat and simmer 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Press entire contents of saute pan through sieve into stockpot of 8 cups previously made stock.
• To finish Bisque, put pot on medium heat. Add heavy cream slowly, using whisk to blend. Add sherry. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes; bisque will thicken slightly. Mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup water and slowly add to bisque with whisk. Simmer on low heat for another 20 minutes.
• If you prefer your bisque to be thicker, you may add more cornstarch, or perhaps, flour, but have found the bisque thickens nicely over low heat, and additional cornstarch or flour takes away from the wonderful flavor.
• Place pieces of previous cleaned lobster meat in bowl and add 1 cup of bisque. Garnish with legs and swimmerets around the bowl and one parsley leaf in center, if desired.

SOUTHERN BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.) Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.
• Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. (Biscuits from the second pass will not be quite as light as those from the first, but hey, that's life.)
• Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

LOBSTER BISQUE

Steps:

• Dispatch the lobsters by plunging a sharp knife directly behind its head. Cut the lobster in half lengthwise; make sure to collect the juices that will run out. Remove the claws and tail pieces and set aside. Remove the head sac and liver and discard them; cut the body into pieces. Alternately, you can have your fishmonger do this.
• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and melt 3 tablespoons butter in it. Add the chopped lobster bodies and heads and their juices, the leeks, 1 onion, celery, carrots, 1/2 the thyme, 1/2 the orange zest and the tomato paste. Cook until the shells are red and the vegetables are soft, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and carefully pour in 1/4 cup cognac. Ignite the cognac with a long kitchen match and let the alcohol burn off. Return to the heat, sprinkle in the flour, stir, and cook for another 2 minutes. Add water to cover and stir up all the browned bits on the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Add the cream and bring to a boil. Immediately decrease the heat and gently simmer until the soup is reduced and thickened, about 30 to 45 minutes. Strain this into a clean pot and season with salt and pepper if needed; keep warm.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add remaining onion, thyme, bay leaf, and orange zest along with the peppercorns and let this mixture cook for about 5 minutes. Add the lobster claws and tails; toss to coat with the fat and flavors. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully pour in the remaining 1/4 cup cognac. Ignite the cognac with a long kitchen match and let the alcohol burn off. Put the pan into the oven and roast until the lobster pieces are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove the lobster pieces and set aside. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the lobster meat from the claws and tails. Chop the meat roughly and add it to the strained bisque.
• To serve, ladle the bisque into warmed soup bowls. Top with the Grilled Brie and Tomato, if desired.
• Heat the broiler. Put the cherry tomatoes onto a baking sheet, drizzle them with olive oil, and season them with salt and pepper. Broil them until they burst; set them aside.
• Butter the bread on both sides and top each with several slices of brie. Broil until the cheese is bubbling and slightly browned. Top with the tomatoes. Serve immediately.
• Yield: 6 servings

CREAMY LOBSTER BISQUE

Steps:

• 1 bunch fresh chives, for garnish
• For the lobster broth: Heat a large soup pot on medium and add the butter, olive oil, garlic, carrots, celery and onions. Add the sea salt and some freshly cracked pepper and saute for about 8 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the brandy and burn off the alcohol. Pour in the white wine and reduce for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, tomato paste, peppercorns, lobster carcasses (keep meat for later), bay leaves, parsley and thyme. Top of with water, just enough to cover the shells. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour.
• For the dark roux: Heat a small saucepan on medium. Add the butter and flour and whisk continuously until amber in color and nutty smelling, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• For the bisque: Using strainer and cheesecloth, strain the lobster broth into a medium pot. Add the dark roux, heavy cream and saffron and mix. Let reduce on medium-low heat until thick, another 15 to 20 minutes.
• For the lobster meat: Heat a big pan on medium-high and melt the butter. Add the lobster meat and saute until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Spoon the lobster meat into a big bowl, ladle on the lobster bisque and top with chives. Enjoy.

LOBSTER BISQUE

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with 1/2 inch of water. Stir in 2 teaspoons kosher salt and bring the water to a boil. Add the lobsters, cover with a tight-fitting lid and return the water to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a gentle boil and cook the lobsters until they are bright red, about 12 minutes. Remove the lobsters, reserving the liquid. When the lobsters have cooled slightly, place them in a bowl and remove the meat from the claws and tail, again reserving any liquid that comes out of the shells. Chop the meat and refrigerate. Roughly chop the shells into small pieces and reserve, along with all the lobster remains.
• Swirl the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add the vegetables and herbs. Sweat until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes, then increase the heat to medium-high and add the lobster shells and remains. Sauté for 5 to 6 minutes, then add the tomato paste and cook for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add the sherry, then ignite or cook until the alcohol has evaporated. Add fish stock and 1 cup of the lobster-cooking liquid. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, for 1 hour.
• Strain the broth through a colander, pressing down hard on the solids to extrude as much liquid as possible. Wipe out the pot and pour in the broth. Add the rice and cook for at least 30 minutes, or until the grains are cooked to extreme softness.
• Blend the bisque in a food processor or blender, then pass through a fine sieve, again pressing down hard on what solids remain. Add the cream and bring to a low simmer. Add the chopped lobster meat, let it heat through, then season to taste with salt and cayenne.