Broiled Lobster Tails with Lemon Butter
Frozen lobster tails boiled until tender, then broiled meat-side up and brushed with butter for a restaurant-quality finish. Served with a bright lemon butter sauce spiked with hot sauce and fresh parsley. Elegant yet straightforward.
Ingredients
- 2 quarts water
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 8 ounce frozen lobster tails
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
- ½ cup butter
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, snipped
- ¼ teaspoon hot sauce
Instructions
- 1
Heat water and salt to boiling in a large saucepan.
- 2
Add frozen lobster tails and return to boiling.
- 3
Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until done, about 12 minutes.
- 4
Drain tails.
- 5
Wearing an oven mitt or using a potholder, hold each tail and cut down the sides with kitchen scissors to remove the thin undershell covering the meat.
- 6
Insert a long metal skewer from the meat side through the tail to the shell side, then back through the shell and meat at the opposite end to prevent curling.
- 7
Set oven to broil at 550 degrees.
- 8
Place tails meat-side up on the rack in a broiler pan and brush with melted butter.
- 9
Broil with tops 3 inches from heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or place over a hot grill for 2 to 3 minutes.
- 10
Prepare lemon butter: melt butter and stir in lemon juice, parsley, and hot sauce.
- 11
Serve tails with lemon butter sauce.
Tips
Use kitchen scissors designed for seafood to cleanly cut the undershell.
The metal skewer is essential to prevent the tail from curling during broiling.
Watch broiling carefully; 2-3 minutes goes quickly at high heat.
Both broiling and grilling work equally well for the final cooking step.
Good to Know
Leftover cooked lobster tails keep refrigerated up to 2 days. Reheat gently in a 300-degree oven.
Lobster tails can be boiled up to 1 day ahead, then refrigerated. Broil just before serving for best texture.
Serve immediately with lemon butter sauce and crusty bread to soak up the butter.
Common Mistakes
Skip the metal skewer to avoid tails curling and cooking unevenly during broiling.
Broil tails shell-side up to avoid meat drying out and butter running off.
Broil longer than 3 minutes to avoid overcooked, rubbery meat.
Forget to cut the undershell to avoid difficulty eating and uneven browning.