Impress your guests with these deliciously beautiful and easy-to-make BROILED LOBSTER TAILS! Get all the ingredients and have a restaurant-style dinner on your dining table in less than an hour!
A few years ago, my cousin asked for a quick dinner date dish for the girl he likes. I told him I’ll make some broiled lobster tail for them.
He was a bit hesitant when he heard broiled lobsters since he thought it would take much time to cook some. But then, I let him help me and even taught him how to do it. He just couldn’t believe how easy it is to make!
Years later, that girl is now his fiancée. She even asked me how I make delicious broiled lobsters, and serves them whenever they have celebrations. (I just love these kinds of stories. 😍)
Choosing the Best Lobster Tail
Making this wonderful dish starts with the best lobster tail. It’s quite expensive, thus choose wisely!
There are two basic options when selecting lobsters: WARM-WATER lobster tails which generally came from Florida, Latin America, and the Caribbean, and the COLD-WATER lobster tails that are mainly from South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia.
Warm-water lobster tails are way much cheaper, but they are most likely soaked in sodium tripolyphosphate to prolong storage and add weight, resulting in mushy and ammonia-odor meat.
- I suggest you always look for cold-water lobsters. They may be expensive but they taste so much better! They are sweeter, tender and the meat is whiter because of the water they grew into.
- Check for any discoloration in the meat. Avoid lobsters with black spots or any sign of yellowing or graying on the flesh.
- Do not buy thawed lobster tails. If not fresh, make sure they are frozen. Thawing should be done just right before cooking.
- Choose for lobster tails with sizes ranging from 5oz to 12oz. Though these seem small, they are the right size to get a good amount of meat with quality texture and taste.
How to Cook Frozen Lobster Tails?
Lobster tails can be kept frozen for storage. However, when it’s cooking time, it should be thawed or else, it will have tough meat. After thawing, you can have it cooked as easy as the fresh ones.
Check the steps below on how to thaw your frozen lobster tails.
Thawing Lobster Tails
Keep in mind that there are two simple ways you can try when thawing your frozen lobster tails: using the fridge or cold water.
Fridge: Let the lobster tails thaw in the refrigerator overnight or up to 24 hours. Make sure to check from time to time, especially an hour or two before cooking if they are fully thawed.
Cold Water: Using a zip lock bag, place the lobster tails on it and submerge in water for 40 to 60 minutes, or until completely thawed.
You can also combine both methods – keep the lobster submerged in water inside the fridge.
With any thawing method you use, always make sure they are completely thawed, or they won’t cook evenly.
How Long to Broil Lobster Tails?
The size of the tail tells the cooking time for broiled lobster. A standard lobster tail size is about 5 ounces, so 12 ounces is a jumbo size!
A rule of thumb on the cooking lobster tail is about 1 minute per ounce of each tail. Thus, broiling a 5-ounce lobster tail will take 5 minutes, and a 12-ounce tail will be 12 minutes.
How to Know if Lobster Tail is Cooked?
A fully cooked lobster turns white, opaque and its shell turns bright red. Check the meat inside too – if the size slightly reduced and became firmer, it’s cooked.
But if you want to make sure that the tail is cooked perfectly, poke the fattest part of the meat with a digital food thermometer while being extra careful, keeping the thermometer away from the shell.
If the internal temperature reaches 140-145 degrees F, it’s cooked.
NOTE: Avoid overcooking lobster or else you’ll have tough, gummy meat, with a fishier taste.
What to Serve with Broil Lobster Tail?
Now you know how to cook lobster tails, let’s check out what you can serve with this for a mouthwatering meal experience either for dinner date nights or the holidays.
- Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
- Sauteed Brussel Sprouts
- Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
- a simple spinach salad or this Creamed Spinach
More Seafood Recipes
Wanna have a seafood feast? Check out these recipes too!
How to Make Broiled Lobster Tail
And now, the moment of truth! Sharing with you the most delicious broiled lobster recipe you’ll love to have with your loved ones.
Preheat oven to broil. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients: butter, oil, garlic, lemon juice, paprika, cayenne pepper, minced thyme, salt, and pepper. Mix until fully combined. Set aside.
Using kitchen sears or scissors, cut the top of the lobster shell lengthwise down the center but no further to the tail. Cut the shell again at an angle away from the center on both sides downwards to loosen meat from the shell, keeping the fin end attached; lift the meat and lay over the shell.
Brush the lobster tail meat with the olive oil-garlic mixture making sure all part is covered with the spice blend. Place in a 9×13 casserole dish or baking sheet. Cover with a plastic wrap and let it marinate in the fridge for about 25-30 minutes. Place in preheated oven on the upper-middle rack. Broil lobster for about 8-10 minutes or until flesh is opaque and white. Remove and serve immediately.
Broiled Lobster
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Ingredients
- 4 lobster tails
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ¼ cup cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ pinch of Cayenne pepper , optional
- 1-2 teaspoons minced thyme , chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to broil.
- In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients: butter, oil, garlic, lemon juice, paprika, cayenne pepper, minced thyme, salt, and pepper. Mix until fully combined. Set aside.
- Using kitchen sears or scissors, cut the top of the lobster shell lengthwise down the center but no further to the tail. Cut the shell again at an angle away from the center on both sides downwards to loosen meat from the shell, keeping the fin end attached; lift the meat and lay over the shell.
- Brush the lobster tail meat with the olive oil-garlic mixture making sure all part is covered with the spice blend.
- Place in a 9x13 casserole dish or baking sheet. Cover with a plastic wrap and let it marinate in the fridge for about 25-30 minutes.
- Place in preheated oven on the upper-middle rack.
- Broil lobster for about 8-10 minutes or until flesh is opaque and white.
- Remove and serve immediately.
Tips & Notes:
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
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