I love ordering lobster out at restaurants. But, when I think about cooking it for myself at home, I am full of doubt. Will I be able to do justice to such a beautiful piece of meat? How long do I cook it? What if I overcook it? Surely, it’s too hard to make lobster tails at home, or everyone would be doing it, right?
I cast all these doubts aside when my World Port Seafood beautiful lobster tails came in the mail. I love that they’re already cleaned and ready to use. I figured out the exact temperature and time for cooking these lobster tails so that they are nothing but perfect. They may even be better than the ones at the restaurant!
The most important thing is to fully defrost these tails. For me, this took a full 24 hours. Most recipes I’ve seen for homemade lobster tails say an overnight defrost session is enough—not the case with these thick and meaty tails. I put mine in the fridge Thursday morning, and cooked them for Friday night for a date-night at home.
Another important thing in cooking perfect lobster tails is to only let the water simmer-never let it come to a full boil. Once the water comes to a simmer, add the tails and salt, and adjust the heat to maintain a simmer for a full 8-9 minutes. Before removing the tails from the water, use a sharp toothpick to ensure the meat is tender all the way through. You may have to finagle the toothpick between the shell in a few places just to be sure.
What should we serve these gorgeous lobster tails with? Only the butteriest pile of risotto! The simple, rich flavor of a classic risotto is the perfect accompaniment to the lobster. It compliments without overpowering. Let’s face it: a buttery pile of starch compliments anything and everything.
This risotto recipe is scaled down to serve two people. It’s up to you if you want to cook two lobster tails for two people, or split one. My husband and I split one tail the first time around, but the next time, we wisely had an entire tail each.
Lobster Tails with Risotto for Two
Ingredients
- 2 World Port Seafood Lobster Tails fully defrosted for at least 24 hours in the fridge
- 2 1/2 tsp salt divided use
- 1 T olive oil
- 3 T butter divided use
- 1/2 cup minced onion or shallot
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 3 cups warm chicken broth
- chives for garnish
Instructions
- In a 2-quart saucepan, bring about 6 cups of water to a simmer.
- Add 2 tsp salt to the water, and then add the lobster tails.
- Adjust the heat to maintain a constant simmer (never a boil) and cook the lobsters for 8-9 minutes. Before removing from the water, ensure the meat is tender by poking it all the way through in several places with a toothpick. (Move the shell apart slightly to do this).
- Use sharp kitchen shears to split each lobster tail in two.
- Use two forks to gently pry the meat away from the shell.
- You can serve it in the shell, or remove the meat and dice for stirring into the risotto, your choice.
- Meanwhile, in a heavy saucepan, add the olive oil and 1 T of the butter.
- Turn the heat to medium and let the butter melt.
- When it starts sizzling, add the onions or shallots.
- 10. Cook until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes.
- 11. Turn the heat down if the onions start to burn.
- 12. Next, stir the rice into the onions.
- 13. Cook for 5 minutes while stirring occasionally.
- 14. Before moving to the next step, ensure that the edges of the rice are starting to turn translucent.
- 15. Stir in the wine and salt, and cook while stirring continuously until it evaporates almost entirely.
- 16. Begin adding the chicken broth, 1/2 a cup at a time and continuously stir until it almost entirely evaporates. (It should take about 15-20 minutes).
- 17. When you’re down to the last 1/2 cup of chicken broth, taste the rice and see if it’s [url href="http://www.foodterms.com/encyclopedia/al-dente/index.html"]al dente[/url].
- 18. When the rice is done, turn off the heat and add 1 T of butter.
- 19. Stir until it melts.
- 20. Melt the remaining 1 T of butter and have ready.
- 21. Divide the risotto between two plates, top each with a lobster tail, and drizzle the melted butter on top of the lobster.
