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.
Ingredients
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)
Instructions
- 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.
- 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).
- 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: 1/2 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.
- 1/2 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
