Easy Sous Vide Lobster Tail Recipe

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Enjoy this impressive, succulent butter-poached sous vide lobster tail recipe for a special occasion like Valentine’s Day, New Years or birthday celebration. Perfectly cooked every single time with just 3 simple ingredients. A truly decadent treat!

With a couple of tips, this recipe is especially easy as there is no extra searing step needed with most sous vide cooking.

2 lobster tails in butter in dish with tarragon

For recipe, all you need is 3 ingredients – lobster tails, butter and tarragon. If you don’t have or like tarragon (a classic combination with butter), you can use other fresh herbs. A squeeze of lemon juice is also a perfect finisher and pairing if you like lemon.

Tips: The hardest part of the recipe is removing the lobster tail meat from the shell. But don’t worry, it’s not that hard and we have a video to help if you need it. The only other tip is for defrosting lobster tails which you can do overnight in the fridge or a quicker way (see FAQ).

Traditional methods vs sous vide method

While lobster tails can successfully be grilled, boiled, steamed or baked, these more traditional methods all have one drawback in common. It’s simply too easy to get overcooked lobster with a rubbery texture. Especially if you’re cooking lobster tails for the first time or infrequently.

The sous vide method uses precise temperatures that will cook the lobster tails in a sous vide water bath to the exact doneness you choose, every time. With such an expensive delicacy, this is a huge stress reducer. It’s the easiest way for pretty much guaranteed perfection.

Cook Time and Temperature

Choosing the best temperature is the only guesswork you will have the first time you make the recipe. You will need to experiment based on these options to find your sweet spot.

130F/54.4C: tender, juicy, slightly translucent
136F-138F/57.8-59C: tender, succulent, little to no translucence (this is my preference)
140F/60C: tender, slightly firmer, similar to a steamed lobster
150F/65.6C: firm, closer to traditional texture

You can, of course, try any temperatures in between.

How to serve sous vide lobster tails

The beauty of this lobster tail recipe is that it can be served just as buttery lobster tail on its own with the butter pouch liquid (or extra butter) and a squeeze of lemon.

Or the same tail meat can be used to make:

the best lobster rolls, served in traditional hot dog buns
a delicious instant pot lemon asparagus risotto, sprinkled with diced butter poached lobster meat.
a surf and turf dinner (drop a steak in a sous vide bag into the same water bath 1/2 hour before you put the lobster in)

As for a side dish, here are a few of my favorites:

creamy or vinaigrette coleslaw
this hazelnut charred onions kale slaw
easy creamed spinach
a robust salad like our party salad with grilled vegetables and quinoa
lemon risotto with grilled vegetables (instant pot)
roasted zucchini
And don’t forget a nice cold glass of white wine or beer!

Tailor To Your Taste

Fresh herbs: Tarragon is classic with lobster. Other good options are chives, cilantro, dill, oregano and herbes de provence. If you don’t have fresh herbs, use a pinch of dried herbs (you don’t want to overpower the delicately flavored lobster meat)
Butter: I use salted butter (and no extra salt), but you can also use unsalted butter with a scant pinch of salt. Feel free to clarify the butter to remove the milk solids, but for this recipe, it’s not necessary as it would only affect the appearance since you are not frying with it.
Use the lobster in different ways: Instead of eating the lobster tails with butter, repurpose them with one of the suggestions above e.g. in lobster rolls.

How to make a lobster tail sous vide

3 frozen lobster tails, butter, fresh tarragon — **Ingredients**: frozen lobster tails in shell, butter, fresh tarragon or other herb.

cutting lobster meat out of shell — Thaw lobster tails overnight in fridge or quickly in cold water. Use kitchen shears or scissors to remove lobster meat from shell. See video link in recipe card.

lobster tails in sous vide bag with butter and tarragon — Place lobster in a ziplock bag with butter and fresh tarragon.

lobster tails in water bath — Sous vide lobster tails at the temperature you prefer for 45-60 minutes.

bag of lobster tails finished cooking — Remove the tail meat from the bag. Pour the sous vide butter sauce mixed with lobster juices from the bag into a shallow dish (or use additional melted butter). Place the lobster tails on top and serve.

2 lobster tails in butter in dish — Sprinkle with parsley or other fresh herbs and serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

2 lobster tails on plate with salad and lemon — Or serve with a side dish (see suggestions) with lemon wedges.

FAQ

What is a good size for lobster tails?

Most would say 5-12 ounces (141-340g) is the best size per tail. Some believe tails in the smaller range are sweeter and more tender.

What is the best type of lobster tail to buy?

There are two types: warm-water lobsters (from e.g. Florida, California, Caribbean, Australia, ) and cold-water lobsters (from e.g. Canada and Maine). Most sites agree that the more expensive cold-water lobster is superior – more tender, whiter meat, cleaner taste. Warm water tails are not as reliable (they can get mushy when cooked longer) and some mention that they have a slight ammonia smell.

How much lobster tail should I figure per person?

Figure 5-10 ounces (141-283 grams) per person, depending on what you can afford and how big your eaters are. Lobster with butter is quite rich so take that into account. One to two tails per person is a good portion size.

Can you sous vide lobster claws?

You can, but the claw meat is difficult to remove from the shell in one piece, so I would say sous vide is not the best option. Claw meat also needs a different temperature – closer to 150F (65.6C), but cooking time is the same.

Can you cook lobster tails from frozen?

It would be difficult to remove the meat from a frozen tail, so it’s better to defrost the tails first. However, cooking a lobster tail from frozen is possible if you keep the shell on while cooking. Just add 30 minutes to the cook time. Then remove the tail meat after the cooking process.

What should I look for when buying lobster tails?

Look for a packaging label that says ‘lobster’ only. Try to avoid tails that include tripolyphosphate (preservative). Look for tails that have no discoloration and no black spots on the flesh of the lobster meat. It’s safest to buy frozen lobster tails unless you buy them from a trusted fishmonger.

Make Ahead

To store. Remove from sous vide water bath, plunge bag into an ice bath for 5-10 minutes. Transfer to fridge for 2-3 days. OR remove from bag, place in an airtight container and keep in fridge for up to 4 days (if lobster is removed from the shell).
To reheat: place lobster in ziplock bag, heat sous vide machine or water bath to 120F, submerge bag using water displacement method and rewarm for abut 20 minutes.

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