Crab Bisque

Crabs and Maryland are synonymous. The good kind of crabs, not the kind of crabs that are the result of too much alcohol and bad decisions. When people think of crabs when it comes to food, it’s usually as a crab cake, WHICH are delicious! Another delicious (and maybe more satisfying) dish is crab bisque. Crab really lends itself to seafood soups, why? It has a mild flavor, delicate texture, and an innate ability to balance on the flavors that it’s being paired with.

As I mentioned in previous posts, my experiences with crabs as a kid is surprisingly All-American:

My first experience with crab/crab meat  was when I was 12 years old. My parents really did not know much about crabs or how to prepare them, so we never really got to try them at home. Luckily, I had cousins. Cousins who moved to Annapolis, MD. And these said cousins had a non-Iranian mom and a Dad who knew how to cook, so crabs were plentiful all of a sudden once they moved to Annapolis. I vividly remember catching crabs (wow I can’t even go two sentences without laughing) with chicken necks off of the dock.

Back to real life.

What the hell is a bisque? A bisque is typically a cream based (Seafood) soup that’s velvety smooth, the broth is strained and all that you’re left with is a delicious creamy concoction that is sure to make you want literally swim in a vat of it.  The name bisque is said to come from a French origin (uh duh) meaning twice cooked since you are cooking the crustacean twice!

 

To me the key to any seafood based soup though is your stock, if you’re using crap fish stock you’re going to have crap soup. Not literal crap soup, that’s far more gross, but your soup will be subpar in the taste department. How do you make good fish/seafood stock? Simple! The shells (bones for fish)! What I like to do is use shrimp shells or some crab pieces wrap them in a cheese cloth with some aromatics and then cook them in pot of boiling water. The end result is a rich seafood flavor that can’t be replicated any other way. What if you don’t have fish bones or shells at your disposal? You cry. THAT’S WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO!! Just kidding. The best bet I think is to use a mixture of fish sauce and some chicken stock, that will probably give you some sort of seafood flavor that you won’t get from just normal stock.

I love making crab bisque and this dish is so easy that you’ll love making it too. I sourced the crab meat from my local grocer, if you have fresh crabs (that’s a loaded statement!) use them, but if not you can get good claw and backfin meat at Whole Foods or your local fish monger (if you’re on the east coast, if you’re not on the east coast you might be SOL).

 

Recipe- Crab Bisque

Ingredients

12 oz. of Crab Meat (you can honestly put as much or as little as you want)

4 Cups of Water (or broth)

2 Tbsp. Butter

1 Cup of Shrimp Shells or Crab Shells (wrapped in a cheese cloth) (if you don’t have this available, 1 Tsp.  Fish Sauce & 1 Tsp of Oyster Sauce)

2 Tsp. Old Bay

1 Bay Leave

1 Tsp. Paprika

1 Tsp. Thyme

1 Tsp. Salt

1 Tsp. Black Pepper

1 Cup of finely diced white onions

2 Tbsp. Tomato Paste

1 Cup of Heavy Cream

Method

Step 1 – Heat a large heavy bottom pot, add your butter.

Step 2- Add onions,  paprika, thyme, salt, and pepper to the pot. (reduce to a medium heat)

Step 3- Once the onions have turned translucent, add your tomato paste and stir.

Step 4- Now add your water or broth along with your shells and your bay leaf (wrapped in a cheese cloth). Bring the pot to a boil. (allow to simmer for about 30 minutes)

Step 5- Taste your base, at this point it should have a smooth warm seafoody flavor. If it’s lacking in flavor add some more fish and oyster sauce (not too much).

Step 6- At this point you can opt to transfer all the ingredients (except the shells and bay leaf) to a blender and blend it smooth. Or you can strain your soup so there’s no random bits floating around. If you do plan on blending, I like to throw a little bit of the crab meat in at this point (just about 2 tbsp.) to give it a good flavor.

Step 7- Transfer your liquids back to the pot, now add your crab meat and old bay, reduce the heat and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.

Step 8 – Now add your heavy cream, slowly stirring as you pour it in, bring the heat down to low. If you prefer it to be less creamy, just add less cream. If you want to make it non-dairy but still want it to be creamy, use coconut milk instead. The key is not heating the soup so high that the fat denatures and separates.

Step 9 – Taste your soup, it should have a velvety texture with a nice rich seafood flavor.

Enjoy!