Frozen Lobster Tails, help

Cafe Society
1

I have come into possession of a couple of smallish (4 oz?) frozen lobster tails. Googling for instructions on how to cook these yields a huge variety of cooking instructions:

  • Boil (from frozen) for 20 minutes, then broil for 6.
  • Thaw, then broil shell down for 5 minutes, and shell-up for another 10
  • Bake from frozen at 400 for 30 minutes
    (and of course lots of stuffed or shredded recipes)

All of these seem awfully long; my understanding is that lobster is really easy to overcook, and that it degrades very rapidly once thawed. I’d prefer a traditional broiled tail (i.e. undershell intact, top shell split). How long do I cook these? Do I split the shell before or after broiling? I assume that running cold water’s the best way to thaw, yes?

Am I missing something spectacular by just broiling them?

2

First off all, when you thew them, it should be less then two hours from the time you plan to cook them. Putting them in a pot with cold running water will do it in about 20 minutes or so.
My dad’s preferred method is to cut the shell open across the top with a scissors then sort of pull out the meat so it’s sitting up on top of the shell, sprinkle on some paprika and throw them on the grill until they’re cooked. I don’t see why you couldn’t broil them as well.

3

What **Joey **P. said. Thaw them, split the shell, pull the meat on top, and stick under the broiler. Add seasonings and or butter/oil as desired before cooking.

4

All good–but I recently steamed a couple, using the dregs of a week-old bottle of cheap white wine in the bath. I then reduced the wine/broth and stirred in a little cream. Mrs. Quercus made a lovely mushroom rissoto to go with this and we dined in elegance, as the children ate their mac & cheese and chicken nuggets.

5

Thanks for the advice so far.

It’s the time I’m trying to get a handle on. Roughly how long for broiling/steaming? The 15-minute in-shell broil I’ve seen on the web seems way, way too long. Even 6 minutes seems like it might be vulcanization time.

6

It depends on how hot your broiler is, the thickness of the tail, and how close the lobster is to the broiler. It’s done when the flesh is translucent to opaque, depending upon your taste.
This might help.