That time of year again

What makes something a "bisque"?

This isf't anything remotely like a "lobster bisque" or what most bisques in restaurants are like - and I have no idea what constitutes a true"bisque."
In this one, the stuffing in the heads is the star of the show. The base is simply tomato sauce/paste/ & water - and while it cooks, a good bit of stuffing falls out and really thickens the gravy and gives it the flavor. It's not as red as the recipe would make it sound.



When I have time I'll post everything in the next couple days.

I gave never seen this done with a red gravy.

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I have never seen this done with a red gravy.

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I was kinda shocked myself.
I have eaten this my whole life - my grandmother used to make it, then my mom, and then I became the official family bisque cooker a few years ago when my mom's arthritis got too bad. When I first got the recipe, I was really surprised that the base is nothing more than tomato sauce, tomato paste, and water. It has never tasted all that red to me, and I was expecting to have to make a roux. The color ends up more like my crawfish étouffée, which uses a medium roux and a touch of tomato paste. So much of the stuffing makes its way into the base that it really tempers down the tomato sauce and paste. It just doesn't taste as "red" as what you would think from the ingredients.

I've never seen anything like it.

Sidebar: Best crawfish bisque in NOLA?
I'm going Brigtsen's by a mile.

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Crawfish and red sauce ? Where you grew up ?

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This recipe has been in my NOLA family for easily over 75 years. By far my favorite dish. If you ask anyone in my extended family what they would want for their final meal, this would be it.

I do have the privilege of living in Slidell, but the recipe comes from my grandmother. And she spent her whole life in the heart of New Orleans.