How to Butterfly a Lobster Tail

Ever wonder how your lobster tail ends up looking so perfect and ready to eat on your restaurant plate? Well, now you too can butterfly your own lobster tails to impress your guests tonight for dinner.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Lobster Tail
• Kitchen Shears
• Kitchen Knife
• Your favorite Lobster Marinade

How to Butterfly a Lobster Tail

1. Go to the market and pick out your lobster. The best thing that I recommend is to go directly to the butcher. Let them know what you are doing, and they will get you the perfect lobster for the job. If for some reason they don't know, let them know you are looking for 6oz portions of lobster tail.
2. Prepare the lobster. If lobster has been in the fridge for awhile or if you froze them you will need to let them sit for a little bit. This will make the lobster a little easier to work with. You do not want to let it sit for too long as that can be dangerous, but long enough that your not dealing with a frozen lobster tail.
3. Starting in the center of the shell cut down the back of the lobster, all the way to the base of the tail. make sure that you only cut the shell and not the meat.
4. Prepare the the lobster meat. Grab both sides of the shell and gently pull the shell away from the meat. The trick here is to pull the shell completely away EXCEPT for the back. You want the shell to remain attached at the back of the meat.
5. Lift the meat from the shell. Grasp the shell underneath and close the gap so the two parts of the shell are connected.
6. Lay the meat on top of the closed shell. Make a small incision with a knife down the center of the lobster meat. Grab the two loose sides of the meat and pull them over each side of the shell. Throw some of your favorite marinade on top and you are set to cook!

Tips & Warnings

• For a basic marinade just combine melted butter with about a teaspoon of garlic salt.