Seafood Bisque with Oysters

Homemade seafood bisque with oysters is rich, creamy and soothing, especially when served with crackers as an appetizer before an elegant meal. Impress your guests with this elegant but simple bisque.

When buying oysters for making homemade oyster bisque, you'll want to purchase live oysters. Oysters should be tightly closed and intact. Do not buy any oysters with cracked shells. Always scrub fresh oysters with a stiff brush under cold running water before cooking. It's best to buy oysters the day you plan to prepare them, but they can be kept on ice in the refrigerator for two days. The best live oysters are available in months that have the letter "r" in them-essentially autumn and winter months.

You can also buy prepackaged oysters. If you do so, make sure the liquid the oysters are packed in is clear. Oyster aficionados will tell you it's best to buy prepackaged oysters in the spring and summer when the fresh oysters are not as good.

Oyster Bisque Recipe

Ingredients You Will Need:
24 fresh oysters
½ cup water
½ cup sherry
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 ½ cups milk
1 cup cream
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Fresh parsley

Heat ½ cup water in a saucepan to boiling and add oysters. Cover pan and steam oysters until open, five to ten minutes. Discard any oysters that did not open. Place opened oysters in a platter and allow them to cool until you can handle them manually. Strain the broth through a cheesecloth and set aside. Cut the oyster meat from the shells and set aside also.

In a saucepan, heat the butter until melted. Whisk in flour, mixing until no lumps are found. Add milk, cream, sherry and oyster broth and cook over medium-low heat. Add in oyster meat, nutmeg, paprika, salt and pepper and heat until oysters are heated through. Sprinkle fresh parsley over the top of each cup of oyster bisque before serving.  Enjoy!