- [Babish] This episode is sponsored by Cash App.
Cash App is the easiest way to send, spend, and save money.
Send or request cash from friends and family
when they owe you for groceries, holiday gifts,
or a round of drinks.
Cash App is available for anyone 13 or older.
Download it and use code BABISH to get $15 for free,
and $10 will be donated to No Kid Hungry.
- Oh, man. (audience laughing)
Oh, this is fantastic. (audience laughing)
How does he do it? (audience laughing)
- You know, I don't see how you can sit there eating that
and not even offer me any.
- I gave you a taste.
What do you want?
- Why can't we share?
- I told you not to say anything.
You can't go in there, brazenly flout the rules,
and then think I'm gonna share with you.
- Do you hear yourself?
- I'm sorry. (audience laughing)
This is what comes from living under a Nazi regime.
- [Babish] Hey, what's up, guys?
Welcome back to "Binging with Babish," where this week,
we're taking a look at the crab bisque from "Seinfeld."
Nothing specific is known about the bisque
except that it's so good that your knees buckle
under the weight of its greatness, so I'm just gonna set out
to make the best damn soup that I can.
First up, a simple seafood stock.
I'm starting by combining
roughly chopped carrots, celery, and onion,
a handful of shrimp, a handful of crab claws,
a whole head of garlic cut in half across the cloves,
and about a pound of chicken wings
to bring flavor and body to our stock.
I'm also gonna add one large parsnip, roughly chopped,
a big pinch of kosher salt, and several spirited squirts
of vegetable oil, because before we turn this into stock,
we're gonna roast everything in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven
for about 20 minutes for a deeper flavor.
Convection, in this case, is preferable
because it's gonna increase browning.
Just pull it once the corners of things start
to almost turn black.
Now I'm gonna add some boiling water to the pan
because we've got some beautiful fond at the bottom of it
and I'm keen for all that flavor to end up in my stock
and not in my sink.
So now that we got everything in a large stockpot,
we're gonna cover it with cold water,
to which we're gonna add a few more delicious things:
about a tablespoon of whole peppercorns,
a bunch of tarragon, a bunch of parsley,
a couple to throuple of bay leaves,
and last but not least, a generous pinch of saffron threads.
Then we're gonna partially cover
and simmer this guy for two to three hours,
yielding a rich, flavorful seafood stock
the color of honeyed sunshine.
Go ahead and set these aside or refrigerate,
because it's time to make our soup proper.
In a large, high-walled saute pan,
we're preheating one to two tablespoons
of vegetable oil over medium-high heat,
adding four finely chopped shallots
and one large carrot and celery stalk, roughly chopped.
Saute these together for about five minutes
or until well sweated.
Then we're adding about 1/2 pound of fresh lump crab meat,
sauteing together with the aromatics for about one minute
before adding two cloves of crushed garlic,
1/4 cup of tomato paste, and the zest of one large orange.
Now saute that together for one to two minutes
or until a thick, sticky fond starts to form
on the bottom of the pot so we get to participate
in the sacred ritual of deglazing,
in this case with about a cup of dry white wine,
making sure to scrape up all that good stuff
off the bottom of the pot.
We're also gonna add about a quart of our seafood stock,
along with a tablespoon of red miso paste
for an umami boost and about 1/4 cup of white rice.
This is gonna help thicken
and give body to the soup once blended.
A couple bay leaves, because this is seafood
and they are required, and a whole roasted red pepper
for flavor, body, and color.
Bring this guy to a simmer and hold it there
until the rice is cooked, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Then remove from the heat and get ready to blend.
First we're gonna take the opportunity
to rescue the two bay leaves
and adjust our soup's liquidity, adding more stock
if it looks like things are gonna be too thick.
Now in small, blender-bowl-appropriate batches,
I'm going to puree the soup for about two minutes
on high speed until it is a velvety concoction
that both feels and tastes absolutely creamy
despite containing no cream, this by virtue
of the little bit of white rice that we added earlier.
That being said, I'm trying to make this
as delicious as possible, so of course
I'm going to add some cream to it.
Back onto the stovetop it goes.
Also, why do they even put a spout on these things
if it's not gonna pour good?
Rant over. I'm sorry you guys had to see that.
I'm adding two tablespoons of heavy cream,
tiny whisking to combine and tasting for seasoning.
And now's the time that we bring our flavors home
with kosher salt and a little bit of ground white pepper
so as to not bespeckle our soup.
Keep tasting and adjusting
until it tastes outrageously perfect.
Pour a little bit directly onto your counter for good luck,
and the rest of the soup we wanna strain
through a fine-mesh sieve
to ensure a smooth end-user experience.
Pour this around a small mound of steamed lump crab meat,
and to make for an elegant presentation, we're gonna garnish
with a single sprig of dill,
some big ol' flakes of finishing salt,
a few twists of freshly ground black pepper
because it looks better on the surface of the soup,
a drizzle of heavy cream for a little added richness,
a drizzle of high-quality spicy olive oil,
and some scattered fresh tarragon.
And there you have it:
the most badass crab bisque I can muster.
The only question that remains is, how's it taste?
And I don't mean to pat myself on the back here,
but this is outrageously good.
It's got rich, layered flavors,
it's stupendously crabby and seafoody,
and most importantly, in order to eat it,
you gotta sit down.
Thanks again to Cash App for sponsoring today's episode.
Use Cash App to send, spend, and save your money.
You can invest in any stock or buy Bitcoin with just $1.
Cash App also comes with a customizable debit card
that will be laser printed and mailed to you.
When you download the app,
use code BABISH to get $15 for free,
and $10 will be donated to No Kid Hungry.
Cash App is available for anyone 13 or older.
Download it at the link in the video description.
(upbeat music)