- [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)
