Delicious 4-Minute Lobster Tails (for one or a crowd)

Ever wonder how to cook lobster tails? Well, look no further because this is the quickest and best lobster tail recipe to make any time of year. If you can boil an egg, you can cook this lobster (and impress anyone who eats it). Tender lobster tails are perfectly cooked and dipped in lightly salted clarified butter making for a comforting restaurant-quality dinner for way less than half the price. And you can use fresh or frozen lobster tails!  Add a side salad and a baked potato and dinner is ready in 15 minutes or less.  And if you're also a meat-lover, this makes a great surf n' turf side.

How do I Choose a Good Frozen or Fresh Lobster Tail?

Buying lobster tails can be difficult for some people especially because they can be expensive. No one wants to spend their money on lobster tails (which they're probably cooking for a special occasion) just to realize they're mushy or smell like ammonia after you've gotten home. So, how do you choose the best lobster tail?  Below are some tips to help ensure you go home with the best option so your lobster dinner is all that you hoped it would be.

• Choose cold water-caught lobster. There are two types of environments lobsters are caught from (cold water & warm water).  If you have the option, buy cold water lobster which is more consistent and generally has a better taste, and texture because the cold water makes them sweeter and more tender. If you read my post about Royal Red shrimp then you already know about the flavor and texture benefits of seafood that lives in cold water environments and it's the same for lobsters. Although some warm water lobster tails can still be delicious, the consistency of getting good quality tails is less than that of cold water lobsters.
• Avoid buying lobsters that have been soaked in sodium tripolyphosphate. This a preservative to prolong the shelf-life of typically warm water lobster tails and adds weight to the tail that isn't actually lobster meat.
• Ask the fishmonger or fish counter employee where the lobster tails come from.  Unless you're at a specialty seafood shop, the workers probably won't know exactly where the lobster tails come from, but it's worth asking just in case because you may be able to discern if it's cold water lobster by the origins of where it was caught. Most cold-water lobster is caught in Maine, Australia, New Zealand, and South African waters. And warm water lobsters are usually caught in Florida, the Caribbean, and Latin America.

4-Minute Restaurant-Quality Lobster Tail Ingredients

You only need 3 ingredients to make perfectly tender, sweet lobster tails.

For the clarified lobster tails

• 4-ounce sustainable wild-caught Maine lobster tails (113g)
• a splash of Zatarain's liquid crab boil (optional, but recommended)
• sea salt (or kosher salt) to taste

For the clarified butter

• salted butter (or use unsalted butter plus a pinch of sea salt to taste)

How to Make the Best Tender Lobster Tails

Follow this recipe for the best way to cook lobster tails at home without overcooking them and turning them into rubber.

1. Clarify the butter. In a small pot, melt the butter slowly over medium-low heat.  When the milk solids begin to separate from the fat, skim the white foam off the top leaving only the clear part ("liquid gold"), and set aside.
2. Prepare the cooking water. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil and reduce the temperature to just slightly more than a simmer and add the Zatarain's liquid crab boil (if using).
3. Cook the lobster. Add the lobster tails to the simmering water and cook for approximately 3-4 minutes, or until lobsters turn bright red and start to curl slightly. Remove tails from the pot and using kitchen shears, carefully cut directly down the middle of the back of each shell and gently remove the meat. Serve it with a side of clarified butter for dipping and Enjoy!

Optional Lobster Cooking Water Addins

Feel free to add a few more herbs and aromatics to the cooking water when you're boiling lobster tails. Be sure to allow any additional ingredients to have time to flavor the water before cooking the lobster tails. Since they only cook for 4 minutes, the water should be nicely flavored before adding the tails.

• ½ lemon
• a few whole black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• Old Bay spice blend

Can I use this Lobster Recipe for Making Lobster Rolls?

Yes, you can use this 4-minute boiled lobster to make Connecticut and Maine lobster rolls, your favorite lobster mac and cheese, lobster salad, seafood corn chowder, or any other way you like to enjoy the pure taste of lobster. These tails are incredibly sweet and tender and are also low in calories and high in protein making them even more appealing to eat.

Try to get the highest quality lobster tails you can find.  And if you don't live anywhere near the sea, look for a good frozen tail, but be sure to read the dates so you avoid buying lobster tails that have been frozen too long. No one wants rubbery or leathery lobster.

Delicious 4-Minute Lobster Tails W/Clarified Butter FAQ's

• Who first started eating lobster? Lobster was consumed chiefly by the royal and aristocratic families of France and the Netherlands and is seen in Dutch paintings of the 16th and 17th centuries. In North America, the American lobster was so plentiful that they were used as garden fertilizer. But it's known that lobster was being consumed regularly as a source of nutrition over 100,000 years ago in the coastal fishing areas of Great Britain, South Africa, Australia, etc.
• Is lobster healthy? Lobster is packed full of vitamins and nutrients and protein but is also high in cholesterol and sodium. So, if you're do not have health issues relating to cholesterol, sodium, or allergies to shellfish, lobster can be a low-calorie meal option.

📖 Recipe

Delicious 4-Minute Lobster Tails with Clarified Butter (for one or a crowd)

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5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 7 reviews

• Author: Kelly
• Total Time: 9 minutes
• Yield: 1-12 servings 1x
• Diet: Low Calorie

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Description

If you love lobster as much as we do then this easy recipe is the only one you'll ever need. Not only does this tender buttery lobster taste as good (or better) than what you order at your favorite restaurant, it's affordable. Serve it for a special occasion dinner or when you want something delicious and low-calorie on a busy weeknight. It's easy, delicious, and ready in 4 minutes. Add a baked potato or salad and serve.

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Ingredients

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For the clarified lobster tails

• 4-ounce sustainable wild-caught Maine lobster tails (113g)
• a splash of Zatarain's liquid crab boil (optional, but recommended)
• sea salt (or kosher salt) to taste

For the clarified butter

• salted butter (or use unsalted butter plus a pinch of sea salt to taste)

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Instructions

1. Clarify the butter. In a small pot, melt the butter slowly over medium-low heat.  When the milk solids begin to separate from the fat, skim the white foam off the top leaving only the clear part ("liquid gold"), and set aside.
2. Prepare the cooking water. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil and reduce the temperature to just slightly more than a simmer and add the Zatarain's liquid crab boil (if using).
3. Cook the lobster. Add the lobster tails to the simmering water and cook for approximately 3-4 minutes, or until lobsters turn bright red and start to curl slightly. Remove tails from the pot and using kitchen shears, carefully cut directly down the middle of the back of each shell and gently remove the meat. Serve it with a side of clarified butter for dipping and Enjoy!

Notes

• How salty should the water be? The cooking water should be slightly less salty than the sea. It should have enough salt that the cooked lobster will be seasoned but not overly so.
• If you don't have Zatarain's liquid crab boil, you can skip it altogether and just use sea salt, or add the following items to your water along with the salt: ½ lemon, a few whole black peppercorn's, 1 small bay leaf, and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes.
• Can I use this recipe to make lobster rolls? Yes! This lobster recipe makes a very good base for easy and delicious Maine or Connecticut-style lobster rolls.
• What can I pair this lobster with? Sweet tender lobster always pairs well with steak for an easy and delicious restaurant-quality "surf n' turf" dish.  Or if you're not into beef, add a salad and a baked potato and you're all set.
• When feeding a crowd, and you want to serve the lobsters hot, a good trick is to cut the shells of the raw lobsters down the back before you cook them, leaving everything intact but making it easier for guests to pull out the lobster meat by themselves.  This saves you time, keeps the lobsters hot for the guests, and makes things really easy to present on a platter family style.

Optional Lobster Cooking Water Addins

Feel free to add a few more herbs and aromatics to the cooking water when you're boiling lobster tails. Be sure to allow any additional ingredients to have time to flavor the water before cooking the lobster tails. Since they only cook for 4 minutes, the water should be nicely flavored before adding the tails.

• ½ lemon
• a few whole black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• Old Bay spice blend

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 4 minutes
• Category: Fish + Seafood
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 tail
• Calories: 110

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