Crab Bisque

By Gilmore

The best-tasting crabmeat comes from crabs you cook yourself. If you have access to live crabs, use them to make this bisque. Two 2-lb. Dungeness crabs or eight to ten hard-shelled blue crabs will yield about 1 lb. of crabmeat. You can also buy cooked crabs and extract the meat. Fresh lump crabmeat is the next-best option, especially if you are short on time; look for it at fish markets. Otherwise, use frozen or canned crabmeat, drained and quickly rinsed.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 Tbs. canola or grapeseed oil
• 3 large shallots, minced
• 5 cups fish or chicken stock
• 2 cups heavy cream
• Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper,
• to taste
• 3 ⁄4 to 1 lb. fresh or thawed frozen lump
• crabmeat, picked over for shell fragments
• (3 to 4 cups)
• 1 ⁄2 cup dry sherry, dry Marsala or Madeira
• Minced fresh tarragon or flat-leaf parsley
• for garnish

Details

Servings 8
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 22mins
Adapted from williams-sonoma.com

Preparation

Step 1

In a large soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter with the oil. Add the shallots and sauté until translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the stock and cream, and season with kosher salt and white pepper. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the crabmeat. Cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the sherry and heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Ladle the soup into warmed shallow bowls and garnish with tarragon. Serve immediately.