This is another one of those soups that I don't make too often, mainly because I don't keep lobster on my menus. I normally will plan it when I am going to run specials that showcase lobster, especially during the week of Valentines, or New Years. If I know that I will be putting this on the menu as a prix fix option or a weekly special, I will also save my shrimp shells for the weeks leading up to when I will run it, to help fortify this soup as well.
A couple of things to point out:
You NEED an actual BLENDER for this soup, a robot coup (food processor) or hand blender will not puree the shells properly
You NEED a good strainer. I would recommend investing in a chinois or china cap, because they are designed properly, and have a reinforced fine mesh to strain through.
When making this soup, I will normally poach the lobster off in a court bouillon breaking the lobster apart by tails, and claws. I put the claws in first, to a gently rolling broth for about 5 minutes, then add the lobster tails for an additional 7 minutes (I skewer the lobster tails so they don't curl when cooking). Then I remove the lobster and shock it, saving the poaching liquid to make the bisque with. Once cooled I will remove the meat from the shells with kitchen shears (small ones) and save the shells, as well as the uncooked lobster body (cleaned with the lungs removes) for the soup.
The process of making this soup can be used for shrimp bisque as well (any shellfish based bisque), you would just use only shrimp shells and follow the instructions accordingly. The idea is to saute the raw shells (as well as the cooked parts) at a high heat so that you are starting to get color. You will then add the vegetables and deglaze the pan with a decent brandy. The finished product of this soup is a velvety, rich, cream based soup that has a well rounded lobster flavor. I normally use tarragon and fennel in the soup because they compliment the lobster flavor. You can omit them if you aren't a fan of those flavors, you would just want to add something to give the soup a little more depth.
And lastly, for the garnish on this soup, I reserved some of the lobster meat and made a quick salad of lightly sauteed fennel slices, pickled red onions, and small diced lobster, all dressed with a touch of lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. You don't want to put too much garnish on it, just enough to make it visually appealing and give you a little texture pop when you are eating it. Enjoy.
Ingredients
Court Bouillon
Water 3 qt
Carrot 2 ea
Onion, Chopped 1 ea
Celery 2 ea
Fennel 1/2
Thyme Sprigs 1/2 oz
Tarragon Sprigs 1/2 oz
Peppercorns 1 T
Bay Leaves 3 ea
Soup
Lobster, raw large 1 ea
Shrimp Shells 1 lb
Onion, diced 2 ea
Fennel, diced 1 ea
Carrots, peeled and diced 2 ea
Tarragon sprigs 2 ea
Cream 1 qt
Court Bouillon 3 qt
Brandy 1/4 cup
Preserved Lemon 1 T
Butter 1/2 cup
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garnish
Poached and chopped lobster meat, thinly sliced fennel, pickled onions, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil
Method of Procedure
Combine all the ingredients for the court bouillon and bring to a boil. Poach off your lobster accordingly (times that I use are in the intro section) and reserve the liquid.*
Saute your lobster shells (as well as the cleaned body) with your shrimp shells in butter until the color changes to red.
Add your diced onions and fennel, tarragon sprigs, and preserved lemon** and continue to saute while stirring.
Deglaze the pot with your brandy then add your cream and reserved bouillon (or stock if you are using that instead).
Bring to a simmer and cook for at least 2 hours so the shells become softer in the broth.
Using a blender puree the soup in small increments with sufficient broth to shell ratio and strain through a chinois.
Season to taste, and heat to serve.
*This is just one way to prepare the lobster, there are other ways to par cook them, this way gives you a base to work with. If you choose to steam or grill or bake, you will have to adjust the soup recipe with stock or water rather than the fortified court bouillon.
**I like using preserved lemons as they are softer than lemons, you can use lemon zest and juice if you do not have any preserved lemons on hand.
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