Seafood Bisque

By hmccallum  –  February 11, 2014  –  21 Comments

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You’ll love this simple to make, rich, creamy Seafood Bisque; the warm, enticing taste is perfect for a hearty lunch or light dinner; combining seafood favorites such as shrimp, crab, mussels, and bottleneck clams with a rich deliciously creamy base that’s perfectly seasoned.

Can you believe that Bisque dates back to the 17th century? Culinary historians confirm that the first bisque recipes even included the pulverized shells of the featured crustaceans.  Bisque descended from pottage, which is a very thick soup mixture that resembles a puree. Most of all, the old Bisque recipes call for crayfish or rock lobster.

 

Serve with crusty bread and top with fresh chopped parsley.What exactly is Bisque? Bisque is a smooth, creamy, highly-seasoned soup of French origin, classically made from a strained broth of the featured crustaceans. It can be made from lobster, crab, shrimp, or crayfish.

 

 

 

What you will need to make Seafood Bisque

  • One stick unsalted butter
  • Two stalks celery, finely diced
  • One large onion, minced
  • One and 1/2 pounds lump crab meat
  • One pound small crab claws, for serving
  • One pound shrimp cleaned shells & removed
  • Twenty Four mussels, cleaned
  • Twenty four littleneck clams, cleaned
  • Five cups half and half cream
  • Four cups of seafood stock or vegetable broth
  • One cup white wine (optional)
  • One teaspoon garlic
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, for serving
  • One lemon for juicing
  • 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
  • Kosher salt to taste
  • Two teaspoons white pepper

 

 

Tips on buying fresh seafood

  1. Only purchase open clams and mussels Clams or mussels are delicious seafood splurge that is often eaten as an appetizer. Both should be purchased while still alive, which assures the best quality of possible freshness. You can tell if a mussel or clam is still alive if the shell is still closed. If you happen to tap an open clam or mussel and it closes its lid, then it’s still alive.
  2. After Clams or Mussels are purchased, it’s imperative to store them on ice right away, between 34 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit is the best temperature.
  3. It is best to buy crab while it’s still alive, as the meat spoils reasonably quickly. The freshest crabs are the ones with leg movement.
  4. Always smell the seafood If you’re buying crabs, mussels, clams, oysters, or anything else aquatic, you can and should always rely on your sense of smell.  Not only do clams and mussels smell vaguely sweet, but the same can be said for most other forms of shellfish, they should smell like a hint f the sea. 

 

 

 

 

 

5 from 16 votes
Serve with crusty bread and top with fresh chopped parsley.
Print
Seafood Bisque
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
35 mins
 

You’ll love this simple to make, rich, creamy Seafood Bisque; warm enticing taste; combining seafood favorites such as shrimp, crab, mussels, and bottleneck clams with a rich deliciously creamy base that’s perfectly seasoned.

Course: Bisque, Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Seafood Bisque
Servings: 8 People
Author: hmccallum
Ingredients
  • 1 stick unsalted butter
  • 2 stalks celery finely diced
  • 1 large onion minced
  • 1 ½ pounds lump crab meat
  • 1 pound small crab claws for serving
  • 1 pound shrimp cleaned shells & removed
  • 24 mussels cleaned
  • 24 small neck clams cleaned
  • 5 cups half and half cream
  • 4 cups shrimp stock
  • 1 cup white wine optional
  • 1 teaspoon garlic
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley for serving
  • 1 lemon for juicing
  • ½ teaspoon dill weed
  • Kosher salt to taste
  • 2 teaspoons white pepper
Instructions

  1. In a large pot, sauté butter, celery, pimiento, and onion. Add white pepper, salt, garlic, and dill weed. Add broth, wine and gradually add half and half cream. Cook on very low heat, stirring constantly, until creamy.

  2. While the soup is cooking steam crab claws, clam, and mussels till done clams and mussels will open when they are done. Do not let the soup boil. When the soup is creamy, add crab meat and shrimp. Cook 8 min or less. When shrimp are have turned white and shows no sign of transparency they are done.

  3. In each serving dish the place clams and mussels, lightly squeeze fresh lemon juice over them, then ladle creamy bisque over them.

  4. Garnish with a Crab claw. Serve with crusty bread and top with fresh chopped parsley.

 

 

 

 

You'll love this simple to make, rich, creamy Seafood Bisque; the warm, enticing taste is perfect for a hearty lunch or light dinner; combining seafood favorites such as shrimp, crab, mussels, and bottleneck clams with a rich deliciously creamy base that's perfectly seasoned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

© Heidy L. McCallum and The McCallum’s Shamrock Patch, 2020-2013 unauthorized use and/or duplication of content/ material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Heidy L. McCallum and The McCallum’s Shamrock Patch with proper and specific direction to the original content.

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Hi, I’m Heidy Linn McCallum the quirky, sometimes nerdy, food history loving, writer, recipe developer, cook, and food photographer, around here on The McCallum’s Shamrock Patch Blog.

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© Heidy L. McCallum and The McCallum’s Shamrock Patch, 2020-2013 unauthorized use and/or duplication of content/ material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Heidy L. McCallum and The McCallum’s Shamrock Patch with proper and specific direction to the original content.
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