I went with the lobster, this is the way I make it, and it's the best you will ever have, I go to cape cod every year and just got back from a seafood fest in NH and other peoples soup can't even come close.....
Dice- 2 onions, 5 carrots, and 4 stalks of celery put in bowl and mix in 3tb of sugar
In a large stock pot heat 3tb butter and 3tb olive oil, add 1tb of whole white peppercorns
Add 2/3rds of the veggie mix cook 5-10 minutes
Add 3 sprigs fresh thyme, 5 bay leaves, 1tsp crushed chili flake, 4 cloves minced garlic, the zest of 1 lemon, and 3oz of tomato paste
Get 2 chicken lobsters (3lbs?) and cut them in half making sure to reserve all the
juice
Remove tail and claws and set aside (make sure you remove the intestine from the tail and use the dull end of your knife to whack a notch into the claw)
Clean the liver from the body (green stuff) and remove the head sack (a fleshy bag next to the eyes) chop up the body and legs and add the shells, body parts, and all the extracted
juice to the stock pot (we will cook the tail and claws separately)
Cook 10-15 minutes
Take pot off of stove and add ¼ cup of bourbon and ignite the mixture with a grill lighter
After the flame dies put back on stove and add 3tb of flour (1tb at a time and stir constantly)
Cook 5 minutes
Add a 14oz can of low sodium stock (veg or chicken) make sure to scrape anything that is stuck to the bottom of the pan
Add 1qt of heavy cream (room temp) stir well
Bring to a boil, and then drop heat to low and simmer 30minutes (every 10 minutes skim the scum off the top)
Strain soup into large bowl, rinse out stock pot, and strain mixture a second time back into stock pot
Taste mixture to determine if it needs any seasoning start with salt, then sugar, then black pepper (it will get a kick of acid in step 2 which will make the dish come together)
Add 3 pats of butter and let sit for 45 minutes
Set oven to 400*, in a oven proof skillet heat 2tb oil and tb of butter add 1tsp of whole black pepper corns
Add the remaining onions and carrots to the pan cook 5 minutes
Add 2 sprigs of thyme, 3 bay leaves, and 2 cloves of minced garlic
Cook 5 minutes
Add lobster claws and tails, toss add the
juice of 1 lemon and about ¼ of white wine
Toss and put in the oven for 15 minutes
Remove lobster meat and set aside
Put stock pot back on burner on low heat, using a fine mesh strainer add the lemon juice and wine from the pan, whisk mixture in pot, add 1tb chopped flat leaf parsley
Remove meat from tails and claws, roughly chop (reserving any juice) and add juice and meat to stock pot, give it a light stir and cook for 5-10 minutes
Serve! (optional to add a few dashes of hot sauce on top when serving)
Compound butter crouton
Soften 4tb of butter, add 1tsp of chopped parsley, a pinch of dried oregano, and 3 cloves of finely chopped garlic, mix and refrigerate for at least an hour
Take some crusty bread, drizzle with olive oil, smear with compound butter and fresh cracked pepper, and freshly grated Parmigianino cheese, throw under broiler till its golden brown, and serve on the side with the lobster bisque
. I'm so glad winter is almost here and I can start making my big pots of stew and chili that feed the family for days.
