Sainsburys Maine Lobster Tails

[Don]

So a few nights back I was in Sainsburys. I was wandering about the freezer aisles like you do and noticed that they had some Maine Lobster tails in. So I bought four for the freezer.

Two of them are destined to go with a pair of East London Steak Company fillet steaks in a surf'n'turf extravaganza.
Not sure what to do with the other two.

I have NEVER cooked lobster myself before so I could do with some PH advice...

So the lobster is raw. I am presuming one need only defrost same in the fridge and then grill/griddle them? I was thinking of doing a garlic butter for the steak/lobster with some parsley in it. Would you griddle them in shell, or shell them first? Or perhaps butterfly them?

The thoughts of someone with experience would be most welcome...

[mad4amanda]

I look forward to the replies as I would like to try these too.

[anonymous-user]

I've done lobster tails on the barbeque (No, I am not an Australian).

Shell on, not too hot (you'll burn the outside before you cook the flesh). We then crack them open and dip them in melted butter, or some other sauce. Bit basic, but treat them like a giant prawn.

[Mobile Chicane]

Odd that they're raw, imho. Are they in an ice glaze or frozen in a block?

If in a block, give a good soak in fresh water first. Sometimes this is sea water, but often it isn't and has an odd chemical taste.

Either way, I'd grill in the shell to keep the flesh moist.

ETA: by 'grill', I mean griddle. Definitely a direct heat source.

Edited by Mobile Chicane on Friday 17th January 17:44

[Don]

Mobile Chicane said:

Odd that they're raw, imho. Are they in an ice glaze or frozen in a block?

If in a block, give a good soak in fresh water first. Sometimes this is sea water, but often it isn't and has an odd chemical taste.

Either way, I'd grill in the shell to keep the flesh moist.

ETA: by 'grill', I mean griddle. Definitely a direct heat source.

Thanks for that, MC. i just checked - definitely raw. I think you would describe the water content as an ice glaze.

I think I'm going with defrost then griddle in the shell.

[calibrax]

Most frozen seafood is soaked in a "brine" like solution before freezing, which is designed to be absorbed and make the product swell up to increase the final weight.

[IanA2]

I find that the Maine tails are nicest poached, they have a delicate and sweet flavour. The Rock tails are slightly different and I prefer them griddled or bar b'd.

[Mobile Chicane]

Whole Canadian lobsters are on offer at Asda at the moment. These are frozen in an ice glaze, not a block of ghastly chemical God-knows-what.

I picked the one with the biggest claws and treated myself. Lovely, it was. Really sweet. The texture is never as good once they're frozen, but the taste more than made up for it. Bob (the cat) enjoyed his morsel too.

[IanA2]

Mobile Chicane said:

Whole Canadian lobsters are on offer at Asda at the moment. These are frozen in an ice glaze, not a block of ghastly chemical God-knows-what.

I picked the one with the biggest claws and treated myself. Lovely, it was. Really sweet. The texture is never as good once they're frozen, but the taste more than made up for it. Bob (the cat) enjoyed his morsel too.

Yes they are quite good, I'm not sure they are as good as the tails, but our cats like them too

You can get decent live lobster and a reasonable price from Hoo Hing

[SV8Predator]

IanA2 said:

Yes they are quite good, I'm not sure they are as good as the tails, but our cats like them too

You can get decent live lobster and a reasonable price from Hoo Hing

Hoo?

(There's one for Singleball to add to the "One for the spelling police" thread, so that he can feel all warm, fuzzy and self-important...)

[Tumbler]

I split the shells after defrosting but before cooking as then they just pop out of the shells when eating, insert metal skewer along the length whilst cooking so they don't curl up, a little butter and under a hot grill.

[IanA2]

SV8Predator said:

IanA2 said:

Yes they are quite good, I'm not sure they are as good as the tails, but our cats like them too

You can get decent live lobster and a reasonable price from Hoo Hing

Hoo?

(There's one for Singleball to add to the "One for the spelling police" thread, so that he can feel all warm, fuzzy and self-important...)

Or perhaps not. See: http://www.hoohing.com/

[SV8Predator]

IanA2 said:

Or perhaps not. See: http://www.hoohing.com/

It was an (obviously unsuccessful) play on words, but thanks for the link!

[Pete Franklin]

Cut in half lengthways, remove flesh from shell, poach in melted butter at 80dc for around 6 mins

[IanA2]

SV8Predator said:

IanA2 said:

Or perhaps not. See: http://www.hoohing.com/

It was an (obviously unsuccessful) play on words, but thanks for the link!

No probs