If you’ve only ever eaten lobster in a restaurant, you’re seriously missing out. Not only is this decadent entrée much more affordable to make at home, but it’s actually a lot easier than it looks. In fact, you can have perfectly prepared lobster tails in less than 20 minutes. Yep, you read that right.
Just follow these step-by-step instructions and you can go from boring weeknight dinner to fancy five-star meal — all without walking out your front door.
Step one: Defrost your lobster tails
This step does require just a bit of planning ahead. The best defrosting method is in your fridge overnight.
Step two: Butterfly your lobster tails
Using clean kitchen shears, cut your lobsters down the center of the shell, all the way up to the tail. Don’t worry if you slightly cut the meat — that may actually help with the cooking process — just make sure you don’t cut through the bottom shell. Once the shell is cut, use your thumbs to pry it apart further, allowing the meat to separate from the sides. Then, push the meat upwards so it “sits” on top of the sliced shell.
Step three: Mix together a butter sauce
While there are plenty of variations of butter sauce you can use, we like to keep it simple: melted butter, garlic, lemon juice and your chosen spices or herbs. Try a combination of parsley and dill or smoked paprika and cayenne.
Step four: Brush the lobster tails with butter
Place your butterflied lobster tails on a lined baking sheet and brush the butter sauce over the meat. Don’t be shy — you want the lobster meat to be fully covered in butter.
Step five: Broil
Place the lobster tails under the broiler until fully cooked through. The meat should be opaque and slightly browned. As a good rule of thumb, broil your tails for one minute per ounce of meet. So, for a 10-ounce lobster tail, you would broil it for 10 minutes.
Step six: Garnish and enjoy!
Squeeze a lemon wedge over each tail and garnish with fresh parsley and serve more butter sauce, if desired. Now your lobster tails are ready to eat! Pair each tail with a simple salad, roasted vegetables or mashed potatoes for a full meal.
While the broiling method of cooking lobster tails is simple and flavorful, it isn’t the only way. If the weather is nice, you can grill your tails. Or, for the simplest (but probably least flavorful) method, you can boil your lobster tails in salted water. For similar flavor, but a bit more hands-on cooking process, you can try poaching your lobster tails in butter on the stove.
However, we find broiling to be the easiest and most foolproof way to get restaurant-quality lobster tails in less than 30 minutes — no reservation needed. Not only will you save money and get to enjoy decadent lobster from the comfort of your own home, but you’ll get to impress your dinner companion with your fancy cooking skills.
Try it out: order your own lobster tails today.
