How to Cook Lobster Tails
Prepare your lobster tails for cooking., Remove the meat from the shell or cut the shell for ease of cooking.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Prepare your lobster tails for cooking.
If the tails are frozen, you'll need to thaw them out before you cook them. (You could cook them frozen in a pinch, but they won't be as tender).
When the lobster tails are thawed, you should easily be able to touch the head of the lobster tail to the end of the tailflap.
To thaw:
Put them in the fridge for 10 hours or so.
If you plan ahead, this method of thawing is the most effective.
Place in cold, not hot, water, for 30 minutes to one hour.
Change the water every 15 minutes so that it doesn't get progressively colder as the lobster thaws.
As a last-ditch effort, thaw them in the microwave on defrost.
Be very careful if you choose this method, because you don’t want them to start cooking in the microwave.
Only defrost one minute at a time on low or defrost power. -
Step 2: Remove the meat from the shell or cut the shell for ease of cooking.
Of course, if you don't want to remove the lobster meat from the tail, then skip this step.
How you intend on cooking the lobster could affect how you prepare the meat and whether or not you remove the meat from the tail:
Broiling or baking:
Let the meat "piggyback" on top of its shell.
This is where you cut all but a tiny bit of the meat out of the shell, lift it up, and then place it on top of the shell.
Makes for quicker baking and a really pretty presentation! See more below.
Grilling:
Cut the tail completely in half or leave the tail whole.
Grilling usually involves high heat, in which case the outer shell actually protects the meat from overcooking.
See more below.
Boiling:
Most cooks leave the meat in the shell until the lobster is finished cooking.
Then, if the cook desires, he or she can cut the top of the lobster shell to make eating easier.
See more below.
Pan searing:
Remove the meat from the shell entirely.
You'll be able to adjust the heat settings, being able to cook just the meat.
See more below.
Detailed Guide
If the tails are frozen, you'll need to thaw them out before you cook them. (You could cook them frozen in a pinch, but they won't be as tender).
When the lobster tails are thawed, you should easily be able to touch the head of the lobster tail to the end of the tailflap.
To thaw:
Put them in the fridge for 10 hours or so.
If you plan ahead, this method of thawing is the most effective.
Place in cold, not hot, water, for 30 minutes to one hour.
Change the water every 15 minutes so that it doesn't get progressively colder as the lobster thaws.
As a last-ditch effort, thaw them in the microwave on defrost.
Be very careful if you choose this method, because you don’t want them to start cooking in the microwave.
Only defrost one minute at a time on low or defrost power.
Of course, if you don't want to remove the lobster meat from the tail, then skip this step.
How you intend on cooking the lobster could affect how you prepare the meat and whether or not you remove the meat from the tail:
Broiling or baking:
Let the meat "piggyback" on top of its shell.
This is where you cut all but a tiny bit of the meat out of the shell, lift it up, and then place it on top of the shell.
Makes for quicker baking and a really pretty presentation! See more below.
Grilling:
Cut the tail completely in half or leave the tail whole.
Grilling usually involves high heat, in which case the outer shell actually protects the meat from overcooking.
See more below.
Boiling:
Most cooks leave the meat in the shell until the lobster is finished cooking.
Then, if the cook desires, he or she can cut the top of the lobster shell to make eating easier.
See more below.
Pan searing:
Remove the meat from the shell entirely.
You'll be able to adjust the heat settings, being able to cook just the meat.
See more below.
About the Author
Jerry Gibson
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow pet care tutorials.
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