Creamy Crab And Shrimp Bisque (Printable Version)
A luxurious, velvety bisque with tender crab and succulent shrimp for cozy evenings.
# What You Need:
→ Seafood
01 - 8 oz lump crab meat
02 - 8 oz large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped
→ Vegetables & Aromatics
03 - 2 tbsp unsalted butter
04 - 1 tbsp olive oil
05 - 1 small onion, finely chopped
06 - 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
07 - 1 small carrot, finely chopped
08 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
→ Liquids
09 - 1/4 cup dry sherry or white wine
10 - 3 cups seafood or fish stock
11 - 1 cup heavy cream
12 - 1 cup whole milk
→ Seasonings
13 - 2 tbsp tomato paste
14 - 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
15 - 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
16 - 1 bay leaf
17 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
18 - 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
→ Optional
19 - Lemon wedges, for serving
# How to Make It:
01 - Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrot and sauté until softened, about 6 to 8 minutes.
02 - Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste, Old Bay seasoning, and paprika; cook for another 2 minutes, stirring frequently to develop flavor.
03 - Pour in the sherry or white wine, scraping any fond from the bottom of the pot. Let simmer for 1 to 2 minutes until slightly reduced.
04 - Add the seafood stock and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes to build depth.
05 - Remove and discard the bay leaf. Purée the mixture until completely smooth using an immersion blender, or transfer to a standard blender in batches and return to the pot.
06 - Stir in the whole milk and heavy cream. Bring back to a gentle simmer without boiling to prevent curdling.
07 - Add the lump crab meat and chopped shrimp. Simmer gently for 6 to 8 minutes until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.
08 - Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Ladle into bowls, garnish with chopped parsley, and serve with lemon wedges if desired.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The texture is impossibly silky, like something you would order at a white tablecloth restaurant but made right in your own kitchen
- It comes together in about an hour yet tastes like it simmered all afternoon
- The combination of crab and shrimp gives you two distinct layers of sweetness in every spoonful
02 -
- Never let the bisque reach a rolling boil after adding the dairy or you will end up with a separated, oily texture that no amount of stirring can fix
- Puréeing the base before adding the seafood is what transforms this from a chunky soup into that restaurant quality velvety consistency
03 -
- If you substitute half and half for the heavy cream, add a tablespoon of flour to the vegetable sauté to maintain the body and thickness
- A tiny pinch of cayenne pepper stirred in at the end adds warmth that most people cannot identify but everyone notices