Every lover of gourmet cooking knows how fancy lobster tails are. This seafood delicacy is so expensive; it’s a special menu diet in many high-class restaurants. But you can still enjoy lobster tails in the comfort of your living room, and not necessarily by ordering from a French restaurant. Instead, you can cook it to your specific preference right there in your kitchen.
While it may sound easy, you have to note that lobster tails are super expensive. So, you don’t want to ruin the recipe and cost yourself a hefty couple of bucks by just ‘winging it. It’s why your best bet is to follow these handy tips on how to prepare a delicious serving of lobster tail on your stove at every try.
Lobster Tail Cooking Tips
There isn’t one way to cook lobster tails on the stove, but every method comes with similar pre-cooking preparations. And you’ll need to follow these if you want your recipe to hit the right mark.
Selecting the Lobster Tail
Fresh lobster tails are the most preferred option because you can proceed to cook right away. But if your only option is to buy the frozen tails, you’re still on the right path. The only challenge is you’ll have to thaw the lobster tails before cooking. This step is necessary, as it allows the meat to cook evenly.
If you’re cooking the next day, you can buy frozen lobster tails and leave them to thaw overnight in the fridge. But if you’re in a hurry, quickly thaw frozen lobster tails in cold water for about thirty minutes. It’s the safest and recommended way, compared to microwaving (never microwave frozen lobster tails).
Preparing the Lobster Tail
Once the tails are thawed, you need to expose the meat for cooking. Take a sharp knife or a pair of kitchen shears and cut the top shell. Do it by slicing straight down the center till you reach the fin (don’t cut through the fin! You’ll need that part.). Once done, pry the shells open with your thumbs and gently pull the meat up, so it sits on top.
Lobster tails tend to have veins at the middle of the meat, so you should take those out. If you don’t, they’ll contribute a bitter taste to the meat when cooked. Most times, you do this for fresh lobster tails as frozen ones may have already been cleaned.
Cooking the Lobster Tail
For the stovetop method, there are two ways to cook lobster tails. You can boil the lobster tails in water or cook them in a mixture of oil and butter.
To boil in water, place a pot of salted water on the stove and leave it to reach a gentle boil- between a strong simmer and a soft boil. Add the tails and let them boil till the shells turn red. You’ll also want to meat to look white and tender. Keep the boiling time at one minute per ounce, or the tails would come out rubbery and tough. Strain the water and serve the tails as preferred.
To sear lobster tails, you’ll have to heat a combination of oil and butter in a pan with a squeeze of lemon juice. When hot, put the tails, flesh side down, and let it sear for two minutes. Once the edges are golden and crisp, flip the tails and cook covered for another two minutes. Once the shells are pink, and the meat is opaque, you can serve.
Serving the Lobster Tail
Lobster tails, like most seafood, are delicious enough to go with almost anything. You can serve mashed potatoes, mac, and cheese, salads, beans, cauliflower, or roasted vegetables with it.
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Stovetop Butter Seared Lobster Tails (3 Servings)
Ingredients
- Four lobster tails, 6 oz each
- Two tablespoons cooking oil
- ½ cup butter, unsalted and divided
- Two tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Four cloves garlic, crushed
- One teaspoon kosher salt
- Cracked pepper
- Fresh chopped parsley
- Lemon slices
Instructions
- Thaw the tails if they’re frozen in cold water for thirty minutes, and pat dry with paper towels.
- Cut open the top shell from the center top down and stop just at the tail fin. Loosen meat from the shell and lift it to sit on it. Take care not to pull it out the tail fin. Devein and remove any shell shards.
- Season the lobster tail meat with pepper and salt. Bring two tablespoons of butter and oil to medium-high heat in a skillet on the stove. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice and add the lobster tails, flesh facing down. Sear for two minutes till it’s golden and crisp. Flip the tails and sear for another one to two minutes- the shells should be pink and the meat opaque.
- Melt the remaining butter at the center of the pan. Saute the garlic for a minute, and add the remaining lemon juice to make a pan sauce. Stir and spoon the sauce over the lobster meat. Set the lobster tails down and serve with the pan sauce and lemon slices. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Here’s another video recipe to help you make this delicious stovetop menu.