Jackson Jambalaya

My First ever recipe done by request!

The great and benevolent King of all Fishes has been very good to me. By my count, since March 3^rd, 2023, I have posted 84 recipes on his web blog (Jackson Jambalaya). 

Anyhow, a few weeks back, Mr. Fish sent a coded email to

 (ZerobearIntergalacticEnterprises@JoesBar.Com). 

What word did he send?

“Bisque”

World war II could have been ended right away if Germany had used this format in their coded submarine messages, because I figured it out right away.

Well, I can take a threat as well as the next bear, so I looked at my extensive photo album and found the last time I cooked a bisque. The photos I took of my effort were terrible, so I decided to make the dish as soon as I had a chance and get better photos to show you guys before posting my bisque recipe. This dish is one neither granny nor mom aver made. I'm not sure why, because it is really tasty. 

One or two caveats. It uses shrimp and you might rather have crab, another is it uses tomato paste, which some folks don't like, and last of all it uses Sherry. Oh, it also has corn, which you can leave out if that offends you. Second Oh, sometimes I use the plunge blender to make the bisque smooth and sometimes I don't. This one is a non-plunge blended “chunky” version.

My wife had me send Mr. Fish a thank you email after I cooked this one and wanted me to send a second when we had the leftovers the next day, when they were better than the first day's meal.

Here is how I make Shrimp Bisque:

Ingredients:

2 ears corn, roasted, with corn trimmed away and cob retained for use in stock
3 teaspoons Butter, for roasting corn
1/3 cup yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup green bell peppers, diced
1/4 cup celery, diced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons butter, for sautéing vegetables
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground thyme
4 cups Shrimp and Corn Stock
1/4 cup white wine
3 tablespoons Sherry
1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1 teaspoon LA Gold Hot Sauce
1 1/2 cups roasted corn kernels, cut from 2 roasted corn ears
2 Tablespoons butter (for roux)
2 Tablespoons flour (for roux)
3 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons Creole Seasoning, for seasoning shrimp
1 pound Shrimp, peeled

Shrimp Stock

Shells from 1 pound of shrimp
2 teaspoons shrimp bouillon powder
1/2 stalk celery, trimmed and left whole
1/2 onion, cut in half
1/2 teaspoon fresh garlic, diced
1/2 teaspoon ground bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups water

Directions:

Roast 2 ears of corn, wrapped in foil with a teaspoon of butter per ear, at 400 degrees f for 40 minutes. Remove corn from cob with a sharp knife and set aside. Retain cobs for use in making shrimp stock.

Peel shrimp and set shells aside for use in stock.

Season peeled shrimp with creole seasoning and set aside.

Make stock by simmering 2 corn cobs and shrimp peels in water. Add Shrimp bouillon powder as desired for additional flavor. I used three teaspoons. Simmer for 20 minutes, then strain away solids.

In an 8-quart saucepan, sweat the onion, bell pepper, and celery in butter over medium heat until soft. Add garlic, basil, and black pepper. Stir well, making sure that spices are incorporated.

Add shrimp stock, wine, sherry, Worcestershire, Thyme and Cayenne. Cook at a low boil for 20 minutes. Add tomato paste. 

While stock is boiling, make a light peanut butter–colored roux with the butter and flour.

Add the roux to the hot stock and stir thoroughly. Add heavy cream, Cajun seasoning, hot sauce, corn and cook on medium to medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes. 

Gently stir in shrimp turn off heat, add a lid, and continue until shrimp turn pink.

Serve hot and garnish with buttered, oven toasted crusty bread.

Good with buttered crusty bread bits mixed in.

Leftovers taste even better the next day.

Thanks for looking at my post.
God Bess you.