How To Cook Lobster Tails
Today’s blog post is going to be focused on how to cook lobster tails.
At Cameron’s Seafood, we sell our lobster tails in packs of 2, 4, and 6 and they are each flash frozen raw and full of sweet and tender meat. We know there is more than one way to cook these beautiful lobster tails, just like there is more than one way to cook most things! But which way is better? One is not necessarily better than the other, so today we are going to explain how to cook lobster tails four different ways. The major ways to cook lobster tails are to boil, bake, broil, and grill them.
For each way of cooking, you are going to start out with the same process. You want to thaw your lobster tails if they are frozen, rinse them and pat them dry with a paper towel, and then butterfly them.
To butterfly a lobster tail, you cut down through the top hard shell and most of the meat with a good set of kitchen shears. Don’t cut all the way through the lobster tail; you want to leave the bottom of the shell intact. Stop cutting just before you get to the fan of the tail, leaving some of that meat attached to the end of the lobster.
Butterflying lobster tails helps the meat cook faster and more evenly. The rule of thumb for cooking lobster is about one minute of cooking per ounce of lobster.
How to Cook Lobster Tails:
Boil
For 4 lobster tails, bring 6 cups of water with 1.5 tsp of salt to a boil in a large pot. Add your butterflied lobster tails and cook for 8-12 minutes depending on the size of your tails.
The shells should be bright red and the meat fork tender when it is ready. Now you can eat it as is, or pull the meat out and use it for your favorite lobster recipe.
Bake
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Gently pull the lobster meat out of the shell, leaving it attached at the back by the tail fan.
Gently push the shell halves back together and place the lobster meat on top of the shell. Make a slit down the length of the lobster meat so it sits nicely on top of the shell. Sear your butterflied lobster tails in a sauté pan over medium heat for about 3-4 minutes, meat side down. Then put the lobster tails meat side up on a baking pan and cook for 10-12 minutes until the meat is opaque for perfectly cooked lobster meat.
Broil
Press the shell halves of your butterflied tails apart, so you can see all the meat. Place your lobster tails meat side up on an unheated rack of a broiler pan and brush melted butter on the meat (about ¼ cup butter for 4 lobster tails).
Broil about 4 inches from heat for 12-14 minutes until the meat is opaque. Pay close attention to these ones, you don’t want to burn your lobster tails.
Grill
Press the shell halves of your butterflied tails apart, so you can see all of the meat. Melt 2 tbsp of butter to brush on your butterflied lobster tails. Oil your grill and brush half of the butter on the meat of your lobster tails. Over direct medium heat, place your lobster tails meat side down on the grill and cook for 6 minutes. Turn your tails over and brush with more butter. Cook for 6-8 minutes more until your lobster tails are cooked.
Lobster cooked any of these ways is delicious served with lemon and/or clarified butter.
Buy Seafood Online
We hope this article helped take some of the mystery out of cooking lobster tails. Wondering Where to buy lobster tails? Don’t forget you can order lobster tails and all sorts of other seafood products from our online store for your purchasing convenience!
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By: Melanie Craighead
