CookEat Recipe
Lobster Bisque Harriman
A smooth lobster, rice and tomato bisque, flambéed with brandy, passed through two strainers and finished with milk.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Use one fresh, three-pound whole American clawed lobster, weighed before preparation. Have a trained professional electrically stun and immediately kill it while it remains raw. Remove the gills, stomach pouch, intestinal tract and tomalley before crushing, keeping the edible flesh and clean culinary shells from the same lobster. Keep refrigerated until ready to prepare.
Step 2
Using a stable, heavy food-purpose mortar and pestle suitable for crushing shells, pound the cleaned raw lobster flesh and shells together to a pulp, working in manageable batches. Protect your eyes from splashes and transfer all the pulp to a clean vessel. Wash and sanitize tools and surfaces used for raw lobster.
Step 3
Heat one ounce of unsalted butter in a wide, heavy, uncoated, non-reactive metal saucepan suitable for culinary flambéing, with room for the mixture and stirring. Add all the lobster pulp, stir on the hob for one minute, then cook briskly for about ten minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking or burning.
Step 4
Clear the space above and around the hob and have a fitting metal lid and a suitable fire extinguisher ready. Measure two tablespoons of Hennessy Very Special cognac (40% ABV) into a small cup away from the heat. Remove the hot pan from the burner, add the measured brandy and, standing back, carefully ignite its vapour with a long-reach lighter. Let the flame extinguish before proceeding; do not pour directly from the bottle or add extra spirit.
Step 5
When the flame has gone out, add the two gills of dry white wine, return the pan to the hob and boil for about five minutes.
Step 6
Add one pint of plain canned crushed tomatoes with their juice and two quarts of water. Season with one and a half teaspoons of salt and two saltspoons of cayenne. Stir for one minute, bring to a boil, then add the two ounces of raw white rice and mix lightly.
Step 7
In a separate frying pan, heat the tablespoon of butter. Add the half carrot and half onion, peeled and sliced, the two cleaned sliced leeks, two sliced celery branches and two washed parsley branches. Cook gently for about ten minutes, tossing occasionally, then add all the vegetables and their butter to the bisque.
Step 8
Mix lightly and simmer gently for about forty-five minutes, stirring at the bottom regularly to prevent scorching. Continue as needed until the rice and vegetables are fully tender and the stirred lobster mixture reaches at least 74°C throughout, checking in several places with a clean food thermometer.
Step 9
Press the entire soup through a sturdy food-purpose sieve, then pass it through a finer food-purpose Chinese strainer into a clean saucepan. Discard the retained shell and coarse solids rather than forcing shell shards through. Check the strained soup for hard grit or shell fragments and do not serve it if these remain.
Step 10
Add the half pint of cold pasteurized whole milk and mix. Heat while stirring until the soup reaches boiling point and at least 74°C throughout. Pour into a warm soup tureen and serve promptly.
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