Easy Lobster Bisque – Cafe Delites

Lobster Bisque recipe made easy with big chunks of garlic butter lobster tails in every bite and a quick homemade stock!

Smooth and creamy, our Lobster Bisque is always a crowd pleaser and has never been easier! Using lobster tails guarantees a rich and decadent bisque that cooks in under one hour.

Enjoy as a starter or a main, you’ll love the flavours in this so much you’ll be licking the bowl clean!

Lobster Bisque recipe made easy with big chunks of garlic butter lobster tails in every bite and a quick homemade stock! cafedelites.com #lobster #lobstertails #lobsterbisque

LOBSTER BISQUE

Traditionally, lobster bisque is made with a stock made of whole lobster shells. Our version is much easier and just as robust, with a simple stock, aromatics, spices and simple ingredients!

HOW TO MAKE LOBSTER BISQUE

The secret is to build those flavours slowly, starting with a homemade lobster stock.

BOIL lobster tails — shells and meat — in salted water for only 5 minutes. This way, we pre-cook the meat and get as much lobster flavours as we can.

COOL SLIGHTLY AND REMOVE meat out of the shells using either of the two methods below:

Place lobster tail on your counter with the back facing up. Using sharp kitchen shears, cut down through the centre of the back to the end of the tail. With your thumbs and fingers, open the shell to loosen it from the meat, opening the meat away from the shell side walls. Pull the meat up from the bottom of the shell to seperate the shell from the meat underneath it.
Alternatively, use both hands to press down on tail to crack shell. Hold tail, shell facing down, and pull back on both sides of shell to crack open and remove meat.

How to make lobster bisque #lobsterbisque

CHOP into bite-sized pieces and refrigerate while boiling the empty shells for a further 15 minutes. Keep that stock to add into the bisque later.

WHAT IS LOBSTER BISQUE MADE OF?

Once you have your quick stock, start making the base for the soup with a beautiful mirepoix — onion, carrot, and celery.

You’ll see a mirepoix in most of our recipes, like Chicken Noodle Soup, Homemade Sausage Rolls and Creamy Ham Potato Soup, for maximum flavour benefits.

Sauté with fresh herbs in a blend of oil and butter to sweat and release their flavours before adding garlic, cayenne pepper (for an optional bit of heat) and the rest of your ingredients.

HOW DO YOU THICKEN LOBSTER BISQUE?

Tomato paste and hint of flour help to thicken your soup. Cook the flour for a couple of minutes first before adding liquids.

Lobster bisque made easy with lobster tails #lobstertails #lobsterbisque

WHAT ALCOHOL IS IN LOBSTER BISQUE?

The pot gets deglazed with a dry white wine. Use a good quality Pinot Grigio, Sauv Blanc or Chardonnay, one that you would drink! If you can’t drink it, you shouldn’t cook with it.

You can replace the wine with sherry if you prefer! Sherry is a fortified wine that adds a delicious, savoury kick to your soup, similar to our Creamy Chicken Marsala.

Let reduce to half, then stir in your pre-made lobster stock and let simmer until liquid has thickened. It only takes about 30 minutes to get those delicious flavours to marry into each other.

BLEND

Puree right in the pot with an immersion blender OR pour into a blender. If using a blender, you may need to blend in batches of two or three to prevent pressure from building up inside the jug from the heat. Make sure you take the centre piece out of the lid to let the steam escape.

You want your bisque to be nice and smooth. Then, pour it back into your pot, stir in the heavy cream and chunks of lobster. Garnish with fresh tarragon, chives or sliced green onions.

Lobster bisque with lobster tail meat #lobstertails #lobsterbisque

LOBSTER MEAT

To add even more flavour, melt butter a skillet over medium heat and sauté garlic until fragrant. Add in chopped lobster meat, season with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Lightly sauté until lobster meat is just warmed through, then add into your bisque!

LOBSTER BISQUE OPTIONS

You can change up our lobster bisque recipe based on what you already have on hand:

BROTH: Use a low-sodium lobster broth or seafood broth/stock.
LOBSTER MEAT: Frozen or canned lobster meat can be used BUT fresh is best. I cannot guarantee the flavour in your bisque will turn out the same.
CLAMS OR SHRIMP: Both options are a great substitution for this recipe.

Serve with crusty bread for an epic meal!

Lobster bisque with garlic bread #lobstertails #lobsterbisque

HOW LONG DOES LOBSTER BISQUE LAST IN THE FRIDGE?

Refrigerate soup in airtight containers for up to 2 days only! You don’t want to keep your lobster bisque refrigerated very long, as with most seafood.

Reheat on low-medium heat.

CAN YOU FREEZE HOMEMADE BISQUE?

We don’t recommend freezing lobster bisque.

MORE LOBSTER RECIPES

Lobster Tails with Bacon Cream Sauce
Butter Seared Lobster Tails
Broiled Lobster Tails

Lobster Bisque recipe made easy with big chunks of garlic butter lobster tails in every bite and a quick homemade stock. Smooth and creamy, Lobster Bisque is always a crowd pleaser and has never been easier. Using lobster tails guarantees a rich and decadent bisque that comes together in only one hour!

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Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 55 mins

Total: 1 hr 15 mins

Serves: 4 people

Ingredients

BISQUE

4 lobster tails
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
1 teaspoon fresh chopped tarragon, plus more to serve
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, (or plain flour)
1 1/4 cup dry white wine, or sherry
4 cups lobster stock (recipe as follows), OR seafood or fish stock
3/4 – 1 cup heavy cream

GARLIC BUTTER LOBSTER MEAT

2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt, pepper and cayenne, to taste

Instructions

LOBSTER STOCK

Fill a large pot with 5 cups of water. Stir in 1 teaspoon sea salt and bring to a boil.
Add the lobster tails, cover with lid and let boil for 5 minutes, or until bright red.
Remove lobster tails, reserving the liquid stock. When the lobsters have cooled slightly, remove the meat from the shells, reserving the meat and any liquid that comes out of the shells.
Return lobster shells back to the water in the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for a further 15 minutes to draw as much flavour out of the shells as possible.
While stock is simmering, chop the meat into bite-sized pieces and refrigerate.

BISQUE

Heat butter and oil in a large, heavy-based pot over medium heat, Sweat the onions, carrots, celery and fresh herbs. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Season with the bouillon powder, salt and pepper/s. Stir in 4 cloves of minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Mix in tomato paste, cook for a further minute to coat vegetables. Sprinkle over flour and cook, while stirring occasionally for a further 2 minutes.
Pour in wine, simmer and let reduce to half. Stir in lobster stock, reduce heat and gently simmer while stirring occasionally, until liquid has thickened slightly and flavours have blended, about 30 minutes.
Take off the heat, transfer mixture to a blender and blend until smooth. Alternatively, purée with an immersion blender until very smooth. Return to medium-low heat and stir in heavy cream.

GARLIC BUTTER LOBSTER MEAT

Melt butter a skillet pan over medium heat. Sauté garlic for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add in chopped lobster meat, season with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. Lightly sauté for 1 minute while stirring occasionally, until lobster meat is just warmed through.

Notes

TO REMOVE LOBSTER MEAT:

Place lobster tail on your counter with the back of the tail facing up. Use sharp kitchen shears to cut down through the centre to the end of the tail. With your thumbs and fingers, open the shell to loosen it from the meat, opening the meat away from the shell side walls. Pull the meat up from the bottom of the shell to seperate the shell from the meat underneath it.
Alternatively, use both hands to press down on tail to crack shell. Hold tail, shell facing down, and pull back on both sides of shell to crack open and remove meat.