Bisque is a thick, creamy, highly-seasoned soup of French origin, classically of puréed crustaceans. It can be made from lobster, crab, shrimp or crayfish. Also, creamy soups made from vegetables instead of seafood are sometimes called bisques.
It is thought the name is derived from Biscay, as in Bay of Biscay, but the crustaceans are certainly bis cuites "twice cooked" (by analogy to a biscuit) for they are first sautéed lightly in their shells, then simmered in wine and aromatic ingredients, before being puréed. Bisque are often also thickened with rice, which is also pureed upon the final stages. Bisque is a method of extracting every bit of flavor from imperfect crustaceans not good enough to send to market.
In an authentic bisque, the shells are ground to a fine paste and added to thicken the soup. Julia Child even remarked, "Do not wash anything off until the soup is done because you will be using the same utensils repeatedly and you don't want any marvelous tidbits of flavor losing themselves down the drain."
I had the most wonderful Crawfish Bisque this weekend! Odly they serve Crawfish Bisque or Cream Style Crawfish Bisque. I thought Bisques were always creamy otherwise not a Bisque - regardless Babin's... more
I had the most wonderful Crawfish Bisque this weekend! Odly they serve Crawfish Bisque or Cream Style Crawfish Bisque. I thought Bisques were always creamy otherwise not a Bisque - regardless Babin's Crawfish Bisque is fabulous!