Butter Poached Lobster Tails

[Kim Shook]

I want to do butter poached lobster tails for our tree decorating dinner on Friday. I know someone here has made them, but can't find the directions if I copied them at the time and can't find a post about them. Directions or a link to a recipe would be great. Thanks!

[jdanton]

I want to do butter poached lobster tails for our tree decorating dinner on Friday.  I know someone here has made them, but can't find the directions if I copied them at the time and can't find a post about them.  Directions or a link to a recipe would be great.  Thanks!

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Par-cook the lobster in steaming water for 2-3 minutes. Remove claws and steam for another ~4-5 min. Carefully remove meet from shells.

The easiest way to do this is SV, put in a cryovac with butter and cook @160 F for 10-12 minutes.

Alternatively, use emulsified butter in a small pot and continuously spooning over tails. Low/medium heat, 10-12 minutes.

That's off of memory, but I don't have any books handy, should get you reasonably close though.

[pam claughton]

I want to do butter poached lobster tails for our tree decorating dinner on Friday.  I know someone here has made them, but can't find the directions if I copied them at the time and can't find a post about them.  Directions or a link to a recipe would be great.  Thanks!

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Kim,

Here's a similar recipe that we make all the time, it's great for parties, and super simple, basically just fresh lobster meat, lots of butter and crushed Ritz cracker crumbs, which makes an elegant lazy lobster casserole. The crumbs add great texture and richness and buttery flavor. This is a classic Cape Cod (where I grew up working in seafood restaurants) recipe. We make this every Christmas Eve and often during the Summer as well, and especially now as lobster prices are way down.

http://efoodie.typepad.com/efoodie/2005/01...llure_of_l.html

[Peter the eater]

Par-cook the lobster in steaming water for 2-3 minutes. Remove claws and steam for another ~4-5 min. Carefully remove meet from shells. . . .  use emulsified butter in a small pot and continuously spooning over tails. Low/medium heat, 10-12 minutes.

That's pretty much what we do. Last summer I had 4 dozen tails to butter poach -- we set up an assembly line:

1. plunge live lobsters head first into boiling water for 5 minutes (we used the 5 gallon aluminum maple syrup pot).

2. remove, snap off tail then split in two lengthwise, set tail meat aside.

3. everything that isn't tail meat gets simmered for 10 more minutes in the same water -- this becomes chowder.

3. The nearly 100 half-tails are placed on 2" deep trays, cut side down. A very large quantity of melted garlic butter is poured in, then cover trays with foil.

4. Bake (poach) in a low oven for 20 minutes or until tails are just cooked through.

You could take the knife to the lobsters' head, then snap off the raw tail. The poaching butter was smeared on toasted rolls and served on the side for dipping.

My preference would be to serve the Ritz crackers separately.

[pam claughton]

Peter,

Have you had Ritz cracker seafood stuffing? It's how most seafood restaurants on the Cape stuff their lobsters and shrimp, sole, etc.

Your way sounds fabulous too though, though my preference would be too leave the garlic out, as much as I love garlic, I think it tends to overpower the sweetness of lobster.

Pam

[DaleJ]

I recently fell heir to a number of frozen tails (from Brazil). I thaw,remove the shell with chicken scissors, cut in half lengthwise and poach in butter (with a tb of water) for a few minutes. And I watch carefully because when over poached they become tougher than a boiled owl.

[Peter the eater]

Peter,

Have you had Ritz cracker seafood stuffing? It's how most seafood restaurants on the Cape stuff their lobsters and shrimp, sole, etc.

Your way sounds fabulous too though, though my preference would be too leave the garlic out, as much as I love garlic, I think it tends to overpower the sweetness of lobster.

  Pam

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I like the idea of a crunchy cracker crust on a seafood casserole. I haven't had Ritz stuffing from the Cape since I was a kid, I think a taste would give a serious childhood flashback (like Peter O'Toole in Ratatouille).

I regard lobster and garlic as a heavenly match, and butter is ideal medium for that union. You're right, one needs time to allow time for the chopped garlic to soften and mellow.

[paulraphael]

I've been curious about poaching in butter, but have no idea if there's any way to salvage all that butter after doing it. In a restaurant they keep a pot of it going all day and poach one thing after another, but at home I can't stand the idea of sacrificing quarts of butter to one meal.

I know you can clarify it afterwards, but I don't use clarified butter anymore.

Is there any way to save the emulsifed butter for future poachings? Can it be frozen and re-emulsified?

Edited December 5, 2008 by paulraphael (log)

[Shalmanese]

Why not do a ghetto sous vide set up then. Put 4 tbsp of emulsified butter and a lobster tail in a ziploc bag and seal it so that all the air is evacuated. Poach in gently simmering water for 10 - 12 minutes.

Same taste but less butter. If you want to infuse with garlic, you're going to have to do that before you add it to the bag or the garlic won't cook enough to lose it's raw edge.

[jdanton]

Why not do a ghetto sous vide set up then. Put 4 tbsp of emulsified butter and a lobster tail in a ziploc bag and seal it so that all the air is evacuated. Poach in gently simmering water for 10 - 12 minutes.

Same taste but less butter. If you want to infuse with garlic, you're going to have to do that before you add it to the bag or the garlic won't cook enough to lose it's raw edge.

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Agreed--if you want a bit of garlic, just use powder. Having a super precise temperature won't matter that much here. Low simmer, 150-160 should be fine.

[David Ross]

I want to do butter poached lobster tails for our tree decorating dinner on Friday.  I know someone here has made them, but can't find the directions if I copied them at the time and can't find a post about them.  Directions or a link to a recipe would be great.  Thanks!

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Hi Kim-I use a version of what is termed "Beurre Monte"-basically butter mixed with a small amount of water at a low temperature. In very non-scientific terms, the water keeps the butter from separating. If you happen to have the French Laundry cookbook the process is described on page 135.

You simply need a saucepan, butter, water and your chosen seafood.

My recipe below calls for Prawns, but I've done the recipe with lobster, scallops and Dungeness crab in the shell.

When I've done it with lobster I used lobster tails. I bought the tails frozen and let them thaw. Sometimes I remove the raw meat and cut it into chunks before butter-poaching. Other times I've just cut the tail into large chunks, leaving the meat in the shell.

The results are fabulous-very tender meat with a buttery coating. And don't throw out the butter poaching liquid. You've just created a buttery seafood stock that you can use in all sorts of other dishes-or save it to poach another day!

Prawns

8 large prawns, shelled, tails left on

1 stick unsalted butter

1 tbsp. water

Heat the water over medium heat until it begins to simmer. Add the butter and move the pan in a circular motion to incorporate. Add the prawns and poach just until tender, about 4-5 minutes, again moving the pan in a circular motion.

[johnnyd]

And I watch carefully because when over poached they become tougher than a boiled owl.

...which reminds me - the Owl Boiling topic needs a bump...

[slkinsey]

Sous vide is definitely the way to go with owl. I like 80C for 72 hours.