What Are Lobster tails and How Can I Use Them?

Lobster tails rewards a little know-how: how to choose them, cook them, store them, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 33 recipes to cook with them.

Key Points

The firmest, sweetest muscle of the lobster, sold without the claws or body
Cooks fast and turns rubbery quickly; pull it at 140 to 145°F (60 to 63°C)
Butterfly the shell for broiling or grilling; broil about 1 to 1½ minutes per ounce
Cold-water Maine tails beat warm-water spiny tails for firmness and sweetness
Serve with drawn butter; swap whole lobster, langoustine, prawns, or monkfish

What are lobster tails?

Lobster tails are the meaty tail section of the lobster, sold on their own without the claws and body. The tail holds the firmest, sweetest muscle on the animal. Selling it separately means you get all the prime meat with none of the cracking and picking.

Most tails on ice are warm-water spiny lobster, which have no big claws to begin with, or cold-water Maine lobster tails. Cold-water tails are firmer and sweeter and worth the extra money.

For the whole animal, how to handle a live one, and the claw and body meat, see lobsters. This page is about the tail.

How to Cook Lobster Tails

The tail cooks fast, and the single rule is do not overcook it. Lobster meat turns from tender to rubbery in a matter of a minute or two, so watch it like a hawk.

Butterflying is the classic prep for broiling and grilling. Cut down the top of the hard shell with kitchen shears, spread it open, and lift the meat to rest on top of the shell so it cooks evenly.

Grilled Lobster Tails with Nectarine-Avocado Salad and Orange-Scented Grilled Lobster Tails both butterfly this way over the fire.

To broil, set them about 6 inches under the element and go 1 to 1½ minutes per ounce, basting with butter, until the meat is opaque. Catch a Piece of Maine Pumpkin Seed Crusted Baked Lobster Tails bakes them under a crust instead.

Steaming and boiling are the gentlest routes. Drop tails into salted boiling water and cook roughly 1 minute per ounce, until the shell turns red and the meat is firm and white.

The meat is done at an internal temperature of 140 to 145°F (60 to 63°C). Past that it seizes and toughens.

Cooking and Pairing

Drawn butter is the classic partner. Melt it, skim off the milky solids for clarified butter, and serve it warm with lemon for dipping. Garlic butter and a little fresh tarragon or parsley are the usual upgrades.

The sweet meat also carries seafood mixes and stews. Lobster tail enriches Seafood Wellington, and chunks of it round out a bouillabaisse or a cioppino like Mama Chio's Shellfish Cioppino.

The biggest mistake, again, is overcooking, but the second is leaving the tough membrane on. Some cooks pull the dark vein from the tail before cooking; it is harmless but easy to lift out.

Crowding a boil is the third trap. Cook tails in batches so the water stays at a rolling boil and they cook quickly and evenly.

Substitutes

Whole lobster is the obvious swap if you want the claw meat too; one large lobster yields about the same meat as a couple of tails. Langoustine and large prawns or shrimp give a similar sweet, firm bite for less money and cook the same quick way.

Crayfish tails work in stews and salads where the lobster is one of several players. For a butter-poached centerpiece on a budget, monkfish earns its nickname as poor man's lobster, with a comparable firm, meaty texture.

Buying and Storing

Frozen tails are the norm and perfectly good; most lobster is flash-frozen at sea. Look for tails with no gray or yellow discoloration and no fishy smell, which signal that the lobster died before it was cooked or frozen.

Cold-water (Maine or Canadian) tails are firmer and sweeter than warm-water spiny tails.

Keep frozen tails frozen until the day you cook them, up to 6 months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge, never on the counter, since lobster spoils fast at room temperature.

Fresh or thawed tails should be cooked within a day or two and kept on ice in the coldest part of the fridge.