How to Cook Frozen Lobster Tail

Succulent and tender lobster...frozen lobster tails are an easy way to keep this delicacy ready in your freezer for a delicious meal.

There are several options for cooking frozen lobster tails, the best and one of the simplest is to steam them on the stove top. They can also be seasoned and broiled, or baked with a brush of butter.

Things You'll Need

• Frozen lobster tails, one 6 to 8 ounce tail per person
• Clever, or kitchen scissors
• Stockpot
• Steamer
• Water
• Butter

Instructions

1. Thaw the lobster tails first.
   Frozen lobster tails need to be thawed in the refrigerator, usually about 10 hours or overnight. If cooked frozen, taste and texture can suffer.

   Remove the grocery store packaging and place the frozen tails in a covered bowl, or several bowls if you have many. Make sure they're covered well to avoid picking up odors from your refrigerator.

   Tails can also be thawed in cold water, much like quick thawing a turkey. To keep them from getting water-logged and losing their firm texture, place them inside a gallon size zipper storage bag and submerge them in cold water. This should take about an hour; use caution and keep them in cold water, as shellfish can spoil quickly.

2. Steaming lobster tails.
   To steam lobster tails, rinse the thawed tails under cold water and pat dry. The tails will curl when steamed, so before you put them in the steamer, run a skewer through the meat the length of the tail.

   Place about a cup of liquid in the pot and bring it to a boil. Place 4 or so lobsters in the steamer. Don't crowd the steamer. Allow 1-1/2 minutes of cooking time per ounce of meat. When they're done, run them under cold water to stop the cooking process.

   You can steam the tails over water, beer or white wine. If you use wine, you can make a simple sauce by reducing the wine, adding butter, cream and your choice of herbs...chervil and tarragon go very well with lobster.

3. Baking the lobster tails.
   You can bake them in the oven as well. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rinse them under cold water, pat dry and place on a baking sheet. Cut the shell lengthwise down the top and spread the shell to expose the meat. You can season with pepper, salt and paprika. Bake 8-10 minutes.

Tips & Warnings

• Lobster tails can also be thawed in the microwave, but this is the least desirable method as it's very easy to start the cooking process and it affects the texture of the tails, making them rubbery.

• Lobster is cooked when it is no longer translucent, much like shrimp. The flesh will turn white and the shell will become red. Overcooking lobster is the kiss of death as far as texture; it gets rubbery.

• You can use a large Chinese clever to split the tails if you want to remove the meat.

• As with any food left out of the refrigerator to thaw, be very careful to keep them in cold water and keep them out the minimum amount of time.