Sous Vide Lobster Tail

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This Sous Vide Lobster Tail recipe is a foolproof way to prepare lobster! All you need is five ingredients and the sous vide ensures the lobster tails turn out tender and succulent, just like butter poached lobster! 

You guys, this is my favorite way to prepare lobster tails! It’s so much better than boiled or steamed lobster!

The meat is juicy and flavorful, with a simple buttery herb seasoning. If you’ve ever been intimidated by cooking lobster, you definitely need to try it using a sous vide! 

The water bath cooks the lobster tails to your desired temperature, so it’s almost impossible to overcook them. Just like this sous vide octopus, sous vide shrimp, sous vide salmon and sous vide halibut that we love so much!

If you love surf and turf, these lobster tails are amazing served with this sous vide filet mignon or sous vide ribeye! Or, enjoy them on their own with some corn on the cob and creamy garlic mashed potatoes.

Check out the sous vide lobster tail story!

Why this recipe works

1. Lobster tails should be cooked slowly to ensure the meat doesn’t get chewy or rubbery. This makes the sous vide the ideal method to prepare lobster! 
2. In my opinion, this is the most flavorful way to prepare lobster. The tails are sealed in a bag with butter and herbs, so the flavor infuses with the lobster. You get all the butter poached flavor with less effort!
3. Most proteins (like these sous vide turkey thighs) need to be seared/browned after they come out of the sous vide water bath. This is not necessary with lobster tails. Just remove them from the sealable bag and serve with warm butter. No searing required!

What is Sous Vide?

Sous vide is basically a method of cooking using what is called an immersion circulator. This immersion circulator circulates water in a temperature controlled water bath at a certain temperature to perfectly cook your food every time.

Because the temperature doesn't change, and it keeps your meat (or dessert, veggies, etc.) at the same temperature, your risk of overcooking becomes very minimal.

To learn even more about sous vide cooking, head over and read "what is sous vide cooking."

What is the Water Displacement Method?

The displacement method is where you slowly submerge a ziplock bag in water pushing the air out of the top of the bag (the bag should be slightly open at the top to allow air to escape).

Use a clip (I use binder clips) to clip the bag to the side to keep it from floating and getting air and/or water inside.

Tools Used

• Anova Precision Sous Vide Cooker
• 12 quart container for water bath
• Vacuum sealer
• 16 ounce canning jars

If you don't have a lot of experience cooking sous vide yet, you may want to pop over and read what sous vide cooking is and some tips.

What is the Water Displacement Method?

The displacement method is where you slowly submerge a ziplock bag in water pushing the air out of the top of the bag (the bag should be slightly open at the top to allow air to escape).

Use a clip (I use binder clips) to clip the bag to the side to keep it from floating and getting air and/or water inside.

Tools Used

• Anova Precision Sous Vide Cooker
• 12 quart container for water bath
• Vacuum sealer
• 4 ounce canning jars

If you don't have a lot of experience cooking sous vide yet, you may want to pop over and read what sous vide cooking is and some tips.

Other sous vide recipes

• Sous Vide Carrots
• Sous Vide Scallops
• Sous Vide Turkey Breast
• Sous Vide Broccoli
• Sous Vide Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

You’ll need 4 lobsters tails (or 2 very large tails) for this recipe. I prefer to use cold water lobster as the meat is more tender and flavorful, but you can use warm water lobster if that’s all you have access to. 

The lobster is cooked in the water bath with 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into 1 tablespoon pieces. I prefer to use unsalted and add salt to season the lobster to my liking. If you only have salted butter, you may want to omit the added salt in the recipe.

For a fresh, herb flavor, you’ll need 1 tablespoon of fresh tarragon (1-2 sprigs). If you don’t have tarragon, you can substitute with fresh basil, dill or fennel.

Just ½ a teaspoon of salt is added to the sealable bag with the lobster. As mentioned, if you’re using salted butter, you may want to omit the added salt.

For serving, you’ll want some fresh lemon slices because buttery lobster is best served with a squeeze of lemon juice!

Step by step instructions

Heat a sous vide water bath to 130F degrees.

Heat a pot of water to boiling and add the lobster tails. Cook for 30 seconds.

Parboiling the tails allows the meat to be removed from the shell more easily.

Remove and let cool. Carefully use scissors to cut down the middle of the tail, being careful not to puncture the lobster flesh.

Carefully pull the shell outward and remove the flesh from the inside of the shell, trying to get it all in one piece.

Here’s a quick video on how to remove lobster tail meat from the shell.

Place the lobster tails in a vacuum seal bag (or ziplock freezer bag if using the water displacement method) with the butter, salt and tarragon. Seal the bag.

Place in the water bath and cook for 45 minutes.

Remove the bag from the water bath and take the tails out of the bag.

Serve the lobster drizzled with the bag juice (mostly butter and lobster sauce) with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

The extra sauce is great served over cooked pasta, rice or potatoes. 

Expert tips

1. You’ll need to remove the lobster tails from the shells first before cooking them in the water bath. 
2. I recommend parboiling the lobsters first so the delicate lobster meat can be easily removed from the shells.
3. Be careful not to leave the lobster tails in the water bath too much past the 45 minute cook time as they may start to get mushy.
4. When preparing your sealable bag for the water bath, it’s important that you remove the air as this keeps bacteria out of the bag.
5. The bag of lobster tails should be fully submerged in the water bath so they cook safely and properly. If the bag starts to float, you can open it, let the air out and reseal it.
6. To prevent the bag from floating, you can also use a sous vide sinker weight.

Common questions

Make it a meal

Lobster tails are perfect for dinner parties or date nights! Here are a few of our favorite recipes to serve with lobster:

• Sous Vide Asparagus
• Air Fryer Garlic Bread
• Air Fryer Broccoli
• Sous Vide Potatoes
• Air Fryer Crab Cakes
• Crab and Corn Bisque

Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out!