Achieve perfectly tender and succulent lobster meat by making a sous vide lobster tail. Cooked in a butter bath, using the sous vide cooking method yields perfectly cooked lobster every time.
Sous Vide Lobster Tail Recipe
Cooking lobster using the sous vide method preserves the lobster’s rich flavor, delicate texture, and moisture. It also ensures you’ll never have to worry about overcooked, rubbery lobster again. I’m sure we’ve all been there and don’t want to revisit the experience.
Sous vide cooking is the best way to cook lobster tail when eating as a stand-alone or as a component for another dish, say in lobster pasta. It takes Butter Poached Lobster Tail to the next level. The trickiest part is removing the lobster meat from the shell, but it only takes one time to get the hang of it.
When reading the recipe, you’ll notice I do not use the bag juices as a dipping sauce. I like to dip the lobster meat in pure butter flavor, and the bag juices don’t cut it. After cooking, it becomes thinned and clouded with white lobster residue, which isn’t appetizing or appealing.
Equipment
- Sous Vide Immersion Circulator – Any brand will work! I use the Anova Immersion Circulator.
- Vacuum Sealed Bags and Vacuum Sealer– You can always use a Ziploc bag and the water displacement method.
- Sous Vide Food Container – Here’s the sous vide food container I own and love.
- Kitchen Shears – You’ll need to use kitchen shears to cut into the lobster tail.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients to make a sous vide lobster tail and an optional garlic butter sauce.
LOBSTER TAILS
- Fresh Lobster Tails – Any size lobster tails will work.
- Unsalted Butter – you can use salted butter. Just keep in mind lobster is naturally high in sodium, so be stingy adding more salt to the dish.
DIPPING SAUCE
- More Butter!
- Garlic Cloves
- Herbs – fresh herbs are best (e.g., fresh thyme or fresh tarragon), but you can certainly use dried herbs. You’ll just use half the amount.
- Fresh Lemon Juice
- Sea Salt
- Garnish Ideas – parsley or chives.
Where To Buy Lobster
These high-quality lobster tails came from Lobster Anywhere. When it comes to seafood, I go straight to reputable sources I know provide top-tier products. I’ve had too many low-quality supermarket lobsters in my day, so I skip the store these days and order online. I highly recommend them.
How To Cut Lobster Tail
1. Use sharp kitchen shears to cut down the center of the lobster tail’s underside (it’s softer and where the legs are). Stop cutting right where the tail meets the fins.
2. Repeat the cut where the soft shell meets the hard shell. Do this on both sides of the tail. Peel away the soft shell so the meat is exposed.
3. Gently slide your fingers between the meat and the hard shell to loosen it. It actually reminds me of a hard-boiled egg – you’ll feel a thin membrane between the shell and meat. Your fingers go between that membrane and the hard shell.
4. Carefully lift the lobster tail meat out of the shell.
How To Sous Vide Lobster Meat
Making buttery lobster using the sous vide method takes about an hour.
Set Up The Water Bath: Pre-heat the bath to your preferred temperature (consult the temperature chart below) using a sous vide immersion circulator.
Prep The Lobster Tails: Remove the lobster meat from the shell and transfer it to a vacuum seal bag. Add two tablespoons of butter per lobster tail and vacuum seal. You’ll notice I don’t add seasonings or herbs to the bag. I prefer the pure butter flavor to permeate the meat. The garlic butter sauce is where I introduce the other flavor elements. You can certainly add some to the bag before cooking.
Sous Vide The Lobster: Transfer the bag to the sous vide machine and set the timer for a minimum of 45 minutes and an hour max.
Make the Dipping Sauce: Melt the butter in a small pan. Add the garlic, herbs, lemon juice, and salt. Gently warm for a few minutes before serving.
Serve: Enjoy immediately with the dipping sauce, lemon wedges and parsley. If you’re not using the meat immediately, place the bag in an ice bath to stop cooking.
Temperatures and Texture
There are a few things to consider when selecting the water bath temperature: how you will consume the lobster meat and your preferred texture.
When mixing the lobster meat into another hot dish, like lobster pasta, I stick to the lower end of the temperature range, knowing it will cook more when added to a hot dish. If that’s not the case, I default to the higher temperature range as I like a slightly bit/firmer texture.
- 130-135°F – Extremely soft and tender (think poached lobster)
- 136-140°F – A bit firmer texture (think steamed lobster)
- 141-145°F – Firm texture with a bite (think baked lobster tail)
When serving as a stand-alone with dipping sauce, I prefer 137°F. I find it “too soft” for my taste under this temperature, but you may disagree. Some folks love it as soft as they can get it. The best temperature really comes down to personal preference.
Timing
If you’re using small lobster tails (3-5 oz), I recommend 45 minutes, and if you’re using medium or large lobster tails (5 oz+), I recommend 60 minutes.
Uses
Sous vide is a great way to pre-cook lobster meat for use in actual lobster dishes. You can use the meat to make:
- Lobster Ravioli
- Lobster Roll
- Lobster Mac and Cheese
- Lobster Mashed Potatoes
- Lobster Gnocchi
Tips From Darcey’s Kitchen
- Frozen Lobster: Make sure to thaw the lobster tails before cooking. Here’s How To Thaw Lobster Tails.
- Be Gentle When Sealing: Lobster meat is fragile, so you must be gentle when sealing the bag. If your vacuum sealer has a “gentle” setting, now is the time to use it.
- Dipping Sauces and Butters: Cajun butter sauce, horseradish sauce, truffle butter, and horseradish aioli would all make great finishing options.
- Safety Tip: Make sure the bag is fully submerged in the sous vide bath. If the meat isn’t fully submerged, the meat won’t cook properly.
- If your sous vide bag floats, try to re-seal or utilize something to weigh it down once in the sous vide bath. I use sous vide weights and can’t recommend them enough. You can see the blue weights in the photos.
Frequently Asked Questions
Some things can be cooked sous vide from a frozen state, but I don’t recommend it for lobster tails. The delicate nature of lobster meat means cooking it from frozen could potentially ruin the dish.
You can, but I don’t recommend it. The cooking will be uneven, and there’s a good chance the hard shell will poke a hole in the bag. You’ll have to remove it at some point so might as well do it before hand.
More Sous Vide Recipes
Here are a few more popular Sous Vide Recipes readers love: Sous Vide Tri Tip, Sous Vide Prime Rib, Sous Vide Mashed Potatoes, and Sous Vide Asparagus.
For drink pairing recommendations, visit my list of “The Best Wine To Pair With Lobster“.
Sous Vide Lobster Tail
Servings: 2 tails
Calories: 659kcal
Cost: $25
Prevent your screen from going dark
Ingredients
Sous Vide Lobster Tails
- 2 lobster tails, meat removed
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter ((*Note 1))
- optional garnishes: lemon wedges and parsley
Optional: Garlic Butter Dipping Sauce
- 4 oz unsalted butter ((*Note 1))
- 1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- ½ tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 sprig optional: fresh thyme or tarragon
Instructions
Pre-heat the water bath to your preferred doneness using a sous vide immersion circulator. (*Note 2)
Remove the lobster meat from the shell and transfer the meat to a vacuum seal bag. Add two tablespoons of butter per lobster tail and vacuum seal using the gentle setting.
Transfer the vacuum bag to the water bath and cook for 45-60 minutes. If cooking large lobster tails cook for 60 minutes.
Remove the bag from the water bath and drain the bag juices. Carefully remove the lobster meat and transfer to a serving platter and serve alongside a small bowl of garlic butter dipping sauce and lemon wedges.
If you're not using the meat immediately, place the bag in an ice bath to stop cooking.
Optional: Garlic Butter Dipping Sauce
While the lobster is cooking, pre-heat a small saucepan over low heat and add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the garlic, lemon juice, salt and herb sprigs and whisk to combine. Cook for 5 minutes and remove from the heat. Discard the herb sprigs and serve with the lobster tails.
Notes
-
- 130-135°F – Extremely soft and tender (think poached lobster)
- 136-140°F – A bit firmer texture (think steamed lobster)
- 141-145°F – Firm texture with a bite (think baked lobster tail)
Nutrition
Calories: 659kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 69g | Saturated Fat: 44g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Trans Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 262mg | Sodium: 568mg | Potassium: 157mg | Fiber: 0.04g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 2120IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 0.2mg
Source link
