If you are new to making lobster at home, you should absolutely start with lobster tails! There are actually a number of ways to cook lobster tail, and they’re all easy (spoiler alert: boiling is not one of the best methods!). All of the good stuff, less of the work, and less stress in the kitchen than cooking a whole lobster.

That’s why I recommend cooking lobster tails for the crustacean beginners among us and for those of you who are trying to have a more romantic, less messy date night. For a simple side, try a Mixed Greens Salad with Pears and Balsamic Dressing, Roasted Carrots with Spinach Parsley Pesto, or Parmesan Roasted Potatoes.

Read on for the best ways to bake, steam, grill and broil lobster tail. Yes, boiling is also a possibility, but that method is best for when you are cooking a whole lobster in the shell. The other methods better ensure that the delicate, delicious flavor of the lobster meat doesn’t dissipate into the cooking water.

How to Cook Lobster Tail: There are several super simple ways to cook restaurant-quality lobster tail at home.

Tweet This

How to Cook Lobster Tail at Home

The four best methods for cooking lobster tails are grilling, steaming, broiling, and roasting, and all yield utterly delicious lobster meat. 

The main lobster cooking tip? Don’t overcook it. It’s that simple.

(While I don’t understand people who think that “eating” a whole lobster is too much work, I know they are out there. It is true that eating a whole lobster is rarely a delicate or clean endeavor — I have to know the person sitting across from me is quite fond of me because watching me dismantle a lobster is not pretty. No morsel stays in the shell, and those little wipes aren’t enough for me at the end of the meal. Think more along the lines of a Silkwood shower.)

Ingredients

• Lobster tail – Use 8-ounce lobster tails here. Read on for tips on how to choose the best lobster tails.
• Butter – Use unsalted butter and combine it with garlic to dress your lobster tails up perfectly and make them taste as gorgeous as they look.
• Garlic – You can’t have garlic butter without garlic!
• Salt – Just because that butter isn’t salted.

How to Choose Lobster Tail

Picking the best seafood is just as important as knowing how to cook it — especially when you are going for something pricey like lobster. There are a whole set of things to look for when you are buying whole, live lobsters, but let’s focus on lobster tail here. 

• Basically, you’re looking for a hard shell; the harder, the better. This means the lobster has fully filled out its shell, and you will get a larger amount of tender, sweet, firm meat.
• Buy from a reputable source. Either go to a quality fish store or buy from a place that sells lots of lobster tails with high turnover, like a price club. There are lots of online sources for lobster tail, too — read the company reviews before buying.
• Avoid lobster tails with any grayish discoloration or dark spots. These could indicate decay (warm water lobster tails also have spots, but this is presuming you are looking for cold water lobster). Make sure there is no yellowing of the meat itself. Look or ask to see if there is extra water or any other product injected into the lobster before buying — you want pure lobster meat.

How to Thaw Lobster Tails

More often than not, the lobster tails you see at the market, the fish store, or places like Costco have been frozen or are frozen. That’s fine. In general, most seafood is frozen at some point in order to maintain peak freshness unless you are getting something air-flown or you live right near the water and getting it fresh off the boat. Here’s how to defrost your frozen lobster tails (and it works for whole lobsters, too). Never thaw your lobster tails at room temperature, which could increase the odds of a foodborne illness.

• Thawing Frozen Lobster Tails in the Refrigerator – The best and easiest way to thaw lobster tails is in the refrigerator, either in their packaging or transferred to a sealed container. Lobster tails should thaw in 1 day unless you have really large ones well north of 1 pound each (in which case, lucky you, and what is your address?). Place a plate under the thawing lobster to catch any drips.
• Thawing Frozen Lobster Tails in Cold Water – You can also place the lobster tails in a well-sealed zipper-top bag and place that bag in a bowl of very cold water. Ensure the bag is tightly sealed so that the water doesn’t soak into the lobster meat. And make sure the water stays cold, changing it as needed. This should take about 2 to 6 hours, depending on the size and amount of lobster tails.

How Long to Cook Lobster Tail

The cooking time depends slightly on the method but doesn’t vary too much. Typically, a 4-ounce lobster tail will take from 5 to 8 minutes, while an 8-ounce lobster tail will take from 8 to 10 minutes. Broiling usually takes a bit less time.

You want the lobster meat to be opaque (white) throughout (not translucent) and firm. Be careful not to overcook the lobster tail, which can cause it to become tough and rubbery. Look for an internal temperature of 140 degrees.

4 Ways to Cook Lobster Tail

There are many methods for cooking lobster tails — as many as there are ways to heat things up! However, not all cooking techniques are made equal. I prefer the higher-heat cooking methods, which seem to give the lobster a little bit of extra sweetness.

• Don’t microwave your lobster tails; you’ll likely end up with tough or unevenly cooked lobster meat.
• Boiling is fine for a whole lobster but not great for a lobster tail. Some of the flavors will just end up in the water instead of in the meat where it belongs, and they can become rubbery.

Here are the best ways to cook lobster tails:

Grilled Lobster Tail

Grilling lobster or lobster tail is a seasonal endeavor unless you are a hard-core year-round griller. The amount of time it takes is about the same as for the broiler method, 8 to 10 minutes for an 8-ounce tail.

You can flip the lobster tail once if you want grill marks on the top of the lobster. You will probably want to give it one final more baste on top of the lobster meat with the garlic butter (or just plain melted butter) when you take it off the grill if you flip it upside down. This ensures the butter stays on the meat and doesn’t drip off into the fire.

Get all the details about how to grill lobster tail!

Steamed Lobster Tail

When you steam lobster tails, it doesn’t matter when you split the shells — you can either do it before or after (see below for tips). The steam will get to the meat regardless.

1. Boil water: Bring a pot of water with a steamer insert to a boil. 
2. Steam the lobster: Place the lobster tails in the steamer basket. Steam an 8 ounce lobster tail for 8 to 10 minutes until the meat is opaque, keeping the pot covered.

Oven Baked or Roasted Lobster Tail

Some people call this baking, and some roasting. Roasting is more technically correct as the temperature of the oven is on the higher side, which is the difference between roasting and baking. Whatever you call it, here’s how to cook lobster in the oven!

1. Preheat: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Cut open the tails: Using kitchen scissors, cut the top of the shell down the middle of the spread and open the shell a bit to expose the meat. This might be easy or hard, depending on how attached the meat is to the shell — it’s all fine.

3. Season: Place the lobster tails on a rimmed baking sheet or other baking pan, and brush with garlic butter (see recipe below).

4. Roast: Cook the 8 ounce lobster tails for about 8 to 10 minutes until the meat is firm and opaque (white) and an instant-read thermometer registers 140 degrees in the center of the tail.

Broiled Lobster Tail

Broiling lobster tails is almost exactly like baking or roasting them, you’ll just use the broiler instead of the regular oven mode for baking. It may take a bit less time.

1. Preheat and prep the oven: Preheat the broiler and place the rack about 6 inches away from the heat source.
2. Cut open shells: Using kitchen scissors, cut the top of the shell down the middle, as seen above for roasting lobster tail. 
3. Butter it up and broil: Brush the lobster with the garlic butter. Broil for about 6 minutes until the meat is firm and opaque (white) and an instant-read thermometer registers 140 degrees in the center of the tail.

FAQs

What to Serve With Lobster Tail

Garlicky Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan

Romaine and Slivered Kale Salad with Lemon Dressing

Chimichurri Garlic Bread

More Seafood Recipes

• Grilled Swordfish
• Roasted Cajun Cod
• Creole Shrimp
• Salmon with Tarragon Vinaigrette