Lobster Bisque
Luscious Lobster Bisque is a silky smooth soup topped with bites of succulent, buttery lobster – this dish has an impressive WOW factor!
An authentic, easy Lobster Bisque recipe with butter, cream, white wine, sherry, mirepoix (sauteed carrots, onion, celery), and lobster! This creamy seafood soup is the absolute BEST! Everything you want for an intimate dinner is ready in under an hour! Perfect for a small New Year’s Eve gathering or an intimate Valentine’s dinner.
Three Keys to an Elegant & Easy Lobster Bisque
First, there’s no need to deal with a live lobster here unless you want to. Second, when making the stock for Lobster Bisque, most of the flavor comes from boiling seafood shells, not from the meat itself , and almost any seafood shells will work to make the stock, from lobster and crab to shrimp or crawfish. Third, these shells are simmered with aromatic herbs and vegetables to create a rich, flavorful stock. All the solids are then strained out, and the veggies are pureed until ultra-smooth and then returned to the soup as a thickener. This eliminates the traditional and time-consuming step of cooking and blending rice.
This amazing lobster bisque recipe results in a luscious, creamy soup full of decadent lobster flavor.
Other Bisque Recipes to Impress
- Cauliflower Bisque with Grilled Cheese Croutons is creamy, delicious, and perfect all year round!
- Creamy Tomato Bisque hits the spot on a cold winter day!
Ingredients
Seafood: Lobster tails, thawed with the shells removed and seafood stock, either bought or homemade, are the foundation for this fabulous soup!
Veggies: Yellow onion, celery stalks, and carrots make the stock, and tomato paste thickens the bisque and adds color and flavor.
Dairy: Butter and heavy cream make this bisque rich, indulgent, and SO good!
Alcohol: Dry sherry and white wine give this creamy soup a unique, elegant flavor.
Herbs & Seasonings: Sea salt, dried thyme, ground pepper, and garlic season this dish perfectly. Toss in some fresh chives for a gorgeous garnish!
How to Make Lobster Bisque
STEP ONE: Bring a medium pot of water to a full boil and then add 1/2 tablespoon of salt. Cut the thawed lobster tails down the back. Start opposite the fins and cut to 1 inch from the end, leaving the end of the shell and fins intact. Boil the tails (in the shells) for 1 minute per ounce. Set aside to cool on a cutting board. Once cool, remove the meat from the shells and chop it into bite-sized pieces for later.
STEP TWO: Melt four tablespoons of butter in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onions, carrots, celery, salt, thyme, and pepper, and cook for 6-7 minutes.
STEP THREE: Add the tomato paste and the all-purpose flour and cook for another few minutes. Pour in the white wine and sherry and continue to cook until the liquid has reduced by about half.
STEP FOUR: Add the seafood stock to the large pan. Lower the heat to a low boil and cook for 30 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
STEP FIVE: Use an immersion blender in the pot (or a blender working in batches) and puree the soup until it’s smooth and creamy with no lumps. Add the blended soup to the pot (if you used a blender) and bring it back to a low boil before stirring in the heavy cream.
STEP SIX: Melt the remaining two tablespoons of butter in a medium skillet while the soup heats up. Add the garlic and cook until it’s fragrant. Then, add the chopped lobster meat to the garlic butter and cook for 2 minutes to infuse the flavors. Set aside a small amount of the lobster meat for garnish, then add the rest of the meat to the soup and stir.
STEP SEVEN: Ladle the bisque into bowls and garnish with the reserved lobster meat and chopped chives. This dish is absolutely phenomenal!
Tips for Success
- This Lobster Bisque recipe will also work as a bisque based for other seafood like crab, shrimp, or crawfish! Just swap out the meat in the soup.
- Use a dry white wine like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. Sweet or oaky wines will not deliver the right flavor.
- Don’t skimp on the heavy cream! Lobster Bisque is intended to be a decadent, delicious indulgence!
- For an added flavor enhancer, try a sprinkle of tarragon to bring out the sweetness of the lobster meat.
- Blend. Blend. Blend! Bisque is SMOOOOOOTH. If you have any lumps after blending, run the soup through a strainer to remove them. For your safety, never blend piping hot liquids. Allow them to cool down a bit first, and use a towel to hold the top of the blend in place while pureeing. This will keep the top from popping off due to the steam being released. (The towel will help protect you from any potential splatter.
How Do You Thicken a Bisque?
There are three ways to thicken lobster bisque, and they all work equally well! The easiest is to remove the vegetables in the stock, blend them well until they are creamy smooth, and return them to the soup stock. The fiber in these veggies acts as a thickener, making your bisque thick and silky. The most common method is making a roux with butter and flour, a gravy that blends into the soup. The most traditional way to thicken lobster bisque is also the most time-consuming: cook white rice, blend it until super smooth, and add it to the stock.
What is Lobster Bisque?
Lobster Bisque is a thick, velvety-smooth soup made from seafood stock, mirepoix (carrots, onion, celery), butter, cream, white wine, and sherry. The seafood is usually double-cooked, and pureed rice is used as a thickener. Bisques differ from soups and chowders in that soup has a clear-liquid broth (like chicken noodles), and chowders are chunky (think potato soup or corn chowder). Bisques, on the other hand, are heavy on the cream and super silky. They’re opaque with no chunks or lumps other than the seafood spooned over the top, and they are delicious!
Other Luscious Lobster Recipes to Love!
- How To Cook Lobster Tail
- Lobster Roll
- Lobster Alfredo
- Blackened Shrimp & Lobster Pasta
- Shrimp Scampi
- Coconut Shrimp
- Crab Cakes
Lobster Bisque
Equipment
- Immersion Blender or Blender
Ingredients
Lobsters
- 4 lobster tails thawed (if frozen)
- ½ tablespoon salt
Bisque
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1 large yellow onion peeled and minced
- 3 stalks celery minced
- 2 medium carrots peeled and minced
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 ½ tabelspoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup white wine
- ¼ cup dry sherry
- 4 cups seafood stock (see note)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¾ cup heavy cream
Garnish
- Chives finely chopped
- Lobster meat chopped
Instructions
- Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, and then add 1/2 tablespoon of salt. Cut the thawed lobster tails down the top. Start opposite the fins and cut straight down, stopping 1 inch from the end to leave the fins intact.
- Add the tails to the pot and boil for 1 minute per ounce. Remove from the pot and set aside to cool. Then, remove the meat from the shells and chop it into small pieces for later.
- In a large pot, melt 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, ½ teaspoon of salt, dried thyme, and black pepper and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in tomato paste and all-purpose flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Pour in the white wine and sherry, stir, and cook until the liquid is reduced by about half.
- Add the seafood stock, stir, and lower the heat to a low boil for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Remove the pot from heat and allow it to cool slightly. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. (You can also do this in a blender. Work in batches and then add blended soup back to the pot.) Bring the soup back to a low boil before stirring in the heavy cream.
- While the soup is heating, place a medium skillet over medium heat and melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the chopped lobster meat and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Turn the heat to low and cook for 1-2 minutes to infuse the flavors.
- If garnishing the soup with lobster meat, set aside about ¼ of the meat. Add the rest of the lobster meat to the broth and stir to combine.
- Portion the soup into bowls and garnish with chives and the reserved lobster meat.
Notes
Seafood Stock
Ingredients- 1 large yellow onion, halved
- 2 stalks celery, halved
- 1 carrot, halved
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 5 peppercorns (or 1/8 teaspoon black pepper)
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- Lobster shells (use the two shells after you cook the lobster meat)
- Water
- Add everything except the water to a large pot and press down to fill any gaps between the ingredients.
- Pour in enough water to cover (at least 4 1/2 cups), and then bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes.
- Strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve. Stor in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 6 months.
