Crawfish Bisque

Whether you’re spoiling yourself or expecting company, this crawfish bisque is as deluxe a first course as anyone could ask for. The crawfish are the star of the show, of course, but the rich, creamy broth provides them with a worthy setting.

Enjoy the bisque on its own as a light lunch, or use it as the starting point for a Louisiana-themed meal. Either way, it tastes complex and sophisticated but is surprisingly quick and easy to make.

Crawfish Bisque Ingredients

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• Butter: Using butter to saute the aromatic vegetables adds richness and flavor to the soup.
• Onion: A chopped onion lays down a savory base of flavor for the soup.
• Green pepper: Green pepper is a signature flavor in Louisiana cooking, so it’s right at home here.
• Green onions: The white ends of the green onions add to the soup’s onion flavor, while the greens make an appealing garnish at the end.
• Tomato paste: A few tablespoons of tomato paste add color and flavor to the soup’s rich broth.
• Garlic: Minced fresh garlic adds a pungently savory note to the soup.
• Cajun seasoning: Cajun seasoning is a convenient shortcut that helps create the bisque’s regional flavor profile.
• Flour: The small quantity of all-purpose flour in this recipe acts as a thickener to give the soup its mouth-filling texture.
• Seafood stock: Seafood stock provides the bulk of the soup’s volume, and gives it a flavor that complements the crawfish.
• Crawfish tail meat: Using frozen crawfish tail meat keeps prep time to a minimum while still yielding a rich soup with plenty of the star ingredient.
• Frozen corn: Corn’s natural milky sweetness complements the creamy broth and the sweet crawfish tails.
• Heavy cream: Heavy whipping cream enriches the finished soup and gives it a satisfying smoothness.
• Sherry vinegar: Cream adds richness but mutes flavors, so a splash of mild sherry vinegar at the end helps brighten those flavors again.

Directions

Step 1: Cook the aromatics

Christine Ma for Taste of Home

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and green pepper, and the white portion of the green onions. Cook the vegetables in the butter until they’ve softened, four to five minutes. Add the tomato paste, garlic and cajun seasoning, and cook for one minute longer. Stir in the flour, and let the mixture cook for another one or two minutes or until it’s browned.

Step 2: Finish the bisque

Christine Ma for Taste of Home

Gradually stir the seafood stock into the flour mixture and bring it to a simmer. Add the crawfish meat and the corn. Cook the bisque, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes or until it thickens slightly. Stir in the cream, the sherry vinegar and the green portion of the green onions.

Christine Ma for Taste of Home

Crawfish Bisque Variations

• Swap the seafood: Crawfish are readily available in the Southeast. In other areas, they may require a serious search or an online order. If you don’t have the patience for that, feel free to use any other crustacean. An equal quantity of medium or large shrimp is the easy option, but crab meat, lobster meat and even inexpensive imitation crab all taste good in this soup.
• Save time on the broth: Once the aromatic vegetables are softened, you can cut down your “time to table” by skipping the flour step. Instead, add a cream soup of your choice (cream of celery might be best, but cream of mushroom also works) and thin it with seafood broth.
• Add a splash of alcohol: At the beginning of the recipe, when you’re softening the aromatic vegetables, you could add flavor with wine or another alcohol. Don’t be intimidated about cooking with wine, it’s not as complicated as it sometimes seems. A splash of any dry white table wine will do just fine in this recipe, including the one you didn’t finish last night. Alternatively, you could add a tablespoon or two of brandy. Better yet, pick up an inexpensive bottle of dry sherry and use that. It goe well with crawfish or crab and adds depth of flavor to any cream soup. Just be aware that the alcohol doesn’t cook off, so skip it if you’ll be serving anyone who avoids booze.

How to Store Cajun Crawfish Bisque

Any leftover crawfish bisque should be transferred as soon as possible to shallow containers, then cooled rapidly, covered and refrigerated.

How long does this corn and crawfish bisque keep?

Leftover crawfish bisque will keep for three to four days in your fridge, provided you cooled and refrigerated it immediately after the meal. Shellfish are highly perishable, so if your leftovers sit at room temperature for a while it’s prudent to cut that time in half. If it took more than two hours to refrigerate the soup (one hour at 90°F or higher), you should just discard it.

Can I make the bisque ahead of time?

You can make it up to a day ahead, if you expect to be pressed for time when mealtime rolls around. Cool it quickly, and get it into the fridge ASAP. Flat, shallow containers are best, because they’ll cool more rapidly than larger, deeper containers.

Crawfish Bisque Tips

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Can I use a gluten-free thickener instead?

Yes, you can thicken the bisque with cornstarch, arrowroot, potato starch or other gluten-free thickener of your choice. If you go that route, don’t stir your thickener into the aromatic vegetables. Instead, keep back ½ cup of cold seafood stock and use that to make a slurry with your chosen starch. These are more powerful thickeners than flour, so only use half as much. Stir the slurry into the soup after 12 to 15 minutes, because it will thicken the finished soup almost immediately.

What if I don’t have sherry vinegar?

The vinegar brings a little splash of acidity to balance and brighten the broth. If you don’t have sherry vinegar, any other mild, aromatic vinegar will work. Champagne vinegar is a good substitute, but cider vinegar or a mild, good-quality white wine vinegar are acceptable. Less obvious options include a squeeze of lemon, a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce or even ¼ cup of buttermilk.

What should I serve with the bisque?

As a starter, it goes nicely with any Louisiana-themed meal, whether you’re drawing from the Cajun or Creole tradition or both. If you serve it as a light but flavorful lunch in its own right, all it needs is something simple such as a biscuit, a soft roll or a slice of bread and butter alongside.