ISO Help with defrost/cooking frozen lobster tail tonight.

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BBQ Mikey

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I have a frozen lobster tail I need to make, and I'm looking for the best technique to thaw and then prepare it. I'd like to have it sautéed in garlic butter, or perhaps baked?
 
Put it in a bowl in the sink with cold water trickling over it. Let the bowl fill up and the water run over the sides for movement. That's a good way to thaw any seafood.
 
Is it easiest to just slit a cut lengthwise down the tail, then make a pouch in tin foil with butter and garlic in it? I was thinking about the butter baked method.
 
I have never cooked it that way, but it sounds like it would work.
The trick to cooking lobster is getting a feel for when it is done so you don't overcook it, but "IMO" lobster is like chicken in that it is better to error on the side of overdone rather than underdone.
Now that I have a decent oven I've taken to cutting the top shell down to the tail, pulling the meat out and laying it on top and baking it. 350F for 15 minutes is about right for me. Brush it with butter a couple times. And kitchen shears work very well for cutting the shell.
You just need to go for it and see what works for you.
 
The longer you cook it, the tougher and stringier it gets. Once it becomes opaque, pull it quick. Shouldn't take more than 5 or 10 minutes depending on the heat source and size of tail....
 
I have a frozen lobster tail I need to make, and I'm looking for the best technique to thaw and then prepare it. I'd like to have it sautéed in garlic butter, or perhaps baked?
Both the Food Standards Agency in Britain and the FDA in the US recommend overnight defrosting in the 'fridge as the safest method for shellfish, fish and meat.

Also and generally speaking, the slower you defrost them better the flavour and texture will be.
 
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I read a little and skimmed a little of that article, but stopped when I got to this part..."assuming you bought frozen lobster tails, which you likely did unless you live in Maine or foolishly bought entire live lobsters". There were many things I read up to that point that made me shake my head, but this one was the worst. Why would you not want a live lobster? That is the absolute best way to get them. Frozen tails are an acceptable way to go if you can't get live fresh lobsters, but no where near as good. If you have a choice, live is the way to go.
 
You read a little and skimmed a little?
I skimmed the whole thing! :LOL:
That was one long "recipe". Uusally a blog will condense things on the bottom, but not that one.

That said, I prefer the tail. I've cooked whole lobster several times and really only eat the tail and claws. Maybe suck a little meat from the legs. I don't get into all the "internals" that some do. Just me, but the tails work for me. Plus not every grocery store around me has a lobster tank, though I've ordered from Lintons before with good results. And Maine Lobster Direct (or something like that).
Not to mention I like my lobster with some color, so would just as soon partially grill or broil it. Not that steamed or boiled lobster isn't any good, but we all have our preferred methods.

Again, just me. YMMV and probably does ;)
 
You read a little and skimmed a little?
I skimmed the whole thing! :LOL:
That was one long "recipe". Uusally a blog will condense things on the bottom, but not that one.

That said, I prefer the tail. I've cooked whole lobster several times and really only eat the tail and claws. Maybe suck a little meat from the legs. I don't get into all the "internals" that some do. Just me, but the tails work for me. Plus not every grocery store around me has a lobster tank, though I've ordered from Lintons before with good results. And Maine Lobster Direct (or something like that).
Not to mention I like my lobster with some color, so would just as soon partially grill or broil it. Not that steamed or boiled lobster isn't any good, but we all have our preferred methods.

Again, just me. YMMV and probably does ;)

Think about those lobster in a grocery tank. When was the last time they ate anything? How long have they had to live off their own body? Don't think I would buy any live lobster from a grocery tank.:ermm:
 
Think about those lobster in a grocery tank. When was the last time they ate anything? How long have they had to live off their own body? Don't think I would buy any live lobster from a grocery tank.:ermm:

So they've been purged :rolleyes:
I've eaten fish from my livewell before, too. And those were certainly not in the same shape as when I first put them in.

But I respect your decision.
 
So they've been purged :rolleyes:
I've eaten fish from my livewell before, too. And those were certainly not in the same shape as when I first put them in.

But I respect your decision.

Umm, lobster don't need to be "purged." You clean the vein out just like you do shrimp. When we used to catch lobster, we'd just pull them from the water, take them home, clean the vein out and prepare for eating right away or refrigeration/freezing.
 
Big Bump.. "BIG Bump" from 2014.
Don't know how I got here but interesting read, why I bumped is because...

@medtran49, you say you clean the vein out. Is that like the vein in their little 3rd removed cousin, the shrimp? The vein that runs down the back of the shrimp?
How do you remove that vein? It is under a very hard shell. I don't ever recall seeing it in/on a cooked lobster. If size is relevant, wouldn't it be very noticeable?
 
How do you remove that vein? It is under a very hard shell. I don't ever recall seeing it in/on a cooked lobster. If size is relevant, wouldn't it be very noticeable?
Living in Boston and on Cape a cod, we know our way around lobsters and have never removed any vein from one.

maybe depends on the type of lobster?
 
Big Bump.. "BIG Bump" from 2014.
Don't know how I got here but interesting read, why I bumped is because...

@medtran49, you say you clean the vein out. Is that like the vein in their little 3rd removed cousin, the shrimp? The vein that runs down the back of the shrimp?
How do you remove that vein? It is under a very hard shell. I don't ever recall seeing it in/on a cooked lobster. If size is relevant, wouldn't it be very noticeable?

Yes, it's the same "vein." The method is kind of gross and what's done to the lobster might disturb some, so I'm putting the method under a spoiler.

Warm water lobster. Their tails are curled up under them.
full


Let me preface this by noting we were diving and actively hunting for the lobster. These were also warm water lobster so have no claws and have long "antennae." Once we got home and if we weren't cooking them that night by stuffing and baking using the whole body, we would twist off the heads. Then, we would break off several of the antennae about half way, then stick the broken end partially into the "out" end of their digestive tract, twist a little and then pull the vein out. The tails would then get curled up, wrapped in plastic wrap individually, then bagged and frozen. I would imagine cold water lobster tails could be treated the same way.
 
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I thaw tails in a plastic bag in a bowl of tap water. Takes more time though.

Living in Boston and on Cape a cod, we know our way around lobsters and have never removed any vein from one.

maybe depends on the type of lobster?

I rarely found a vein in a Florida lobster (Caribbean) tail.
However when someone brought me lobsters from the NE they had a significant vein that had to be removed.
I was told it was the time of the year or something like that.
 
I thaw tails in a plastic bag in a bowl of tap water. Takes more time though.



I rarely found a vein in a Florida lobster (Caribbean) tail.
However when someone brought me lobsters from the NE they had a significant vein that had to be removed.
I was told it was the time of the year or something like that.

Did you catch the lobster yourself? Trust me, they had a "vein." They had either been in a tank or trap and hadn't eaten in a while or they were treated like my post above. We hunted the entirety of legal season. They  always had a "dirty vein" when we caught them.
 
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Did you catch the lobster yourself? Trust me, they had a "vein." They had either been in a tank or trap and hadn't eaten in a while or they were treated like my post above. We hunted the entirety of legal season. They  always had a "dirty vein" when we caught them.
No but I’ve had them many times right off the boat. Caught a few hours before.
 

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