Crawfish Bisque

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alicia-w
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Crawfish Bisque

#1 Postby alicia-w » Thu Feb 16, 2006 11:16 am

Crawfish Bisque
From the Files of Tom Fitzmorris

This is very much in the traditional Cajun-Creole style, with a roux in place of cream and all the ingredients rendered into a rough puree. This may seem like a long, involved recipe, but there are no great challenges in it. What comes out is something unforgettable.

Ingredients
5 lbs. boiled Crawfish
2 Tbs. onion, chopped
1 tsp. garlic, chopped
1/2 rib celery, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup brandy
1 small lemon, sliced
2/3 cup flour
1 stick butter
5 sprigs Italian parsley leaves, chopped
2 green onions, sliced finely
Salt
Tabasco

1. Rinse the boiled crawfish with lukewarm water to remove some of the salt, which will otherwise get concentrated later. Peel all of the crawfish and reserve the tail meat and the shells separately. Get some kid to pull off all the claws from the shells. Put all the claws into a heavy plastic bag. Using a meat mallet, bash the claws enough to break most of them open.
2. In an eight-quart (or larger) saucepan, saute the onions, garlic, celery, and bell pepper over medium heat until the onions are clear.
3. Add the crawfish claws, shells and wine, and bring to a boil. When most of the liquid has evaporated, pour the brandy over the shells. If you are comfortable with flaming dishes and have a fire extinguisher nearby, carefully touch a flame to the brandy. Let the flames die out. Otherwise, just let the brandy boil away.
4. Add the lemon and fill the pot to near the top with water. Bring it to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Simmer for an hour, spooning out the scum from the top of the pot every now and then.
5. Strain the stock into another saucepan and discard the solids. Simmer until reduced to one gallon. Strain through cheesecloth or a fine sieve. (At this point, the stock can be refrigerated for up to three days or frozen for later use.)
6. In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, make a dark roux with the flour and butter, stirring constantly to avoid burning. When the roux is the color of chocolate, stir it into the crawfish stock with a wire whisk until completely blended.
7. Add parsley and green onions. Reserve three large crawfish tails per person, and process the rest of the tail meat to a near-puree. Add this to the soup and return to a simmer for five minutes. Add salt and hot sauce to taste.
8. Place the whole crawfish tails in soup plates, and ladle the bisque over them.
Serves six to eight.
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