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CHOW: Recipes: Cognac Shrimp Bisque

Cognac Shrimp Bisque Recipe

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Cognac Shrimp Bisque
Difficulty: Easy | Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins | Active Time: | Makes: 6 to 8 servings

With large pieces of shrimp and just enough cream, this soup is flavorful and light, yet filling enough to be a meal.

This recipe was featured as part of our Festivus menu.

INGREDIENTS
  • 2 pounds shell-on shrimp
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
  • 2 medium yellow onions, large dice
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and large dice
  • 2 medium celery stalks, large dice
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 5 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 2 medium bay leaves
  • 5 cups water
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup Cognac
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Peel shrimp, reserving shells. Coarsely chop shrimp into bite-size pieces, place in a medium container, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.
  2. Place 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. When the foaming subsides, add onions, carrots, celery, and reserved shrimp shells and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are just tender and shells are pink but not browned, about 5 minutes.
  3. Increase heat to medium high and add tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaves; stir until vegetables are coated in tomato paste. Add water, stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and keep at a lively simmer until broth has a shrimp flavor, about 30 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a heatproof container; set aside and discard solids.
  4. Wipe out any solids in the saucepan and return it to the stove over low heat. Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter and let melt. When butter foams, whisk in flour and cook, whisking frequently, until smooth and golden brown, about 4 minutes.
  5. Slowly whisk in Cognac, then reserved hot stock, whisking until smooth, and bring to a boil. Add cream, cayenne, and reserved shrimp and stir to combine. Simmer until flavors have melded and shrimp is cooked through but not tough, about 8 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, if desired.
    Write a review | 15 Reviews
POST A COMMENT |15 Comments

COMMENT

  • This recipe is absolutely amazing. I will be making ths again!!

  • This recipe is a good base. I used sherry instead of cognac. I also added a minced shallot, two pinches of tarragon, three dashes of chervil, and about six dashes of crushed red pepper to the butter before adding the flour. The flavor was definitely there.

    I also let the broth/cream mixture simmer for 15 minutes before adding the shrimp to really let the flavors meld.

    Next time I make this I...+READ

    This recipe is a good base. I used sherry instead of cognac. I also added a minced shallot, two pinches of tarragon, three dashes of chervil, and about six dashes of crushed red pepper to the butter before adding the flour. The flavor was definitely there.

    I also let the broth/cream mixture simmer for 15 minutes before adding the shrimp to really let the flavors meld.

    Next time I make this I will slice the shrimp into smaller pieces to create a better texture. All in all it came out beautifully IMHO.-COLLAPSE

  • This is a good recipe but came out a bit bland for our tastes. Next time we'll have a teaspoon of cayenne.

    IMO Martha503 is spot on with her comments about shrimp/prawn cooking time.

    Shrimps, in Oz we call them prawns, are cooked the INSTANT they change colour whether being boiled, grilled or fried and if the temperature is right that means about two (2) minutes after that they become soft...+READ

    This is a good recipe but came out a bit bland for our tastes. Next time we'll have a teaspoon of cayenne.

    IMO Martha503 is spot on with her comments about shrimp/prawn cooking time.

    Shrimps, in Oz we call them prawns, are cooked the INSTANT they change colour whether being boiled, grilled or fried and if the temperature is right that means about two (2) minutes after that they become soft pap whatever the recipe.

    Don't believe me? Try cooking as per recipe above but keep a dozen pieces back and drop them into the soup about 30 seconds before taking it off the heat. Those pieces will be cooked from the residual heat and beautifully al dente by the time you serve the soup. Betcha!-COLLAPSE

  • I tried the shrimp bisque, wonderful. It has already become a must keep recipe. I'm serving it at a small dinner party this Friday. I will chop the shrimp finer than the bite sized pieces and salt lightly. Other than that, I'll follow the recipe word for word.

  • I'd highly recommend extending the time on creating the stock. The longer you can go, the more seafood flavor you can impart into it. If you are worried about too much evaporation, increase the cups of water by one or two and extend that time to 60-90 minutes.

    I made this with crab last night and substitured sherry instead of cognac. It came out beautifully, but I used six cups of water and...+READ

    I'd highly recommend extending the time on creating the stock. The longer you can go, the more seafood flavor you can impart into it. If you are worried about too much evaporation, increase the cups of water by one or two and extend that time to 60-90 minutes.

    I made this with crab last night and substitured sherry instead of cognac. It came out beautifully, but I used six cups of water and extended the cooking time to 60 minutes. I could have probably done 90. At thirty minutes, it's hard to impart a ton of flavor into a stock IMO.

    But all in all, a great blueprint for a tasty bisque.-COLLAPSE

  • Fabulous for the first really cold night in NYC this year! Was a great meal with a green salad and some crusty bread. I used half the shrimp, since was just cooking for two of us. But made the full amount of broth, starting with half the veggies et al and filling out with some fish bouillon. I also simmered the shrimp for basically only the time it took to set the table.

    Mex, I think cayenne...+READ

    Fabulous for the first really cold night in NYC this year! Was a great meal with a green salad and some crusty bread. I used half the shrimp, since was just cooking for two of us. But made the full amount of broth, starting with half the veggies et al and filling out with some fish bouillon. I also simmered the shrimp for basically only the time it took to set the table.

    Mex, I think cayenne is good because the powder dissolves so the flavor's uniform throughout. But I bet just a touch of habanero would also be excellent!-COLLAPSE

  • Isn't 8min boiling way too much for the shrimp pieces? Even 1/2 that could be too much. Just a thought.
    503Martha

  • suppose cayenne can be omitted in favor of fresh habanero or chile piquin?

  • I've made this 2 or 3 times already, always turns out beautifully, very flavorful, very rich. I used Marsala wine in place of the cognac and IMO it improved the recipe quite a bit; really adds a nice sweetness to it, which is nicely balanced with some chili flakes.

  • Haha I noticed the Martha Stewart comment. I forgot the name Landy but I definitely remember that bottle, she had some fun with that one :P

    Definitely trying this recipe by the way, guess I might as well try to find myself one of those crazy bottles of cognac to throw in there while I'm at it.

  • We enjoyed this recipe. I didn't have tomato paste. We still think it is missing something, and maybe the lack of tomato paste was the problem. Will try again as it was very good.

  • Tried this recipe last night and it was great and quick. I did not use shrimp with shells and the bisque still tasted great and had lots of flavor. Use high quality shrimp and a good cognac.

  • Looks great, will have to try it out as well. Maybe substitute Port wine for the cognac?

  • As soon as I'll prepare this Cognac Sherimp Bisque I'll give my comments
    I bet it is a very good recipie

  • I wonder if they put that Landy Cognac in there from the Martha Stewart Show with Snoop Dogg?