Post by 58limited on Sept 4, 2011 16:46:57 GMT -5
I decided to mess around in the kitchen today. We got several inches of much needed rain from TS Lee yesterday and overnight, so I'm staying indoors today. I had some awesome shrimp bisque at a local restaurant awhile back and decided to try and duplicate the recipe. I have never made shrimp bisque before but I actually came close to the restaurant's recipe (theirs has more salt and butter, and is thicker, making it VERY rich). I researched various shrimp bisque recipes on the net and made my own recipe using bits and pieces from several recipes. This was written as I cooked and experimented, so there may be some things that others would do in a different order. I'll try to fine tune it later:
Shrimp Bisque
3 lbs shrimp (peel and use shells for stock). I ended up only using 2 pounds of shrimp in the bisque.
1 cup leeks, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 stick butter
1/3 cup flour
5 cups shrimp stock, divided
1 cup white wine (Chardonnay)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp thyme leaves
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
Stock:
Shells from three pounds of shrimp
8 cups water
1/2 - 3/4 onion, coarse chopped
1 celery stalk, cut up, plus the leafy heads from the celery bundle
1 handful parsley leaves and stems
1 carrot split and cut up
1-2 cloves garlic
bell pepper scraps (core and left over pepper, 1 bell pepper is more than the 1/2 cup needed in the saute)
leek scraps (but not the big leaves - just a little of the pale green part just above the white part)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
Make stock by combining all stock ingredients. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain out all of the solids and discard.
Melt butter in a skillet. Saute the leeks, bell pepper, and celery until soft. Add garlic when the saute is almost done. Transfer to a stock pot, continue to saute for 1 minute, add flour, stir for 1 minute, add 4 cups shrimp stock and stir to blend the flour/veggie mixture. Add salt, white pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, and lemon juice. Bring to boil, cover and simmer 30 minutes.
Take 8 oz. shrimp and cube them. Add to the bisque and cook 10 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender or regular blender. Add 1 cup white wine, 1 cup shrimp stock, and 1/4 cup parsley and bring to a boil. Add 1 1/2 lbs. shrimp and cook 10 minutes. Add 2 cups cream, bring to a light boil. If desired, thicken with a slurry of flour and water to desired consistency (I used 1/3c. plus 1/6 c. flour. I also added 4 Tbsp. butter).
Some notes: I bought large shrimp to make peeling them faster and easier. However, I think small shrimp would work best, both for the puree and because I like the smaller whole shrimp in the bisque. I simply cut the large shrimp in half.
The saute can be done in the stock pot to eliminate the need to transfer from the skillet to the pot.
I suppose the flour added to the saute is not necessary, one of the recipes I copied added it at this point. All of the flour could be added at the end to thicken the bisque to the desired consistency instead of having to do this at two different times like I did.
If you like a smooth cream soup, you can delete the additional 1 1/2 lbs. of shrimp and use only the pureed soup - it is excellent.
Shrimp Bisque
3 lbs shrimp (peel and use shells for stock). I ended up only using 2 pounds of shrimp in the bisque.
1 cup leeks, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 stick butter
1/3 cup flour
5 cups shrimp stock, divided
1 cup white wine (Chardonnay)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp thyme leaves
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
Stock:
Shells from three pounds of shrimp
8 cups water
1/2 - 3/4 onion, coarse chopped
1 celery stalk, cut up, plus the leafy heads from the celery bundle
1 handful parsley leaves and stems
1 carrot split and cut up
1-2 cloves garlic
bell pepper scraps (core and left over pepper, 1 bell pepper is more than the 1/2 cup needed in the saute)
leek scraps (but not the big leaves - just a little of the pale green part just above the white part)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
Make stock by combining all stock ingredients. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain out all of the solids and discard.
Melt butter in a skillet. Saute the leeks, bell pepper, and celery until soft. Add garlic when the saute is almost done. Transfer to a stock pot, continue to saute for 1 minute, add flour, stir for 1 minute, add 4 cups shrimp stock and stir to blend the flour/veggie mixture. Add salt, white pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, and lemon juice. Bring to boil, cover and simmer 30 minutes.
Take 8 oz. shrimp and cube them. Add to the bisque and cook 10 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender or regular blender. Add 1 cup white wine, 1 cup shrimp stock, and 1/4 cup parsley and bring to a boil. Add 1 1/2 lbs. shrimp and cook 10 minutes. Add 2 cups cream, bring to a light boil. If desired, thicken with a slurry of flour and water to desired consistency (I used 1/3c. plus 1/6 c. flour. I also added 4 Tbsp. butter).
Some notes: I bought large shrimp to make peeling them faster and easier. However, I think small shrimp would work best, both for the puree and because I like the smaller whole shrimp in the bisque. I simply cut the large shrimp in half.
The saute can be done in the stock pot to eliminate the need to transfer from the skillet to the pot.
I suppose the flour added to the saute is not necessary, one of the recipes I copied added it at this point. All of the flour could be added at the end to thicken the bisque to the desired consistency instead of having to do this at two different times like I did.
If you like a smooth cream soup, you can delete the additional 1 1/2 lbs. of shrimp and use only the pureed soup - it is excellent.