Blue Crab Bisque Food

BLUE CRAB BISQUE

Steps:

• Crabs: Preheat oven to 425 F. Place crabs on a roasting pan and bake in the oven about 30 minutes, until deep red and slightly browned. In a stockpot set over medium heat, add olive oil and roasted crabs, breaking them up with a wooden spoon as they cook, 5 minutes. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery (the "holy trinity" of Cajun cooking) and stir, cooking just till the vegetables soften, 5 minutes.
• Stock: Add wine and stir to deglaze the pan. Turn heat to high and cook 6-8 minutes, until the wine has nearly evaporated. Add tomato paste and water. Stir, bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat. Cover and simmer, 45 minutes.
• Bisque: Remove the crab shells from the stock and discard. (If you miss a couple small pieces of shell, don't worry: they'll get strained out later.) Ladle the stock into the blender, then add the juice of half a lemon and ¾ cup bread cubes. Season with a big pinch of salt and a small pinch of pepper. Cover and let sit so the bread can absorb some of the liquid, 30-60 seconds. Blend on low speed (to avoid splattering hot liquid) for 30 seconds. As the soup blends, turn to high to emulsify, 1 more minute. Taste to adjust for seasoning and texture-the soup should coat the back of a spoon. Add remaining bread, small pinches of salt and pepper, and blend on high to further thicken and emulsify, 1½ more minutes. Taste again for seasoning, then strain through a chinois to remove any small shell pieces, using the back of a ladle to push the soup through into a bowl.
• Assembly: Ladle bisque into individual serving bowls. Chop chives into ½-inch lengths (you should have about a ½ cup total). Garnish each bowl with crab meat and chives. Serve immediately.

CRAB BISQUE

Steps:

• Melt butter in a medium sized pot (non stick), add flour, salt and pepper - as though you were making a rue (blonde rue). Allow flour to melt into the butter and stir constantly until the flour is a blonde rue.
• Combine rue with Tomato Paste and slowly add the chicken stock whisking as you go. Once this has come to a moderate heat add marsala and cream - not together or you will cruddle - if you want a dryer taste use a dry sherry instead.
• Finally add your star ingredient - Crab and allow to come full heat slowly and serve with a wedge of crusty bread and salad for a full meal or just by itself for a great intro to a wonderful dinner.

CRAB BISQUE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute celery and onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. , Stir in the bouillon, cream, crab, mushrooms, basil, garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon Creole seasoning and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Season to taste with remaining Creole seasoning and pepper if desired.

CRAB BISQUE

Steps:

• If using live crabs, add to pot of boiling water using tongs. Cover pot and cook over high heat until crab shells are red, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain crabs in a colander.
• Put crabs (cooked or frozen uncooked) into a large metal roasting pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and pound shells with meat pounder to crush (including claws).
• Heat butter and oil in same pot over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then cook onion, carrot, celery, and garlic with bay leaf, thyme, clove, peppercorns, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add Cognac, wine, and crushed crabs and bring to a boil. Add broth and water and return to a boil. Skim foam, then simmer, covered, stirring and skimming occasionally, 1 hour.
• Put colander in a large bowl, then drain crab broth, reserving solids for crab butter (if making). Transfer broth to a medium saucepan.
• Ladle out 2 cups broth and transfer to a 1-quart saucepan. Add rice and simmer, covered, until very tender, 15 to 20 minutes (not all of liquid will be absorbed).
• Blend together rice with cooking liquid and 1 cup more crab broth in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), then add to remaining broth in medium saucepan.
• Just before serving, reheat bisque over medium heat until hot, then stir in tarragon, lemon juice, cayenne, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
• Ladle bisque into bowls and spoon a little crabmeat into center, then drizzle with some of crab butter (if making).

CRABMEAT BISQUE MADE EASY

Steps:

• Spray a stockpot with cooking spray.
• Melt butter in the prepared stockpot over medium heat; cook and stir celery, onion, paprika, seafood seasoning, thyme, salt, and white pepper until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Whisk flour into vegetable mixture until smooth and dissolved. Pour seafood stock over vegetable mixture.
• Mix half-and-half, cream, and milk into broth mixture; decrease heat and simmer until bisque is thickened, about 15 minutes. Add crabmeat and simmer bisque until crabmeat is heated through, about 5 minutes more.

DECADENT AND EASY CRAB BISQUE

Steps:

• Saute onion in the butter, over medium heat, until translucent.
• Add 2 T. of the flour to the onions, mixing well with a wooden spoon. Cook for about a minute.
• Add 3 cups of the half-and-half, heavy cream, salt and pepper. Whisk while bringing up to a boil (you can turn up the heat a bit here - just be careful not to scald the cream).
• Shake 2 T. of the flour and 1 cup of the half-and-half - using a jar with a lid. Shake until the flour is blended well.
• Add to the soup by whisking. Keep whisking until the soup thickens.
• Stir in the crab and cook for about 5 more minutes.
• Ladle the soup into the bowls and garnish with snipped chives, if desired.