Cooking Has Anyone Tried the Creamy Lobster Soup recipe from Coral Reef?

[Piglet843]

The few reviews I can find on this recipe say that the roux is in the oven too long, or they couldn't find lobster stock, etc...

I was wondering if anyone had managed to make this recipe turn out good for them. DH and I are craving it and I bought some lobster this weekend in hopes of trying this recipe out.

Here's the original recipe with my questions/concerns in red:

Creamy Lobster Soup

Yield: 4 servings

4 cups milk wouldn't cream or half and half be even better?
1/2 cup butter
1 TB paprika
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups lobster stock what about just a seafood stock?
1/4 cup sherry could i substitute a nice white wine?
1/4 cup lobster or chicken base
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 cup lobster meat (diced) is the meat already cooked at this point?
1 TB brandy
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 pinch chervil or parsley (dried) what the heck is chervil?

1. In a medium pot, bring milk to a slight simmer; do not allow to boil.
2. In small saute pan, melt butter and then add paprika, and flour and mix well.
3. Bake roux mixture in a 350 degree oven for approximately one hour. This obviously isn't right - I'm thinking just leave it on the stove until it reaches the right color / consistancy
4. Heat lobster stock and sherry, then add base, cayenne pepper, to the lobster stock mixture.
5. Then add the heated milk to this mixture.
6. Add roux.
7. Mix until well incorporated and thickened.
8. Let simmer for approximately 45 minutes to one hour to cook out the roux.
9. To finish the soup, flame lobster meat in brandy, add heavy cream and allow it to simmer.
10. Add mixture to soup and whisk in.
11. Finish with fresh chervil or parsley.
12. Dry herbs may be used, but add sooner.


TIA! I hope someone can help.

 

[Tatania]

I made this recipe for New Year's Day dinner (and made suggestions about the roux), and just wanted add that I have not heard back from the Coral Reef regarding the lobster stock recipe.

I used a basic lobster stock recipe that I found at Epicurious though there is also a recipe for Lobster Bisque from the Coral Reef restaurant (including the stock) in the 1992 Cooking with Mickey Volume II book.

Regarding your questions:

4 cups milk wouldn't cream or half and half be even better? - I think this would have been unbearably rich. There is half a cup of butter in the roux and any more fat content in the Bisque would have been too much, IMO.

1 1/2 cups lobster stock what about just a seafood stock? - there would be a difference in taste, but seafood stock would work as well. In the 1992 version of the recipe 6 cups of fish stock is used to make the lobster stock.

1/4 cup sherry could i substitute a nice white wine? - one can do anything with the recipe, but both Coral Reef recipes use sherry.

1/4 cup lobster meat (diced) is the meat already cooked at this point? -I used cooked lobster meat because I couldn't bear to take home a live lobster and kill it. The 1992 recipe uses precooked lobsters as well. What I found, was that the meat in the claws was wonderfully tender and delicious in the soup. I also added some of the meat from the body, and this was very chewy. I would dice this a lot smaller than next time around.

1 pinch chervil or parsley (dried) what the heck is chervil? - I used fresh parsley as a garnish. Chervil is just another green herb and parsley works fine.

3. Bake roux mixture in a 350 degree oven for approximately one hour. This obviously isn't right - I'm thinking just leave it on the stove until it reaches the right color / consistancy
Strangely enough, in other online recipes for baked roux, it seems to be baked for a long time in the oven. However, I found an hour left the mixture much too dark and with a burnt taste. Even 40 minutes was too dark, in my opinion, and was too overpowering a taste for the Bisque. The 1992 recipe doesn't use a roux but does use 1 cup heavy cream. If I made this recipe again, I'd bake the roux just until it starts to turn brown.

 

[Tatania]

Just got this from the Coral Reef. The Chef reworked the recipe so the roux doesn't need baking and the stock recipe is there too.

Creamy Lobster Soup
Coral Reef Restaurant, Living Seas, Epcot
Yield: 4 servings

4 cups milk
1/2 cup butter (4 ounces)
1 TB paprika
1/2 cup flour (4 ounces)
1 1/2 cups lobster stock
1/4 cup sherry
1/4 cup lobster or chicken base
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 cup lobster meat (diced)
1 TB brandy
1/2 cup heavy cream (3 ounces)
1 pinch chervil or parsley (fresh or dried)

In medium pot bring milk to a slight simmer, do not allow to boil. In small sauté pan, melt butter and then add paprika, and flour and mix well. Heat lobster stock and sherry, then add lobster base, cayenne pepper to the lobster stock mixture. Then add the heated milk to this mixture.
Make a roux mixture using flour and water. Add roux. Mix until well incorporated and thickened.
Let simmer for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour to cook out the roux. To finish the soup, flame lobster meat in brandy, add heavy cream and allow it to simmer. Add mixture to soup and whisk in. Finish with fresh chervil or parsley. Dry herbs may be used, but add sooner.

Lobster Stock
2 lobster shells
1 large carrot, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
5 minced garlic cloves
1 chopped celery rib, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 thyme spring
1 bay leave
16 cups water

Wash and chop all vegetables. In a large soup pot, put lobster shells, add carrots, onion, garlic, celery, tomato paste, thyme, bay leave and water. Add water and bring to a low simmer for 6 hours. Remove and strain mixture.