Snow Crab Bisque

Crab bisque is a classic and luxurious recipe that is quite easy to make. Snow crab is the perfect crab choice because it has a softer shell, making it easier to crack and remove large pieces of meat. A rich homemade stock helps infuse the flavor throughout the dish and maximizes every bit of crab. Serve the bisque with some fresh crusty bread for dipping and a side salad for a light lunch or dinner meal.

Recipe Variations

Snow crab is called for in the recipe, though other types of crab such as Dungeness would work as well.

If you prefer to cook without alcohol, the white wine can be left out of the stock and replaced with an additional cup of stock in the bisque.

Equipment

What you Need

How to Make the Dish

Shell the crab. Break apart the crab legs at the knuckles and use a shellfish cracker to crack the legs. A clean pair of sharp kitchen shears can also be used to cut the soft side of the larger leg pieces. Pry open the shell and remove the meat. A shellfish fork or small cocktail fork can help remove the meat. Be careful as the edges of the shell can be sharp! Store the crab meat in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

Make the stock. In a large stockpot, sauté the vegetables and crab shells in the butter. Add the white wine, tomato paste, salt, and enough water to cover the shells and simmer into a rich stock. Strain into jars and discard the shells and vegetables.

Build the bisque. Heat the butter in a saucepot and sauté the vegetables and seasonings. Stir in the garlic and flour before deglazing with the wine and adding the tomato paste and prepared crab stock. Pureé the bisque and stir in the cream and crab meat before serving.

Additional Tips:

Any extra stock can be frozen in ice cube trays or mason jars and used in another soup recipe or as the cooking liquid for rice pilaf to add additional flavor.

It works well to shell the crab and make the stock the day before you would like to serve the bisque. If you are going to wait longer than a day in between the steps, it is best to freeze the crab meat and stock separately to maintain freshness.

When shelling the crab, the meat can be divided into small bits to stir into the bisque, and larger pieces to use as the garnish.

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AUTHOR PROFILE

Marisa Kerkvliet of Lemon Thyme Kitchen is a freelance recipe developer and food photographer with a Master’s degree in Nutrition. She was raised on her family’s farm in Northwest Washington and her appreciation for good food developed at a very early age. She is passionate about creating recipes and beautiful imagery that highlight high-quality seasonal ingredients. Marisa loves all types of seafood, but her favorites are salmon and scallops!