Lobster Bisque With Tarragon Recipes

LOBSTER BISQUE

Steps:

• Fill a large stockpot or Dutch oven half way up with water. Bring to a boil then season with ½ tablespoon salt. (While I'm waiting for the water to boil, I chop my veggies in the food processor). Reduce heat slightly and keep water at a gentle boil. Carefully add lobster tails and boil just until tails turn red, about 2-4 minutes depending on size. We don't want to cook the lobster meat all the way because we are going to sauté it in butter later. Remove tails with tongs or a slotted spoon to a cutting board. Reserve 1 cup liquid and discard the rest.
• Place the lobsters belly sided own on a cutting board. Use a sharp pair of kitchen shears to cut straight down the middle of the shell from the head to the fin. Pry the shells open with your fingers and remove the meat. Chop the meat into large bite-size pieces, cover and refrigerate. Cut the lobster shells with the kitchen shears into large pieces (about 3-inches).
• Melt butter with olive oil over medium heat in the now empty pot. Add lobster shells and cook for 2 minutes to develop the flavor. Stir in onions, celery, carrots, salt and pepper and cook an additional 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, tarragon, parsley, thyme, paprika and garlic; cook one minute. Add clam juice, chicken broth and bay leaves; cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and reduce to a simmer over medium-low for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally (it will be thick).
• Add soup contents to a colander (not a fine mesh sieve) over a large bowl. Pick out noticeable shells. Turn the colander slightly on its side so we can use the larger side holes. Force all of the contents except the shells through the holes by pressing down with a spatula; discard lobster shells.
• Add strained contents to a high-powered blender along with half and half and cornstarch. Blend until smooth using the soup setting.
• Add soup back to the stockpot. Stir in cayenne pepper. Bring to a simmer until it reaches desired consistency. For a thinner soup, stir in some reserved lobster stock. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper to taste (I like more pepper). At this point you can refrigerate or continue if ready to serve.
• When ready to serve, melt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add lobster meat and season with freshly cracked salt and pepper. Cook while stirring, just until coated in butter and cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Stir lobster meat into soup. Serve immediately.

PERFECT LOBSTER BISQUE

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, celery, and carrot. Cook and stir until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, and season with salt and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
• Pour the vegetable and broth mixture into the container of a blender, and add 1/4 cup of the lobster meat. Cover, and process until smooth. Return to the saucepan, and stir in the half-and-half, white wine, and remaining lobster meat. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently until thickened, about 30 minutes.

LOBSTER BISQUE WITH TARRAGON

Steps:

• In a large soup pot, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat and add the carrots, shallots and celery. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are very soft, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Place a cutting board inside a sheet pan. (This will catch all the juices from the lobsters.) Lay a lobster on the cutting board. Place the tip of a large, heavy knife at the indentation where the carapace meets the head of the lobster, making sure that the cutting blade is facing toward the lobster's eyes. Swiftly and forcefully, plunge the knife through the lobster until the point of the knife hits the cutting board. Immediately force the blade down, splitting the head of the lobster. (The lobster will be dead, although it may still move.) Repeat with the remaining lobster.
• Twist off the tails and claws of the lobsters. Split the bodies in half and scoop out and discard the spongy green parts in the head. Put the lobster pieces and any juice that has accumulated in the sheet pan into the pot with the vegetables and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until the shells are bright red, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the lobsters from the pot and cool a few minutes. Remove the meat from the claws and tails and refrigerate. Chop the shells into small pieces and return them to the pot.
• Cook the shells for a few minutes over high heat. Add 4 tablespoons of the Cognac and ignite it. When the flames die, add wine, stock, tarragon leaves, bay leaf, tomatoes, 1 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
• Remove as many large pieces of shell as possible and place them, a cup or two at a time, in a food processor. Pulse until the shells are finely ground. Return ground shells to the pot and add the rice and 3 cups of water. Dice the meat from the tails only and add it. Cover the pot and simmer another 30 minutes.
• Put the soup through a food mill. Discard the solids and strain the puree through a fine sieve. Put the puree in a large saucepan and add the cream, milk and remaining Cognac. Heat very gently, not allowing it to boil, until hot. Just before serving, whisk in the remaining tablespoon of butter. Ladle soup into bowls and chop the claw meat to use with a little chopped tarragon for garnish. Serve immediately.

LOBSTER BOUDAN WITH A FRESH LEMON AND TARRAGON BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine the lobster meat, shallots, cream and cognac. Season with salt, cayenne and pepper. Turn the mixture into a mixing bowl. Stir in the rice and parsley. Season with salt, cayenne and black pepper. **To test the seasoning of the sausage, pan-fry a small piece of the filling for a couple of minutes on each side. Re-adjust the seasoning if needed. Either using a feeding tube or a funnel, stuff the sausage into the casings and make 3-inch links. Bring a large saucepan of salted water up to a boil. Poach the sausage for about 5 minutes, or until the sausage is firm to the touch and plump. Remove from the water and allow to cool. In a large saute pan, over medium heat, melt the butter. Pan-fry the sausage for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and keep warm. To serve, spoon the sauce in the center of each plate. Lay a crouton in the center of the sauce. Place a couple of links of sausage over each crouton. Garnish with parsley and butter sauce.
• In a saucepan, over medium heat, combine the shallots and lemon juice. Season with salt and cayenne. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the mixture reduces by half. Add the cream and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter, a couple of pieces at a time. Season with the salt and cayenne. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Add the hot sauce, Worcestershire and chopped tarragon. Keep hot.
• Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 1999

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.

LOBSTER BISQUE

Steps:

• Fill a 6-quart kettle three fourths full with salted water and bring to a boil. Plunge lobster headfirst into water and cook, covered, over high heat 8 minutes. Transfer lobster with tongs to a large bowl and in a measuring cup reserve 2 cups cooking liquid. Let lobster stand until cool enough to handle. Working over a bowl to catch the juices, twist off tail and claws and reserve juices. Reserve tomalley and discard head sacs and any roe. Remove meat from claws and tail, reserving shells and lobster body. (Lobster meat will not be cooked through.) Coarsely chop meat and transfer to a bowl. Chill lobster meat, covered.
• Chop onion, celery, carrot, and tomato and halve garlic head crosswise. In a 6-quart heavy kettle heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté reserved lobster shells and body, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes. Add vegetables, garlic, herbs, peppercorns, brandy, and Sherry and simmer, stirring, until almost all liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add stock and reserved tomalley and cooking liquid. Simmer mixture, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 1 hour.
• Pour mixture through a fine sieve into a large saucepan, pressing on and discarding solids. Whisk in tomato paste and simmer until reduced to about 3 cups, about 10 minutes. Add cream and simmer bisque 5 minutes. In a small bowl stir together cornstarch and water and whisk into bisque. Simmer bisque, stirring, 2 minutes. (Bisque will thicken slightly.) Add lobster meat with any reserved juices and simmer bisque 1 minute, or until lobster meat is just cooked through. Season bisque with salt and pepper.

LOBSTER BISQUE

Steps:

• Bring large pot of water to boil. Add lobsters head first and boil until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Using tongs, transfer lobsters to large bowl. Reserve 2 cups cooking liquid. Cool lobsters.
• Working over large bowl to catch juices, cut off lobster tails and claws. Crack tail and claw shells and remove lobster meat. Coarsely chop lobster meat; cover and chill. Coarsely chop lobster shells and bodies; transfer to medium bowl. Reserve juices from lobster in large bowl.
• Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over high heat. Add lobster shells and bodies and sauté until shells begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add onion and next 8 ingredients. Mix in brandy and Sherry. Boil until almost all liquid has evaporated, about 4 minutes. Add fish stock, reserved 2 cups lobster cooking liquid and lobster juices. Simmer 1 hour.
• Strain soup through sieve set over large saucepan, pressing firmly on solids. Whisk tomato paste into soup. Simmer until soup is reduced to 3 cups, about 15 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• Add cream to soup and simmer 5 minutes. Dissolve cornstarch in 1 tablespoon water. Add to soup and boil until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Mix lobster meat into soup and stir to heat through. Ladle soup into bowls.