Shrimp Bisque
You know, sometimes you just have to take time out to smell the roses or help a friend. That’s exactly what I did last Thursday when my friend, Kay, asked me to take a ride with her to Dulac to pick up some fresh shrimp from a boat docked behind Schmoopy’s, our favorite local restaurant. (She had won the shrimp at a charity auction.) It was a beautiful day for a drive, and when we arrived at the About Time, female shrimper, Caroline, gave Kay 15 pounds of beautiful shrimp to match the day. There were no roses anywhere in sight, sorry to say!
Kay then generously offered the shrimp to me, so we drove the back road from Dulac to Bayou Dularge in short time and dropped off the ice chest at my house. It truly was a gorgeous fall day for a drive.
On Friday, Termite and his gal, Coco, came down, and Termite did a fantastic job of boiling up those pretty shrimp, along with potatoes, mini-ears of corn, and a little smoked sausage. He used Louisiana brand liquid and powdered seasoning, and they turned out perfect. We ate until we were stuffed, but there were still several pounds of shrimp leftover.
What to do with those leftover boiled shrimp? Develop a nice bisque using ALL the leftover ingredients. And that’s exactly what I did yesterday, (day after the 5 Bayous Fishing Rodeo). The weather here is cool for us, early-morning temps of 55, so what warms the bones better than a homemade bisque?
The great thing about this recipe is that you don’t need all the ingredients leftover from a shrimp boil to make it delicious, simply because the sauce is already so good! You can use shrimp alone, or any combination of potatoes, sausage, or corn depending on what you have leftover. OR, if you boiled crabs, substitute crab meat for shrimp, and voila! You’ve got a hardy crab bisque.
Certainly you could serve this dish with crackers or fresh, buttered French bread (for dipping), but I made croutons in the oven, and we put them on top of our bisque, and they added a nice crunch without taking away from the smooth texture and nice spice of the bisque.
This is definitely a keeper and is now added to the Bayou Woman Recipe box!
Here’s the recipe for y’all.
Shrimp and Corn Bisque
Delicious bisque made with leftover boiled shrimp, corn, potatoes, and sausage.
- 1 stick butter
- 2 stalks celery (sliced/chopped thin)
- 1/4 Cup green onions (sliced thin)
- 2/3 Cup flour
- 4 Cups half and half
- 4 Cups shrimp stock (seafood stock, or chicken broth if others not available)
- 4 mini ears of corn (scrape kernels off of cob)
- 2 in short lengths of smoked sausage leftover from boil (quartered, and cut small pieces)
- 4 Cups boiled shrimp (if large, cut in halves or thirds, peeled and de-veined)
- 4 in halves of potato from boil (cubed small cubes)
- 1 tsp salt (but taste before adding salt)
- Fresh ground black pepper to taste
Garnish
- Top with fresh homemade croutons
For the bisque
- Melt butter in heavy dutch oven type pot
- Saute` celery and green onions on low until limp and clear
- Stir in flour, gradually
- Add half and half one cup at a time, stirring until smooth
- Simmer for 5 minutes
- Add stock, stir, and simmer for 5 minutes
- Add corn and sausage, simmer 5 minutes
- Add shrimp and simmer 5 minutes. Stir often so bottom does not stick or scorch
- Add potatoes and simmer 5-10 minutes. You’re just heating the potatoes through, since they are already cooked, and you don’t want them to fall apart.
- Taste for salt and pepper, add as needed.
Croutons
- Cube French bread (or whole wheat or white bread) into small cubes, place on sprayed baking sheet, bake at 350 for 15 minutes, turn, bake another 15 minutes. Should be nice and crunchy.
- Place approximately 6 cubes on top of bisque in individual soup bowls.
This can be made with shrimp only and is still delicious without the corn, sausage, and potatoes. It will be more like a soup at that point and not as hardy as a stew like this recipe.
For those of us who like more photos, here’s a little progression of the recipe.
Everyone loved it, and when Kay sees this post (or I tell her about the dish), she’s going to be upset with me that there was none left to share with her. Oh well, maybe next time!
Stay warm, my friends,
BW
This is one of those meals that I really miss! I was drooling just from looking at the pictures!
The proof that it was a winner was at that bottom of the empty Magnalite pot, Kim!!!
I had a shrimp boil this weekend with leftover shrimp I just made your recipe and it was top notch. This is gourmet restaurant quality. One of the best seafood soups or bisques I’ve had. Really enjoyed it made a homemade seafood stock with the shrimp peeled some carrots onion and garlic and it was a great addition to the bisque. Thank you so much!
Hi Derek, and welcome to the bayou. Fantastic!!! Sounds like you added just the right touch to make this gourmet quality, and thanks so much for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it! BW
My son loves shrimp bisque. I have never made it but, this recipe sounds so easy.
It’s a little time consuming if you de-vein the shrimp, and with smaller ones, it’s not necessary; but these were kind of big! You should try it, and he will be pleasantly pleased . . . maybe a birthday dinner?
I just can’t believe you had left over shrimp. Lol
Recipe sounds great…and very rich.
My cousin said the same thing, but my goodness, 15 pounds of shrimp with potatoes, corn, sausage, crackers, and dip is a LOT of shrimp for 3 people!!!! I bet you can’t eat five pounds with all the fixins!!!
I’d pass on the fixings.
We might not be able to eat that much but, I would certainly love to try! 🙂
Cut the recipe in half and serve as an appetizer!
Oh, my. This looks just wonderful, but it’s not something I’d ever try for myself. That butter, half-and-half, and calorie count is attention-getting. But, I’ve copied the recipe and tucked it away. Maybe I need to throw a little dinner party, and impress the heck out of everyone!
I know the calorie count, etc, is a little off putting for health reason . . . but serving a little cupful as an appetizer would be a great compromise!
That looks as good as anything you’d find in an upscale eatery!
I’ll have to copy this off for my relatives, who LOVE shrimp.
Thank you for that “high” compliment! It’s very attractive and every bit as tasty!
You wrote “What to do with those leftover boiled shrimp”…
Did you consider sharing with those of us who might be cooking impaired? Those of us living on a fixed income? Those of us so destitute we’re forced to go to KFC to lick other people’s fingers?
Wonderful story and a great recipe..
Oh, George, you made me laugh with your woe of being forced to go to KFB to lick other people’s fingers!!! And please note: those gorgeous shrimp were given to us!! So, yeah, I get where you’re coming from! But surely we wouldn’t want those shrimp to go to waste now, would we? It is indeed a great recipe and one that makes me wonder why I didn’t develop it a long time ago. Oh wait, I know why. We don’t often boil shrimp, and when we do, they’re are seldom any leftover!!! Thanks, George!
I just made this recipe last night. Big hit and a great way to use our shrimp boil leftovers. Thank you!
Fantastic, Lauren, and thank you so much for letting us know it was a hit!!! BW
Making for church supper. Just printed recipe. Cannot wait to get this made. No doubt, this will be a hit!
Well, Cathy, how’d it turn out? Was it a hit? I certainly hope so, and thanks for writing to let us know! BW
This was wonderful! We love shrimp boils and my husband always makes too much but tonight he said, “I need to always be sure we have leftover shrimp so you can make this!”. I added a couple of shakes of tabasco. Also, we use shell-on, deveined shrimp so prep wasn’t too long. LOVED it!!!
Welcome, Lesia, and thank you so very much for these positive words about the bisque recipe. Always does my bayou heart good to know that other folks are using these tried and true recipes to prepare great bayou food for their families! Well done! And tell hubby I like the way he thinks! More is always better! Come back anytime! BW
I grew up on a boat in the Chesapeake Bay
This recipe took me back home
Absolutely amazing
Thank you for sharing
Hi Heather and welcome! This makes me smile! So glad you enjoyed it and that it took you back home! BW
My dad owned a 26ft Jefferson Lafitte shrimp boat (The Half Moon) and my mother made this the day after our annual first day of shrimp season boils. They’re no longer with us and I didn’t realize how much I missed this until I made it. Thank You very much!
Hi Blake and welcome to this bayou! I shrimped in an old Lafitte skiff back in the early 80s with my Houma Indian father-in-law, so I have fond memories of these boats! Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe and that it brought back good memories for you of both your mom and dad!!! Come back anytime! BW
Wowzers! This was the perfect recipe for my seafood boil (crab & shrimp) leftovers! My hubs made his famous garlic bread which was perfect for dipping.
2 thumbs up from each kid and 5/5 ‘this was so delicious, I would pay $$ for it’ from my husband.
I completely regret eating gelato this afternoon because it took up room in my belly!!
We
Yay! Carrie! Thanks so much for letting me know that you and your family enjoyed your shrimp bisque! BW
Great recipe for leftover low country boils! Thank you!
Hi Dan and welcome to the bayou! So glad to know this works with low country boil leftovers as well! Thanks so much for stopping by to let us know! BW