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–+ servings

Easy Boiled Lobster Tails with Melted Butter

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A simple, beginner-friendly method with size-based timing and a skewer trick to keep the tails straight. Boiling is the easiest way to cook lobster tails at home. All you need is a pot of salted water, the shells can stay on, and there is very little prep. The main thing to watch is time. Lobster meat can turn tough and rubbery when it is overcooked, so use the cooking times below as a guide and check the thickest part of the meat before serving. This recipe was tested using four 6–7 oz lobster tails.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 6 minutes
Total Time 11 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Main Course, Dinner
Cuisine: American, New England
Calories: 90
Ingredients Equipment Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 4 lobster tails, 6–7 oz each fully thawed
  • Water enough to completely cover the tails
  • Sea salt 1/4 cup per gallon of water
  • 4 tbsp Melted butter for serving
  • 1 Lemon for serving, cut into wedges

Equipment

  • Large stockpot
  • Kitchen tongs
  • Instant-read thermometer
  • Long metal skewers, optional

Method
 

  1. Bring the water to a boil. Fill a large stockpot with enough salted water to cover the lobster tails and bring it to a rolling boil over high heat.
  2. Keep the tails straight, if you like. Run a long metal skewer lengthwise through each tail before boiling.
    Skewer tails to keep them straight.
  3. Add the lobster tails. Lower the tails into the boiling water. Wait for the water to return to a boil, then start the timer.
    Add Lobster tails to boiling water with tongs.
  4. Check for doneness. Use the time chart as a guide, then check the thickest part of the meat with an instant-read thermometer.
  5. Remove the tails promptly. As soon as they are done, lift the tails out of the hot water with tongs so they do not continue cooking.
    Remove lobster tails from pot.
  6. Optional quick ice bath. If you want to stop the cooking quickly, dip the tails in ice water for 10–30 seconds, then drain.
  7. Serve. Remove the skewer, crack or split the shell, and serve with melted butter and lemon.

Nutrition

Calories: 90kcalProtein: 19gFat: 1gCholesterol: 145mgSodium: 145mg

Notes

Watch the clock. Boiling is easy, but lobster can go from tender to rubbery quickly if it stays in the pot too long.
Start timing once the water returns to a boil. Adding cold lobster tails temporarily lowers the water temperature.
Cooking at high altitude? Plan on roughly another minute or two and use temperature and texture to confirm doneness.
Cooking jumbo or 20 + oz. tails? Large tails need extra attention because the outside can cook faster than the dense center. Check the thickest section with a thermometer instead of relying on time alone.
The nutrition estimate is for one lobster tail and does not include melted butter.

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