Crawfish Bisque - The Local Palate

Ingredients

• 6 gallons water
• 5-8 pounds live crawfish
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 6 dried bay leaves
• 1 cup white wine
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 6 shallots, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• Reserved crawfish shells
• 2 quarts water
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 2 carrots, diced
• ½ cup cognac
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 quarts heavy cream
• Reserved crawfish meat