When it comes to seafood, nothing is more luxurious than sweet and buttery lobster. Even though lobster is pricey, there's no need to be intimidated by this seafood because learning how to cook lobster tail is actually pretty simple — and far less messy than cooking a whole lobster. It's also less expensive than purchasing the whole crustacean, especially when buying frozen lobster tails.
The dean of one of America's top cooking schools shared his top tips with TODAY Food for how to cook lobster tail perfectly every time.
"Lobster tail is a treat and is very easy to prepare," Brendan Walsh, dean of the School of Culinary Arts at The Culinary Institute of America, told TODAY. "It has a wonderful sweet, briny flavor that's not fishy and smells like the freshness of the ocean. The main thing you don't want to do is overcook it."
According to Walsh, these are the absolute best ways to cook lobster tail.
Roasted lobster tail
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Using kitchen scissors, cut the outer shell down the middle. This will allow the shell to open up. Using your palms, spread open the shell until you expose the beautiful, white meat of the lobster tail. Using a sharp knife, make a slit in the tail meat and fill the opening with lemon slices, fresh thyme and butter (which will keep the meat from drying out). Top the tail with a sprinkling of breadcrumbs, too. Roast the tails in the oven for about 12-15 minutes. The roasted lobster tail is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted registers 140 degrees.
Alessandra Bulow