No second guessing how long to boil or steam lobsters for fear of overcooking! When you sous vide lobster tails, you’re ensuring that the lobster meat is perfectly cooked every single time.
- Lobster tails will be tender, succulent
- Never rubbery or overcooked!
- Still get that amazing butter poached flavor!
- Can infuse with any fresh herbs you like
- Unlike many other proteins that are sous vide, there is no need to sear or brown after cooking!
What Is Sous Vide Cooking?
Sous vide cooking consists of sealing food in airtight containers, removing all air, and cooking at a pre-determined temperature with a sous vide circulator.
It’s a more precise way of achieving perfectly cooked proteins. Foods are cooked slowly at the temperature you choose until they reach their desired level of doneness. Could not be easier!
Ingredients to Sous Vide Lobster Tail
It doesn’t get much simpler then this! To make sous vide lobster tail, you need lobster tails and butter. If you’re feeling fancy, add 1 or 2 smashed garlic cloves per tail.
Fresh herbs can be added as well. Tarragon, oregano, chives, or dill are great choices. But we like to serve these as close to butter poached as possible. No herbs necessary!
Our recommended sous vide precision cooker: Anova Prevision Cooker
Recommended vacuum sealer: Oliso Pro Smart Vacuum Sealer
Remove Lobster Tail Meat From Shells
In order to properly sous vide lobster tails, they must be parboiled and removed from their shells first.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil.
- Add lobster tails and cook for exactly 1 minute.
- Immediately transfer cooked lobster tails to an ice bath. Chill for 2 minutes.
- Use kitchen shears to cut lengthwise along the bottom of the tail, from top to bottom, being careful not to cut into the lobster meat.
- Place lobster tail cut side up, then firmly grasp both sides of the shell and pull away from each other until the tail cracks open. Gently remove tail meat. Wearing kitchen gloves makes this much easier.
Easy! Now you can make perfect sous vide lobster tails!
Cooking Lobster Tails
By adding butter to the vacuum sealed bag with the lobster tails, you’re still getting that luxurious butter poached lobster flavor and texture!
- Preheat water bath with a sous vide circulator to desired temperature. We recommend 130F for a juicy, tender lobster tail. (see below)
- Place lobster tails in a vacuum seal bag along with butter, crushed garlic cloves, and any fresh herbs.
- Using a vacuum sealer, remove any air from bags until vacuum sealed.
- Once temperature has been reached, submerge bag with lobster tails in water bath. Cook for 30 – 40 minutes.
- Remove immediately and serve lobster tails with melted butter from bag or clarified butter and lemon wedges.
Note: if you do not own a vacuum sealer, you can use the water displacement method to create an airtight seal right in a Ziplock bag!
Sous Vide Lobster Tail Temperature
As with all sous vide cooking, the temperature you set should be determined by how you like your food cooked.
With something like steak, there’s a clear cut answer. You either like your meat cooked rare, medium-rare, medium, etc. ranging all the up to well done.
Nobody wants tough, rubbery lobster tails. To achieve that glorious butter poached lobster texture, set your sous vide circulator to 130F. (This is our preferred temperature!!)
For a more traditional steamed lobster texture (aka: firmer), set your sous vide precision cooker to 140F.
Can I Sous Vide Frozen Lobster Tails?
The short answer is yes. Here’s the catch: we still suggest removing the tail meat from the shell before cooking. This is more difficult when the lobster tail is frozen.
To remove shell, submerge frozen lobster tails in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes to thaw a bit. Use kitchen shears to cut down the under side of the tail (being careful not to cut into the flesh of the lobster), then carefully break shell away.
Alternatively, you could cook frozen lobster tails in boiling water (as outlined above) cooking for 2-3 minutes instead of 1 minute, and then continue cutting and removing the shell.
A frozen or partially frozen lobster tail will need additional time to cook — 1 hour at 130F should do it!
What To Serve With Lobster
Keep it simple!!
- Clarified or melted butter, a must
- Corn on the cob
- Roasted potatoes
- Lemon wedges
- Coleslaw
- White wine!
Can’t even begin to describe the texture except to say it melts like buttah. You’ve never had lobster like this before!
Looking for more sous vide recipes?
Check out sous vide leg of lamb, perfect in a Mediterranean rice bowl!
If you make Sous Vide Lobster Tails, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below!
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For more seafood recipes, check out the following:
- Spicy crab pasta with lemon and capers
- Classic fish cakes
- Grilled lobster tails and clams
- Pan seared salmon with lemon parmesan sauce (VIDEO)
- Fish escabeche (sweet and sour)
Sous Vide Lobster Tails Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 (5 oz) lobster tails
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- lemon wedges for serving
- parsley chopped, for serving
Instructions
Remove lobster meat from shells
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil. Add uncooked lobster tails and cook for exactly 1 minute. Immediately transfer cooked lobster tails to an ice bath. Chill for 2 minutes.
- Use kitchen shears to cut lengthwise along the bottom of the tail, from top to bottom, being careful not to cut into the lobster meat. Place lobster tail cut side up, then firmly grasp both sides of the shell and pull away from each other until the tail cracks open. Gently remove tail meat. Wearing kitchen gloves makes this much easier.
Sous vide lobster tails
- Preheat water bath with a sous vide circulator to desired temperature. We recommend 130F for a juicy, tender lobster tail. 140F will yield a slightly firmer lobster, similar in texture to a steamed lobster.
- Place peeled lobster tails in a vacuum seal bag along with butter, crushed garlic cloves, and any fresh herbs, if desired. Using a vacuum sealer, remove any air from bags until vacuum sealed.
- Once temperature has been reached, submerge bag with lobster tails in water bath. Cook for 30 – 40 minutes. Remove immediately and serve lobster tails with melted butter from bag or clarified butter, lemon wedges, and chopped parsley.
Notes
- Suggested for serving: corn on the cob, roasted or boiled potatoes, lemon wedges, coleslaw, white wine!
- To cook frozen lobster tails: remove lobster meat from shell using method described above (boil for 2-3 minutes instead of 1 minute) or submerge frozen lobster tails in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes before cutting shell and removing. A frozen or partially frozen lobster tail will need additional time to cook — 1 hour at 130F should do it!
- If you do not own a vacuum sealer, you can use the water displacement method to create an airtight seal right in a Ziplock bag!
- Lobster shells can be saved to make seafood stock!
Let us know your thoughts!