Crayfish Soup

a Lake Tahoe version of the classic French Lobster bisque

creatively adapted by Maud Hallin

serves 12 at least

150 small live Lake Tahoe crayfish (or 5 pounds of commercial creatures)

8 ounces of butter (although Julia Child says "double that amount")

3/4 cup cognac or Armagnac

3 celery stalks, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

1 large yellow onion, chopped

a handful of parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon Hungarian or Spanish paprika

a couple of sprigs of thyme

2 or 3 bay leaves

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons arrowroot or com starch

water to cover the stock, plus one inch of water above

1 quart heavy cream

prize for crayfish floor race

Rinse live creatures under running water in sink. Let every kitchen participant select one crayfish. Mark back. Arrange on floor for race. Winner gets prize and will be allowed to separate shells from tail meat. To grab crayfish or lobster, lift them up, pinching the two sides of the shield in front of the tail. The claws can't reach you there. After race ...

Gracefully drop crayfish into a large pot of boiling water. Cook at a slow boil, until they float to the surface. Remove each, one by one, and let cool. Separate tails from body. Peel tails and reserve tail meat. Mash shells and claws with hammer, back of knife or rolling pin. Metal meat whacker works very nicely.

Melt butter in a large stock pot and throw in all of the crayfish material but the reserved tail meat. Stir the crushed shells and bodies into the melted butter until thoroughly heated. Heat some cognac in a soup spoon, ignite and pour the cognac over the shells. Repeat to use all the cognac. Make sure it burns on the shells. Stir around. Add the celery, carrots, onion, parsley, paprika, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper to the stock pot. Pour in the water and simmer. Preferably leave on a low burner overnight under a tight lid, but cook a
minimum of 4 hours.

Strain broth. I found that there was so much flavor attached to the shells that I poured fresh water over the shells, stirred around, put the pot and shells back on the burner for 2 hours, and got more broth of a secondary nature. If this second batch is "wimpy" reduce the stock quantity by boiling.

Blend arrowroot or com starch with some of the stock and stir into the broth to thicken it and to make the "red butter" blend. Just before serving, add cream, heat and let simmer while you taste for salt, pepper, paprika, etc.

Also before serving separately heat up the tails in a bit of broth. Divide the tails amongst the individual soup plates and pour the soup over them. When you decorate, keep in mind that this dish is pinkish. You may want to dangle a tail and some decor on the edge of the plate. Or serve the soup in cosmo or martini
glasses as Mary and Dick do.

If you buy crayfish, get the big ones, and of course preferably female - those with the broad bottoms, as they have the roe. Yes, Wells, I knew you would catch on. If you buy lobster, two smaller ones will give you more shell.

One delicate operation, I believe, is needed. That is to remove the bitter, blackish material that sits around the It brain" section of the crustacean. A small bone structure, which can be lifted out, holds the material in place. For the tiny Lake Tahoe crayfish, we ignored it, but if you use two lobsters, it becomes important.

We have enjoyed making this at Mary and Dick Lonergan's. It is most helpful to have a group of friends help with the shelling of the tails. I also want to thank Charlie Hallin of Stockholm and Thomas Hansen of Copenhagen for assisting in the fishing expeditions.