Celebrate the subtle summer flavors with this smooth and creamy sweet corn lobster bisque. It’s extremely easy to make but shockingly elegant. If you are a lobster lover, this recipe is for you.
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Did you know that right about the time that the lobsters get good off the coast of Maine is the exact same time that the local sweet corn is ready to be harvested? If that’s not a coincidence, we don’t know what is. Summer’s bounty truly comes around and is ready to be celebrated without much work.
What is Lobster Bisque?
To start, bisque is a smooth and creamy seasoned soup originating from French descent. It’s traditionally based on the strained broth of crustaceans and can be made from lobster, langoustine, crab, crayfish, or shrimp. It’s an incredibly popular seafood soup that has transformed incredibly over the years.
Classic lobster bisque is a creamy soup recipe made with a crustacean broth. The soup uses butter to make it velvety luscious. It captures the essence of the broth and transports it across your taste buds.
Ingredients for Traditional Lobster Bisque
For the Bisque
- Sweet corn – the corn adds delicious flavor and texture to this traditional dish
- Butter – we use unsalted butter when cooking
- Vegetables – A combination of minced shallots, diced onions and carrots, and russet potatoes add incredible flavor and heartiness to this dish
- Seafood stock – because chicken stock wouldn’t taste quite right
- White wine – use a dry white wine you would enjoy drinking later
- Lobsters – It isn’t lobster bisque without the lobster. See our notes below for choosing the best lobster to cook with.
- Heavy Cream – a bisque is best with some thickness, and the cream adds that element.
- Seasonings – Use Old Bay, salt, paprika, and black pepper to give this bisque the kick it needs
For the Sweet Corn Topping
- Bacon
- Poblano pepper
- Corn kernals from cobs
- Old Bay – a signature East Coast seafood spice blend
- Cheddar Cheese
How to Make Lobster Bisque
Make the creamy lobster bisque
- Start by heating a large dutch oven over medium heat and melt your butter inside.
- Saute the minced shallot, onion, and carrot until they are tender. This takes about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Next, add the potato and 1 cup of corn kernels.
- Add the seafood stock and wine and stir it up.
- Then, gently add your corn cobs and lobster shells.
- Bring the pot to a boil.
- Once it is boiling, reduce the pot to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Once it is cooled, remove the lobster shells and corn cobs.
- Use an immersion blender or large food processor to blend up the soup until it is completely smooth.
- Return the mixture to low heat and stir in your heavy cream, Old Bay, salt, paprika, and black pepper.
- Simmer for 20 minutes.
Prep Your Corn Topping
- Cook the bacon in a medium skillet until it is crispy. Move the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to cool.
- In the same skillet, blister the poblano pepper. You’ll know it’s done when the sides are bubbly and brown. This takes 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Stir in the remaining corn kernels and cook. Stir occasionally and add in your Old Bay seasoning.
- Once cool, remove the seeds and skin from the poblano and dice it up.
- Chop the cooked bacon.
- Add the poblano and bacon back to the skillet with the corn and mix everything up.
Serve the soup
- Warm the bisque over medium-low heat.
- Ladle the bisque into a bowl and top with chunks of reserved fresh lobster meat, corn mixture, and as much cheese as your heart desires.
- Season with salt and garnish with chives or parsley if you wish.
EXPERT LOBSTER BISQUE RECIPE TIPS
Make the soup base a day ahead
- To save time on the day of, make the base of the soup the day before. This will allow the velvety lobster bisque to cool; all you have to do is reheat it and add the toppings. The extra time also intensifies the flavors and this soup becomes even more indulgent.
What to Serve with Homemade Lobster Bisque
Lobster bisque is meant for special occasions and pairs nicely with so many dishes. It’s great as a main dish or served as a side with salmon burgers. Great sides include coleslaw, tomato and cucumber salads, and sourdough bread. You might also try a delicious Blackened Swordfish Sandwich or Stuffed and Grilled Rainbow Trout.
Leftovers and Reheating
Store your leftover lobster bisque soup in an airtight container. Store the toppings separately. When you go to reheat the dish, heat everything up as needed and then assemble it. The easiest way to reheat it is on the stovetop on medium high heat.
Lobster bisque keeps in the fridge for about 3 to 4 days, but is best served fresh. Seafood always does better on the first day served. You’ll get more of the savory flavors the first time rather than reheating.
Recipe FAQs
The main difference between lobster bisque and lobster chowder is the texture. Bisque is very smooth and creamy, while chowder is chunky. Lobster soup in either form has a cream base and is a delicious seafood recipe.
Lobster season is June through December, but after quizzing some locals before char-grill lobster, a secret arose. They love Maine lobster in August and September. That’s when, apparently, it’s best. Bonus, when you are in Maine, that sweet meat is cheaper because it’s not traveling as far.
Sweet corn is ready to be harvested once its leaves darken and the silks at the top brown, and with Maine’s long winters, that also happens to be right at the end of July through early August. And you can also pick that up locally while traveling through the state.
So while exploring the Flood Brother’s Farm and bringing home some of their famous corn, this recipe came to life. An ode to the soft flavors of both summer sweet corn and Maine’s fresh lobster bounty. (True story, it’s diary season all year long, so yay for cheese when corn and lobster are hard to find).
If you are getting live lobster, there are a few good tips to go by.
First, find the one that is moving around the most. Forget the ones that don’t move. You don’t want a sickly lobster. You want that one that has a lot of fight left. Generally, that one will be walking over all the others in the tank.
If they seem heavy for their size, then that is good. No muscle deterioration.
When picked up, the tail should curl, and they should be trying to pick a fight. If you want to give them a fighting chance just to feel better about what awaits, then take the bands off the claws. Be careful, though. They can easily break a finger. On second thought, be glad you are on top of the food chain.
From the bisque-making standpoint, female lobsters are best. They have more flavor, and the roe (egg sacks) will deepen the flavor of the broth immensely.
You can use the males, too, of course, but the females have a more pleasant flavor and tend to have more meat.
Overall, this is a dish that looks fancy but can be whipped up in under an hour if you have all the ingredients on hand.
More amazing lobster recipes
The best part about this easy recipe is the rich lobster flavor. It’s a seafood dish that everyone will agree has an amazing taste and texture. You’ll love the big chunks of lobster and small kernels of corn mixed into the creamy soup. Enjoy!
If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to rate the recipe card and drop a comment below with feedback to helpout the next guy.
Homemade Lobster Bisque
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
For the Bisque
- 6 ears sweet corn kernels removed and reserved
- 8 tbsp butter
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 carrot diced
- 1 Russet potato peeled and diced into ½ cubes
- 4 cups seafood stock
- 2 cup White wine
- 4 lobsters steamed, tail meat removed and reserved
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp Old Bay
- 1 teas salt
- 1 teas Smoked Paprika
- ½ teas black pepper
For the Sweet Corn Topping
- 2 strips bacon
- 1 poblano
- Reserved corn from kernels
- ¼ teas Old Bay
- ½ cup Cabot Sharp Cheddar Cheese shredded
Instructions
- Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Melt the butter.
- Saute the minced shallot onion and carrot until tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the potato, and 1 cup of the reserved corn kernels.
- Pour in the seafood stock and wine. Stir to combine.
- Gently add in the corn cobs and lobster shells.
- Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and allow to cook for 30 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- When safe to handle, remove corn cobs and lobster shells.
- With an immersion blender, blend the soup until completely smooth.
- Return to low heat and stir in the heavy cream, Old Bay, salt, paprika and black pepper.
- Allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a medium skillet until crispy. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to cool.
- In the same skillet, blister the poblano, until skin is bubbling and brown on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Stir in the remaining reserved corn kernels and cook, stirring frequently. Stir in the Old Bay seasoning.
- When cool, remove the skin and seeds from poblano and dice.
- Chop the cooked bacon.
- Transfer the diced poblano and bacon bacon back to the skillet with the corn and combine.
To Serve:
- Warm the bisque over medium-low heat.
- Ladle the bisque into bowls and top with chunks of reserved lobster meat, the corn mixture, and a sprinkle of Cabot Sharp Cheddar Cheese.
- ˇSeason with salt and garnish with freshly minced chives or parsley
Notes
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