Broiled Lobster Tail: Decadent sweet lobster meat in a creamy butter sauce with garlic and fresh herbs. This lobster tail recipe lets the natural flavors of the lobster shine through. Easy, delicious, and simple. Really, one of the best lobster recipes you’ll find.
Once you learn how to cook lobster tail, you’ll want to make it all of the time. It’s so easy and so delicious! Lobster tails are great served with Brussels Sprout Salad, Baked Potatoes and Glazed Carrots. Don’t forget to add some 30 Minute Dinner Rolls to sop up the delicious garlic butter!
An Easy Lobster Tail Dinner
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, chances are you are thinking of what you could make for a romantic dinner. You could go out, wait in long lines, or make reservations months in advance, pay exorbitant prices, and have a fantastic night. OR, you could stay in, with a bottle of your favorite wine, or a delicious cocktail, and make a dish that is both easy and delicious–Lobster Tail with an easy Garlic Butter sauce!
Cooking Lobster tails is one of those things most people don’t even try themselves, but should. Once you learn how to make lobster tail at home, you’ll realize that it is far simpler than you thought! You just need the following:
- Kitchen shears
- A baking dish
- An oven set to broil
The shears are used to butterfly the lobster, and the baking dish to cook it! Truthfully, preparing lobster tails at home only takes about 10 -15 minutes. And just think of the savings!
How to Buy Lobster
If you want great broiled lobster tails, you have to start with great lobster. I have written an entire post on what you need to know about buying lobster tails so you don’t waste your money on lobster that is going to turn out mushy, flavorless, or tasting like ammonia. The three most important things to know:
- Buy cold water lobster tails
- Check for discoloration on the meat
- Avoid tails soaked in sodium tripolyphosphate.
How to Cook Lobster Tail
Once you have purchased a quality lobster tail, it is time to cook it. What is the best way to cook lobster tail? There are a ton of ways to cook lobster, from baking to air frying, to boiling, to steaming. Grilled lobster tail is popular, but honestly, broiling is the best way to cook lobster tail! You can learn about other methods for cooking lobster here. To broil lobster in the oven, follow these three easy steps:
- Thaw the lobster tail just before cooking. You can do this by submerging it in water (cold or lukewarm), or by refrigerating it for 1 day before preparing. Do not thaw too soon, as it does not keep well.
- Butterfly lobster tail (instructions below), and clean it.
- Cover lobster tail with your butter sauce. And broil until finished.
Serve with a simple tossed salad and elegant looking fondant potatoes for the perfect meal!
How to Butterfly a Lobster Tail
- With shell-side up, point lobster tail away from you.
- Take your kitchen shears, and start at the center of the shell, and cut toward the end of the tail, cutting the shell and the top of the lobster meat.
- Stop cutting when you hit the base of the tail.
- Flip the tail over and using your thumbs, press down on the center all along the bottom of the tail. This is called cracking the ribs.
- Flip back over.
- Carefully insert your thumb between the shell and the meat, and loosen the meat, detaching it from the sides. Be careful so you don’t cut your fingers on the sharp shell.
- Loosen the sides, but leave the meat attached to the base of the shell.
- Lift the meat up and out of the shell, and set it on top of the shell, while keeping it attached to the base.
Now it should look pretty, like how it is served at a restaurant, and you can move forward with the cooking of the lobster.
How Long to Broil Lobster
Broiling lobster tails is a great way to cook lobster, it is quick, easy, and mostly hands free. But over-cooking lobster is the only way to ruin it. So paying attention to the cooking time is critical. The rule of thumb is to broil for about a minute to a minute and a half per ounce, with the lobster tail being 4-5 inches from the heat or on the top rack. But to get it right, use a meat thermometer. You want the lobster meat to be opaque and white in center, and reach 145˚F.
Broiling Times for Lobster Tails
Count on 5 to 9 minutes to cook smaller lobster tails (around 4 ounces). Lobster tails that are closer to 6 ounces will take approximately 10 to 11 minutes broiling time, and lobster tails that about 8 ounces will cook in about 12 to 15 minutes. Again, use a meat thermometer so that you cook them just right, to 145˚F.
If you’re cooking a larger lobster tail, you’ll want to move the rack down one space in the oven so it doesn’t brown too much.
More Seafood Recipes You’ll Love
- Herb Crusted Baked Salmon – Easy and impressive!
- Lemon Shrimp Linguine
- Bang Bang Shrimp – Great as an appetizer!
- Parmesan Crusted Tilapia
- Easy Fish Tacos – Family favorite!
If by chance you have any leftover lobster tail, you can add Easy Lobster Bisque to your repertoire! Keep the shells to get the best flavor possible.
Broiled Lobster Tail
Ingredients
- 2 lobster tails 4-8 ounces, cold water
- 4 tablespoons butter salted
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon parsley finely chopped
- 2 lemon wedges
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven broiler to high heat, and put rack on top setting.
- Use kitchen shears to butterfly and clean lobster tails. Remove digestive track, and rinse off.
- Place butterflied lobster tail in a baking dish or broiler pan with the shell side down, so meat will be closest part the top oven element. Set aside.
- In a small microwave safe dish, melt 2 tablespoons butter in microwave by heating for 20-30 seconds.
- Stir in minced garlic and fresh, finely chopped parsley.
- Carefully spoon butter mixture over lobster meat. Reserve some for after cooking.
- Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the top of each lobster tail.
- Place lobster tail in oven and broil 4-5 inches from heat for around 1 ¼ minutes per ounce (one minute and 15 seconds per ounce). If broiling large tails, broil farther away from the heat source (approximately 6-8 minutes)
- Remove from oven, use a meat thermometer to test doneness (140°F) or check that meat is no longer translucent, but rather white or opaque.
- Remove from baking dish, and serve with remaining butter, and a squeeze of lemon.
Video
Notes
If lobster meat is slightly pink, this just means it is from a female lobster, nothing to worry about.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
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best lobster dish ever, where you still taste the delicate flavor and easy to prepare! on tge menu for V day this year, added to a prime rib roast…surfand turning for sure!
That sounds like the perfect menu to me Rachel!
Made these for supper last night and they were a huge hit! Thanks for the recipe.
You’re very welcome Samantha! So glad you love the lobster recipe!
these all look amazing!
Looking forward to making the soup recipes!
Can’t wait for you to try it Janet!!
Thank you for these instructions! I have always wanted to try doing lobster at home and now I can.
You’re so welcome Linda, I hope you enjoy it! Come back and let us know how it goes!