I don’t have a real grill right now, and cooking them on a George Foreman seems like blasphemy.
My stupid oven doesn’t have a broiler either. So, it looks like boil, steam, or pan fry, unless there are other suggestions.
I don’t have an actual steamer per se, but I can rig something if it’s that much better than boiling. For some reason, I’d rather not fry them, because knowing the way I pan fry stuff, I’ll over cook them.
Ideas?
Since it’s something as nice as lobster, I’d go to a little expense and trouble and poach them in butter.
This is a pretty excellent description of how to do it…
http://kitchengirljo.blogspot.com/2008/08/butter-poached-lobster-tails.html
Kenji at Serious Eats says par-steaming and then roasting is a great way to do lobster. I wouldn’t know (it’s outside my budget) but it sounds logical- steaming to set the meat and then roasting for even cooking.
I’d let them thaw, to begin with. Either by putting in the fridge for half a day, or running cold water over them for around 15 minutes. I have no idea what quality lobster you have, but when you don’t let frozen meat thaw naturally (this goes for steaks, chickens, etc) the texture gets all weird. This is especially true with lobster when it gets a rubbery texture. I think it’s because the ice crystals puncture through the meat itself, leaving micro-holes.
If you thaw them first, you can bake them at 350 for 15-20 minutes and serve with melted butter (I squeeze lemon and add minced pan fried garlic to my butter sauce). If these are warm water lobster, baking would probably be the best option for them anyway.
I ended up thawing them under cold water due to impatience, then did a half steam half boil with skewers through the tails. Any flavor that might have been lost due to poor technique would have been lost on me anyway, as I was hungry, and the result tasted every bit as good as I could have expected.
$14 for 12oz of lobster in the Midwest isn’t seen often, so I jumped at it. I can’t imagine how cheap seafood is on the East coast.
/Homer voice on/
“Pinchey would have wanted it this way”
//Homer voice off//
Sounds decadent!
Since you mentioned it..in S. Florida, depending on the time of year, we can just jump in the ocean, swim out a bit, and catch them ourselves. You need a fishing license with an endorsement for it, so it’s not free. But it scales really, really nicely.
If you’re good, you don’t even need scuba gear. You can get some just snorkeling.
It’s the middle of lobster season here in Prince Edward Island. On my 11 KM drive home today (all the way on the other side of town!) I passed by three fishermen selling live lobster out of the back of their trucks for $5 / lb.
Thaw them in the refrigerator first. Then steam them. You don’t need anything special, just put a quarter inch of water in the bottom of a pan, seal the top well with some aluminum foil under the regular lid, then put the heat on medium high. You’ll notice when it’s boiling, steam will inevitably escape. After 5 minutes take the pan off the heat and let it sit for 5 more minutes. That would do for tails that weight 1/2 lb or a little less. If they are much smaller you can cut the times in half.
Some people, myself included, might pay for packing and shipping if the price is right.
Has this been done before?
Sure. The price is steep, but you’re paying a lot for frozen so it might not be too bad. Search on ‘Lobster Delivery’, you’ll find several companies. If you know anyone who will be traveling through Logan Airport in Boston they can get them packed to travel at the Legal Seafood stands in the terminals.
Or, you can get them cleverly hidden in your pants at the Illegal Seafood stands just outside the terminals.