Slow Cooker Seafood Bisque

5 from 59 votes

Slow Cooker Seafood Bisque

This slow cooker seafood bisque combines lobster and crab with tomatoes, Old Bay and cream for a rich, silky soup packed with seafood flavor.

Prep Time15

Cook Time5 30

Total Time5 45

Course: Meals, Soup

Cuisine: French

Keyword: slow cooker

Servings:

Author: Bella Bucchiotti

Equipment

Ingredients

1 lobster whole, cooked
½ Pound crabmeat Alaskan king, chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Teaspoon sea salt
1 Teaspoon black pepper coarse
1 Cup celery chopped
1 red onion diced
32 Ounces vegetable stock
4 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 shallot minced
3 Cloves garlic minced
2 Cans diced tomatoes Italian style, 14-Ounce cans
1 Cup cherry tomatoes halved
2 lobster tails small
½ Tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
1 Teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 Teaspoon garlic powder
½ Teaspoon onion powder
1 Pint heavy cream
1 Tablespoon chives freshly chopped

Instructions

Use a meat mallet or a rolling pin to crush the shell of the cooked lobster and set shell aside. Remove lobster meat and place in the fridge with the crab meat for later.
Heat a deep skillet over medium high heat and add olive oil. Once hot add the lobster shell, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, then add diced celery and diced red onion.
Cook for 2 minutes, then lower heat to a simmer and add vegetable broth. Cook for 10 minutes. Pour broth into a bowl with a pour spout and discard the shells
In the same skillet, add butter and rice wine vinegar. Once melted, add minced garlic and shallot and cook for 1 minute. Add to the broth.
Cut the lobster tail right where the tail starts to fan out (about 2 inches from the end) and add that small section of the tail to the broth. Refrigerate the rest of the lobster tails for later use.
Pour broth into the slow cooker. Add canned tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, Old Bay seasoning, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and onion powder. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.
During the final 30 minutes of cooking time, add the lobster tails to the slow cooker and cook until the lobster meat is opaque and cooked through.
Take the meat from the whole lobster and crab out of the fridge and chop. Remove all of the shelled lobster tails from the soup. Take the meat out of the shells and chop. Discard the shells.
Combine lobster and crab meat in a medium mixing bowl and season with Old Bay seasoning.
Use an immersion blender to blend the soup mixture in the slow cooker. Stir in the heavy cream, chives, lobster, and crabmeat.
Serve hot, garnished with fresh chopped parsley, shaved parmesan and croutons.

Notes

Don't throw away the lobster shell: Simmering the shell with the vegetables and stock is one of the most important steps in this recipe. It builds a much deeper lobster flavor before the broth ever reaches the slow cooker.
Keep the cooked seafood cold: Refrigerate the lobster and crab while the broth slow cooks and add them only at the end. They're already cooked, so leaving them in the soup for hours would make them tough.
Blend before adding the cream: Get the tomato broth completely smooth first, then stir in the heavy cream and seafood. This gives you that silky bisque texture without blending up the pieces of lobster and crab.
Reheat gently: Once the cream and seafood are added, avoid boiling the bisque. Gentle heat keeps the cream smooth and the seafood tender.
Taste at the very end: Lobster, crab and Old Bay all bring saltiness to the soup, so I wait until everything is combined before deciding whether it needs more salt or seasoning.

Nutrition

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