Kiss me honey and I'll turn into a frog - I promise!
So I made lobster rolls for last night’s Sunday dinner – perfect, cool food for a hot summer evening outdoors – and, rather than discard the shells, I broke them into small pieces, cooked them in a little oil for ten minutes with some onions, celery and what not and simmered them for two hours in the left-over lobster water. According to the recipe I pulled from the Internet, the next step was to grind the whole thing up, sieve it and voila! Lobster soup.
Hmm. I have just a small food processor, adequate for most of my needs, but when it attacked even the small amount of shells and liquid I tossed in it bucked like a bronco and spat liquid out past its “sealed” lid. So much for that, and my would-be soup is now over the sea wall, awaiting recycling by our local crab population.
Any of you ever try this and if so, any ideas on grinding those pesky shells? I really don’t care to invest in a heavy duty processor – the point of the exercise was to put to use otherwise-worthless lobster discards and spending $200 (?) on a Cuisinart would seem to defeat that purpose. I do have a meat grinder for converting Bambi and Charlotte into sausage, and that might work, but I’m open to and would be grateful for other ideas. Thanks.
For What It's Worth 
skip grinding the shells. Try a food mill if you have one, to get a good amount of the liquid, but after boiling for 2 hrs, the shells do not bring much more to the table.
CF, I cant help you with your blender issues, but wanted to share a great lobster roll recipe with you. The recipe’s greatness lies in the fact that it eliminates the threatening combo of fish/mayonnaise/summer sun. enjoy!
http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2009/07/lobster-rolls-with-lemon-vinaigrette-and-garlic-butter
Lobster broth: Mix 3 tbs flour with 3 tbs melted butter and 1 tsp tomato paste. cook briefly and incorporate 1 1/2 cups white wine and 4 cups chicken broth. Whisk til slightly thickened. Add 2 lobster carcasses, a sliced onion, a sliced carrot and 1 bay leaf, parsley and some celery tops. Simmer 45 minutes, partially covered.. Strain through a fine sieve extracting all the broth. Discard solids. Use as abasis for lobster bisque. Bon Ton used to give you free carcasses; probably not any more.
I like the Connecticut-style lobster roll: just lobster and butter. No mayo or any other distracting flavors.
No offense, but this sounds like a dumb idea to start with…
CF, dear CF, you use the shells for stock not for soup itself. Have you ever heard of Eric Ripert of Le Bernadin – the finest seafood chef in the world – serving pureed lobster shells? I think not…
Strain through a Chinoise!
I refuse to exploit the Chinese!
Dude –
Put the shells on a hard surface, then pound them with your forehead.
Hope this helps.
Your Pal,
Walt