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The Best Broiled Lobster Tail – very quick and easy to make at home and perfect for a romantic dinner. A guide on how to prepare, cook and serve oven broiled lobster tails.
Looking for a lobster recipe? You’ve come to the right place – I’ll share with you how I make my broiled lobster tails in the oven in just a few easy steps with minimal ingredients and seasoning.
All you need to do is purchase fresh or frozen (need to be thawed) lobster tails, cut and incision on top of them lengthwise and season with salt and pepper. Add some butter. Broil the meat in the shell, until the meat is perfectly cooked (it doesn’t take very long time).
This broiled lobster tail recipe calls for minimal seasoning – just salt and pepper. This is how I like my broiled lobster. You can add more flavor by adding garlic, oregano, parsley and lemon juice, before broiling.
What ingredients do I need to make the perfect broiled lobster tail?
- lobster tails
- salt
- black pepper
- butter
- optional additional seasoning like – garlic, oregano, parsley, paprika (I did not use any in the recipe)
Can you use frozen lobster tails in this recipe?
If you can not find fresh, never frozen lobster tails you definitely can buy frozen. Then defrost in the fridge (do not use microwave) or under running water and use them in the recipe accordingly.
How to prepare lobster tails for broiling?
You need fresh or defrosted lobster tails.
Take out of the fridge 10 minutes before you plan to cook them.
Do you have to cut lobster tails before broiling?
Yes, this way the meat is exposed to the heat and gets nicely roasted in a short period of time. If you don’t cut the top, the meat will take forever to cook and will be more like steamed, not broiled.
How to broil lobster tails?
Preheat oven to broil 500-525 F. This is considered Hi Broil. If you want to do Lo broil, preheat to 450 F and keep in mind that cooking time will be longer.
Place the lobster tails on a baking sheet. Using kitchen shears cut the shells lengthwise until you reach the end of the tail to expose the meat inside. Using your fingers, carefully separate the meat from the shell, but still leaving it inside.
Season with salt and pepper.
Drizzle 1 tablespoon of melted butter over each tail.
Broil for 5-10 minutes, keeping a close eye on the tails, until the meat is no longer translucent and the internal temperature of it is 140-145F. Do not overcook, because the meat will turn tough and rubbery.
How long to broil lobster tails for?
As I mentioned below, broiling time varies depending on the temperature of the oven, distance to the burner and size of the lobster tails.
If you separate the meat from the shell and leave it resting on top of it, all the meat is exposed to the heat in the oven and it will cook faster.
It takes anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes to broil lobster tails.
How many lobster tails to serve per person?
One medium lobster tail with the shell on is usually around one pound. When you remove the shell you are left with 4-6 ounces of meat.
If you are planning on making a lobster tail appetizer, then one tail (about 4 oz of meat) per person is enough.
Planning to make lobster dinner and serve broiled lobster tails as a meal, then I’d suggest two lobster tails per person.
How do you know if lobster is fully cooked?
So when is lobster tail done? When cooking lobster, especially in the oven and broiling at a high temperature, you need to keep a close eye on it.
It is easy to overcook lobster, so you need to cook until the meat is no longer translucent and reaches a temperature of 145 F.
If you own a probe oven thermometer, it will help if you use it.
Broiling time depends on the size of the lobster tails, how close to the burner they are (I suggest placing the rack 5-6 inches away from the top burner of the oven) and the oven temperature.
How much the meat is exposed out of the shell is also a factor on how quickly the lobster will cook.
It can take anywhere between just 5 to 15 minutes (when the tail is extremely big).
More seafood Recipes:
- Easy Grilled Octopus – my all time favorite (foolproof) way to cook octopus
- Pan Seared Salmon – a simple healthy fat loaded weeknight meal.
- This Keto Bang Bang Shrimp from Thyme and Joy is a great way to enjoy a restaurant copycat from Bonefish Grill.
Broiled Lobster Tail
Video
Ingredients
- 2 lobster tails
- 1/4 tso salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- optional additional seasoning like – garlic, oregano, parsley, paprika (I did not use any in the recipe)
- lemon slices
Instructions
- Preheat oven to broil 525 F.This is considered Hi Broil. If you want to do Lo broil, preheat to 450 F and keep in mind that cooking time will be longer.
- Place the lobster tails on a baking sheet. Using kitchen shears cut the shells lengthwise until you reach the end of the tail to expose the meat inside. Using your fingers, carefully separate the meat from the shell, but still leaving it inside.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon of melted butter over each tail.
- Broil for 5-10 minutes, keeping a close eye on the tails, until the meat is no longer translucent and the internal temperature of it is 140-145F. Do not overcook, because the meat will turn tough and rubbery.
- Serve drizzled with lemon.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was so easy to make and turned out delicious!
This is one of the easiest lobster recipes I’ve come across, but it’s still so, so delicious! I don’t live near the coast, which makes getting fresh OR frozen lobster a bit of a hassle. I’ve been ordering online (if anyone else is in my position, I’ve found this useful: https://qualityseafooddelivery.com/lobster/). That said, this was well-worth that little added effort.