Ignore the fancy sounding cooking terms, to butterfly lobster tails simply means to cut open the top part of the shell in order to make visible and accessible, the lobster meat.
This is necessary because the shell of the lobster is quite hard, so you need to pry it open so that the meat can cook properly.
It’s also aesthetically pleasing and gives you that feel of dining in some 5-star restaurant. Oh la la.
Thanks to this tutorial today, you can bring this gourmet feast to your table. If you diligently follow this post to the end, you should acquire one more fancy culinary skill with which to impress your friends and family this weekend.
With this technique for prepping lobster, you can choose to either grill, poach in butter, broil or pan sear your lobster tails. Whatever cooking method you opt for should work just fine- the spices, the oils, and the heat to get distributed evenly thanks to the exposed lobster meat.
It’s really easy, all you need is some fresh lobster tails, a pair of kitchen shears and two fingers. Yep, you heard that right! So let’s go ahead and get started.
1. Thaw the Lobsters
If you have got frozen lobsters, you’ll need to thaw them out: place them in a bowl of cold water until they are completely thawed. This could take as long as 60 minutes, so be sure to factor that into the total cook time.
Alternatively, you could transfer the lobster the fridge 6 hours prior to when you’re going to need it.
To main the integrity of the meat, be sure to leave the lobster in its original packaging while it thaws. Thawing in warm water is a no-no.
2. Cut the shells open
Image via simply recipes
Once the lobsters are completely thawed, (you can check this by bending the lobster. The head should be able to touch the tail without any difficulty if it’s well thawed) get a pair of sharp kitchen shears and cut open the top of the lobster shell.
Be sure to split it open at the middle right down to the tail end of the lobster. Be careful as you do this.
3. Separate the lobster meat from the shell
Pry apart the shell using both your hands, then spread the shell open as you go to loosen up the meat from the shell.
4. Place the meat on top of the shell
Wiggle two fingers under the meat to loosen it up some more. Next, you want to pinch the shell of the lobster close and then place the meat on top of the closed shell. Please note that you won’t be closing the shell completely, this action is mainly to give some elevation to the meat to make it more accessible.
5. Remove the vein
Locate the vein on the meat and with your fingers, pull it off and discard it.
6. Season
Season the meat with some salt, a dash of pepper and some melted butter to keep the meat moist while it’s under high heat. Go ahead and top that with some paprika or chili powder if you like.
7. Broil
Allow the lobster broil in the oven for 5 minutes at 525°F or 10 minutes at 400°F depending on how hot your oven gets.
8. Serve and enjoy!
When the meat is fully cooked, it will turn opaque. This means you can bring it out of the oven; go ahead and serve with some vegetables or any other accompaniment.
For more on how to butterfly lobster tails, please click on the video below.
Watch the Video Tutorial
