How to Boil Lobster Tails

Co-authored by Ed Kuoha

Last Updated: August 10, 2022 Approved

Boiled lobster tail might just be one of the most delicious meals out there. Topped with fresh herbs and lemon juice and served with melted butter, boiled lobster tail is savory, buttery perfection. It’s also really easy to make at home. With just a couple quick snips through the shell and a few minutes of boiling, you’ll have a delicious lobster dinner in no time.

Ingredients

Water
Butter
Salt
Parsley or Basil
Lobster tails

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Thawing the Lobster Tails

1
Find fresh or frozen lobster tails at a grocery or seafood store. Unless you live in a place where freshly caught lobster can be purchased at supermarkets, your local specialty market or a quality grocery store will have the best lobster for you to use. The fresher the better, but frozen lobster tails work too.
- Avoid lobster tails that are packaged with sodium triphosphate. The chemical weighs down the lobster tails, making them more expensive by weight.
2
Thaw frozen tails in the refrigerator 8-10 hours before cooking. You can keep the tails in the packaging they came in. They need time to fully defrost to prevent any sticking between the meat and the shell, as well as to improve the evenness of the cooking when you boil them.^{[1]
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- If you don't have time to thaw the tails in the fridge overnight, thaw them in cold water for at least 30 minutes.^{[2]
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3
Rinse the tails in cool water. Hold them under the tap with your hands or tongs, trying to rinse every surface of the tail. When you have cleaned the tail, you can dry it with a paper towel or let it air dry before you trim it.^{[3]
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- This prevents any unclean substances that may have been on the lobster tails from contaminating your food. Lobsters live at the bottom of the sea, and can have quite a bit of debris on them.
4
Use shears or a knife to cut the lobster tail lengthwise along the middle.^{[4]
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Research source} You should cut the lobster all the way back to the very tip of the fin. Try to avoid cutting into the meat, so that it does not break apart during the boiling. Instead, keep the shears well above the meat by pulling up on the shell as you cut.
- Kitchen shears are a safer choice than a knife, since the knife has to face upwards to cut the shell.
5
Use your thumps to pull apart the tail along the incision. The incision you made allows you to easily break apart the shell all the way along the middle. Keep the meat inside the shell for boiling and serving.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Cooking the Lobster

1
Place a large pot filled with water on the stove. Fill the pot 2/3 full with water to help prevent boiling over. The size of the pot you need depends upon the number of tails you plan to boil. For 8 ounces (230 g) tails, a good rule of thumb is to use 1.5 cups (350 mL) of water per tail.
- You can also boil lobster tails in batches, instead of all at once.
- You may salt the water with 1 tablespoon (15 mL) to 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of salt to raise the boiling point of the water and help it reach a gentler boil.
2
Bring the water to a rolling boil. Set the heat to high in order to reach a fast-paced boil. While you will later turn down the heat, as you begin to place the lobsters in the pot, the bubbles should be rapidly reaching the surface.
3
Place the lobster tails in the water. Use kitchen tongs to gently submerge the tails, being sure that each of them is fully submerged below the surface. Check that the tails have room between one another.^{[5]
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- Be careful not to splash the boiling water on yourself or anyone near you. Adding the tails one at a time can help keep the water in the pot.
4
Turn the burner down to medium or medium high. While the tails are cooking, maintain a boil just above simmer, rather than a rolling boil. This helps the tails cook all the way through before separating from the shell.
5
Boil the lobster for 1 minute per 1 ounce (28 g). Most lobster tails require between 5 and 12 minutes to cook all the way through. Depending on the heat level and how full the pot is, it may begin to boil over. Turn down the heat if this happens.
6
Poke the lobster meat with a fork. The lobster tails are ready when the meat is white and has a tender texture. The shells should have a bright red hue to them, and appear nearly separate from the meat.
- If the lobster is not ready, do not remove from the water. It is important to cook the lobster all the way through.
7
Set the lobster tails in a colander or strainer. You can use a number of kitchen tools to pull the tails out of the water, including a slotted spoon or tongs. Anything that can gently remove the tails without separating the meat from the shell works.
- You can drain the tails in a colander if you wish.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Serving the Lobster Tails

1
Slice the meat lengthwise all the way through for ease, if desired. Lobster meat is easier to eat if it has been pre-sliced down the middle. If you made an incision earlier, it will most likely be enough for the average diner, but cutting all the way through makes using a fork much easier.^{[6]
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2
Butter the lobster tails. One classic choice for enhancing the flavor of lobster is to serve it with melted butter, either on the side or already melted on the tail. Use a basting brush or a fork to spread around enough butter to lightly coat the top of each tail.
- One option is to make clarified butter, which is melted butter strained through cheesecloth or scraped for excess fats. It is a very common dipping sauce for seafood like lobster.
3
Squeeze lemon over the tail. Lemon juice adds a pleasant acidic taste to the creamy lobster meat. If you plant to serve your tails with lemon, you can choose to squeeze the juice over them yourself, or cut up lemon slices for your guests to use themselves.
4
Choose herbs for the dish. Parsley and basil are classic choices for serving with lobster. Garnish the meat and the plate with herbs if you plan to use them. Combining butter, lemon, and herbs creates a tried-and-true, delicious flavor combination
5
Cut up the meat for use in another recipe. Now that the lobster has been cooked in a simple fashion, the meat can be used in nearly any recipe calling for lobster meat. If you plan to use the meat in another recipe, do so immediately, as the cooked lobster tails won't keep as well as frozen ones.^{[7]
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Community Q&A

Question

How soon do fresh-cut lobster tails start to smell like ammonia? How soon should they be cooked?

Community Answer

If any food - lobster tails, meat, fish - smells of ammonia, do not buy it or eat it. No fresh food should smell of ammonia. If it does, it is old and has been treated.
Question

Do I increase the time when boiling more than one tail?

Community Answer

No, because the amount of tails you boil won't require more time to cook; the same goes for rice.
Question

How long do I boil a frozen lobster tail?

Community Answer

Boiling a tail frozen will cause the meat to be tough. Put the frozen tail(s) in a pan filled with water and allow the water to run into it for 5 minutes or so. Presto, thawed lobster ready for the hot pot.