Best way to cook lobster tails

[Kim Shook]

I've got 4 smallish lobster tails in the freezer.  I'm planning to serve them alongside steaks tomorrow  night for our tree trimming dinner.  I want to cook them ahead of time and just gently warm them up in a pan with butter at the last minute.  The last time I did lobster tails, I steamed them in the CSO and they were fine.  Is this the best way?  Or maybe sous vide?  Thanks!!

[weinoo]

Are they pre cooked, or frozen raw.? Either way, I imagine sous vide will give you the most correct and even result.

[Kim Shook]

Well, I came to ask for advice and it turns out that I didn't follow yours, @weinoo!  I realized that I needed to use the Anova for my steaks and that I was running out of time already today. So I went ahead and partially steamed them in the CSO and I'll saute in butter just before I serve them.  I was really pleased with how I managed to get them out of the shells without mangling them much at all:

The last time I did them, they looked like the cats had gotten to them!  

 

Thank you for taking the time to advise me, @weinoo.  I'll follow it next time.  I have some cousins who usually send us a sizable gift card for lobsters.  If they do this year, I'll be SV'ing them in January!  

[Smithy]

3 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

If they do this year, I'll be SV'ing them in January!  

 

And please show them to us!

 

I love lobster. My DH is 'meh' about them, so I rarely indulge. Some very dear friends who were married on New Year's Eve used to celebrate their anniversary with a lobster dinner. He's gone now, but I still associate lobster dinners with them. Hmm, maybe I'll get lobster tails for our New Year's feast!

[Tropicalsenior]

31 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I love lobster

Me too. A well cooked lobster is one of the best foods in the world and an overcooked Lobster is one of the worst.

Edited December 4, 2023 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

Well, I came to ask for advice and it turns out that I didn't follow yours, @weinoo!  I realized that I needed to use the Anova for my steaks and that I was running out of time already today. So I went ahead and partially steamed them in the CSO and I'll saute in butter just before I serve them.  I was really pleased with how I managed to get them out of the shells without mangling them much at all:

The last time I did them, they looked like the cats had gotten to them!  

 

Thank you for taking the time to advise me, @weinoo.  I'll follow it next time.  I have some cousins who usually send us a sizable gift card for lobsters.  If they do this year, I'll be SV'ing them in January!  

 

They'll be fine just like this!

[Shelby]

I bought lobster tails from Luke's Lobster for NYE dinner.  There are 4 of them....I don't know if I'm going to do them all ...probably just two as I plan on having prime rib too.  I'd like to SV them.  I think --just like @weinoosaid--that would make the best results for me.  Two questions:

 

Time and Temp?

 

Do I need to take them out of the shell?  I'd rather not but I will if that's the best way.

 

 

[KennethT]

Many years ago I did lobster sv a bunch of times, following recommendations from the sv board here and also MC. To tell the truth, I was never really that happy with any of them. Out of the shell is good because they're sharp and like to poke holes in bags 🤣. Or cover the sharp bits with foil. 

 

Personally of all the ways I've done it, the tried and true Eric Ripert method works best - runs skewer through the tail to keep straight, add to a pot of simmering water with aromatics, cover then turn off the heat and let sit -like 10 or 15 minutes, I forget but I can try to look it up when we get home - it won't be until early afternoon on the 31st though. The recipe was in his book "A Return to Cooking" so you might be able to find it online.

[curls]

I like to steam cook lobster tails in the CSO. Have done that in the shell and also with the meat sitting outside of the shell. I haven't tried sous vide for lobster tails.

[Deephaven]

Lobster tails 130-135F for up to 45min or so depending on the size.  I sous vide them in the butter so that when it is time to eat they are ready.  After doing them this way I will never do them another way.

[weinoo]

13 hours ago, Shelby said:

Do I need to take them out of the shell?  I'd rather not but I will if that's the best way.

 

No, don't take them out of shell to cook them.  Ripert's method of poaching is fine; make a nice court-bouillon and use that (though in his Le Bernardin cookbook, he poaches the tails for only around 6 - 7 minutes; the method Ken mentions above (turning off the heat) is probably a little gentler).  Deephaven's method sounds fine too, and I'm pretty sure Jean-George's butter poaches, though not sous vide.

 

The easiest method is probably just to steam them for 8 - 10 minutes if still frozen. If defrosted, 6 - 8 minutes should do the trick.

[btbyrd]

On 12/28/2023 at 7:31 AM, Deephaven said:

Lobster tails 130-135F for up to 45min or so depending on the size.  I sous vide them in the butter so that when it is time to eat they are ready.  After doing them this way I will never do them another way.

 

This is how I do it, with freakshow amounts of butter. It produces excellent results. I like to butterfly them and then tuck them back into their shell before cooking. Untuck after cooking and serve or finish with the heat source of your choosing. You can sear or broil or grill them after to add some char and firmness to the outside or the shell. Save the butter, chill it down, and pour off the watery phase the next day and you'll have some nice lobster butter for cooking. Use it to make a roux for the base of a chowder or something. 

 

[gfweb]

I take them out of the shell and SV in butter at 134 for 45 min or so.

 

I make shell stock while SVing

[JoNorvelleWalker]

This is how I do it.  Slit the carapace and leave the meat attached to the shell. 

 

 

[gfweb]

29 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

This is how I do it.  Slit the carapace and leave the meat attached to the shell. 

 

 

 Roasted?

 

Gorgeous photo!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, gfweb said:

 Roasted?

 

Gorgeous photo!

 

Thanks.  Steam roasted in the APO.  Wish I had noted the time and temperature.  It came out really good.  I might say the best lobster tail I've had.  Certainly the best I have made myself.

 

[gfweb]

35 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Thanks.  Steam roasted in the APO.  Wish I had noted the time and temperature.  It came out really good.  I might say the best lobster tail I've had.  Certainly the best I have made myself.

 

 

Fine potato in the background as well. 😉

[Tropicalsenior]

9 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Thanks.  Steam roasted in the APO.  Wish I had noted the time and temperature.  It came out really good.  I might say the best lobster tail I've had.  Certainly the best I have made myself.

 

Gorgeous! So happy to see you cooking again. I hope that 2024 is much better for you.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

16 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Gorgeous! So happy to see you cooking again. I hope that 2024 is much better for you.

 

Thanks, but not up to cooking much.  I had received a pair of Canary Japanese seafood shears, and the excuse is I had to evaluate them before writing a review for Amazon.  The Canary shears were accorded five stars from me!

 

[JAZ]

And now for something completely different . . . 

 

 

We've discovered that we really like deep fried lobster; in fact, that's about the only way we prepare it anymore.  These chunks were served with remoulade (which looks oddly green in the photo; I think I added too much parsley) and Gruet Brut rose sparkling wine.

[Anchobrie]

I would say lobster tails are quite good in a n air fryer...