Rosie Makes A Quick Shrimp Bisque

I’ve mentioned it before - I always have shrimp on hand.  I buy heads on, in bulk, during the fall months, always trying to stay ahead of those pesky hurricanes which can wipe out my shrimp prospects.  And I freeze them - 12-16 oz. in a bag.  That way, I always have a meal for two just waiting for me in the freezer.

With the weather being what it is on the Outer Banks - sunny and 70s-80s for a few days then gray, windy, and 60s, I decided a nice shrimp bisque was in order.  So, on today’s menu is a creamy shrimp bisque, made from my own shrimp stock.  

Whenever I pull out a bag of frozen shrimp, after shelling the shrimp, I save the shells in the freezer for the express purpose of making shrimp stock.  The nice thing about shrimp stock is that, unlike making a beef or chicken stock which can take a couple or more hours, shrimp stock is good to go in 20 minutes.  After simmering with whatever aromatics you put in the pot with the shells, everything that can be extracted from the shells - all the flavor - is produced within the first 20-30 minutes.  No more flavor is forthcoming.  So a good stock is just minutes away.

Here’s how I made my shrimp stock.  These amounts are not etched in stone.  You have wiggle room, so you don’t have to be exact here.  I’ve just given you a starting point.

Shrimp Stock

3 pints shrimp shells

onion

carrots

celery

garlic cloves

peppercorns

kosher salt

Coarsely chop the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic.

I use the skin of the onion too.  

In a stock pot, heat a tablespoon or two of oil and dump in the shells. 

                                                                               

 Stir.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

                   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Stir the whole time over medium heat until they turn nice and pink.

                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Then add in the vegetables and continue stirring for about 3 minutes.

      

  Add in a tablespoon or so of whole peppercorns and a teaspoon or so of kosher salt.

Add water to cover.  

About 5-6 cups.

Bring to a boil.

Reduce to simmer.

And simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat.

                                                

                              

  Let cool a bit, then strain the liquid, and discard the solids.

 

            

And now you have shrimp stock.

                                               

     Let’s start on the bisque now.

                             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the shrimp bisque, want some vegetables to go in the soup:

 

 sliced mushrooms

chopped onions

sliced carrots

sliced celery

 

Again, the amounts are up to you.

You have latitude here. 

   

 

 Vegetables ready to be sautéed and shrimp stock ready. 

 

 

I put about two tablespoons butter in my stock pot and added the mushrooms first, sautéing to get a little brown to them.

Then I added in the onions, carrot, and celery.  Sauté for a few minutes.

Next, I added a knob of butter and let it melt, then 3-4 TB of flour.  We're making a roux.  A roux is how we thicken our soup or bisque.  It's a paste made of equal amounts of flour and butter cooked together over medium-low heat and it's the foundation for thickening soups, stews, gravies, and sauces.  Let the flour cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes, until the raw taste is cooked.  Also, as the flour cooks in the fat, the starch granules are coated, which prevents clumping and lumping when we add the liquid stock later on.  Cooking eliminates the raw taste of the flour and gives the mixture a richer, nutty flavor.

Gradually add in the shrimp stock, 1-2 cups, stirring constantly, letting it thicken nicely.

 

 

              

  Next, stir in about a cup of milk/cream.  I used 1/2 cup each.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you've achieved the consistency you like, top it off with a big splash of sherry. 

 Or white wine.  I love the flavor it brings to the table.

 

Now, along the way, I'd boiled a batch of shrimp. 

Because we're going to put shrimp in our shrimp bisque.  

For this, I had a bag of shrimp I'd shelled and de-tracted.  Yes, I say de-tracted, not de-veined, because that black line running down the back of the shrimp is the digestive tract, not a vein.  I brought a pot of water, generously seasoned with Old Bay, to a boil.  I dropped in the shrimp and cooked, stirring, for maybe a minute.  Depends on the size of the shrimp.  Then drained the shrimp and saved them for the bisque.

 And here's my bisque:

I decided to throw in some frozen peas, for color and flavor.
I also had some fried wonton strips leftover from the other day when I made egg rolls and decided to slice strips from the egg roll wrappers to fry up, drain, and salt, and use in place of croutons in my salad.  You could also sprinkle some sesame seeds on the strips when you pull them out of the fry pan and put on racks to drain.

I've got whole boiled shrimp floating on stop of the bisque, buoyed by the consistency, 
and some freshly ground pepper with a considerate sprinkling of chopped parsley.

And it's delightful

Smooth.
Velvety almost.
Shrimpy.
Colorful.
Boozy from the sherry.
Nice crunch from the wonton strips.

I went through all the wonton strips the first day.
So on the second day, I added oyster crackers for the crunch
and some Togarashi seasoning for color and taste.
And if you're not familiar with Togarasi seasoning,
it's red chilies, black and white sesame seeds, garlic, nori (seaweed), poppy seed, and lemon and orange zest. 
 Quite a versatile seasoning when you think about it.
  Try it on scrambled eggs or an omelet.

Enjoy.