Lazy Lobster
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:2 servings
- Salt
- 2live lobsters, about 1½ to 2 pounds each
- 6tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- 1tablespoon chopped parsley
- 2teaspoons thinly sliced chives
- 1teaspoon snipped dill
- A few tarragon leaves
- A few chervil sprigs
- Lemon wedges, for serving
- Freshly ground black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)
927 calories; 41 grams fat; 23 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 132 grams protein; 3365 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Put a large pot of water on to boil. Salt heavily: ¼ cup per gallon. When water reaches a rolling boil, add lobsters headfirst, put on the lid and bring back to a boil. Continue boiling with lid slightly ajar, 8 minutes for a 1½ pounder or 10 minutes for a 2 pounder. The lobster will not be fully cooked: It will cook further upon reheating.
- Step 2
Remove lobsters from pot with tongs, and let cool in the kitchen sink. When lobsters are cool enough to handle, remove tails and claws (with knuckles attached) with a twisting motion. (Reserve bodies for another purpose or freeze for future use.)
- Step 3
Using lobster crackers or mallet and kitchen shears, crack shells and remove meat from tail, knuckles and claws. For presentation, try to keep claw meat intact. Use a paring knife drawn down the middle of the tail meat to remove intestinal vein; rinse meat briefly if necessary. If you wish, wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours, or proceed immediately with rest of recipe.
- Step 4
To finish, put half the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add room-temperature lobster meat and bring to a low simmer. Turn heat to low, put on lid and cook for 5 minutes. Add remaining butter, turn off heat and cover for 5 more minutes.
- Step 5
To serve, divide lobster meat into two warmed shallow soup bowls. Spoon butter evenly over each serving. Sprinkle with parsley, chives, dill, tarragon and chervil. Serve with lemon wedges, and dust with black pepper.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
EC
Please please please steam the lobsters instead of boiling. Boiling will leave lobster waterlogged and loses a lot of flavor to the water, while steaming preserves the flavor with succulent flesh.
Zackbox
Only a geeky scientist would know this. Shellfish have no circulatory system? Ever seen a blood vessel? They extract oxygen from seawater by muscle activity, pushing the seawater throughout the body. Ah ha! The only acceptable use of white boxed wine is cooking lobster. Put the lobsters into a pot of room temperature wine. It gets absorbed by the meat. As the lobster quietly goes to sleep, turn on the heat. The result is a humane end with wine infused lobster meat. Gustatory heaven!
Mary White
Live lobsters are not available near me. How to proceed with frozen tails?
G Howie
You need to kill the lobster first by pithing it with a sharp knife behind the head. Then do what you will. Lobsters have feelings too.
skyandstars
I second EC's comment about steaming. Additionally, it is much more forgiving with the length of cooking and you are less likely to over-cook the meat. Over-cooked lobster= rubbery Timing- 1 1/2 # 14 min 1 3/4# 16 min 2 # 18 min
Edwin Cohen
Oh and if you like to cook those shells, body's and juice can become the most divine sauce or soup for many more seafood dinners. Use a heavy canvas sack. You may find them in some bar supply places used to make crushed ice. Add the shells and body and smash them to a pulp with a rubber mallet. You can use them to make a stock with aromatics or cook them down with a lot of butter and wind up with a lobster butter.
Leslie
Have the decency to kill the lobster first, especially before a more drawn-out steaming execution. Fish all have the same neural pain pathways as we do so they feel it all, imagine that. Easy to chunk a knife down through the brain. Lots of videos. Eat humanely.
Zaphelps
I admit I have the market kill them for me. I'm not proud of it but I boiled one alive once and still feel bad.
Riversage
As a native Mainer (Mainah), this is the preferred method. Use only 2" of water in a generous pot, and make sure it's BOILING like crazy before putting the lobster in the pot. Cover completely to steam. Beware of having a grocer/deli clerk steam for you, as the store's steamer may not be fully heated. Undercooked meat will be loose and "shreddy".
Kurt D Gress
BTW- I then cut up the shells, threw them back in the pot with the steaming liquid adding another 6 quarts of water to the quart still in the kettle. A vigorous simmer for 1 hours yields fantastic lobster stock. Strain into jars and freeze for up to 10 months. This stock is perfect for seafood risottos, fish stew, etc. You never have to use the awful bottled clam juice again.
Elaine
The body of the lobster is too good to set aside for future use. Tear it apart and enjoy on the spot. Juice, Tomalley, legs, all of it. No butter needed here.
John D, Washington DC
For serious lobster fans, try the following combination of David’s Lazy Lobster recipe with Sam Sifton’s Lobster Risotto recipe, also in NYT Cooking: A Follow steps 1-3 of David’s recipe, saving the shells. B Take apart the body, saving the tomalley, roe (if you’re lucky enough to have it), and small bits of meat. If you are serious, also get the little bits of meat out of the feelers. Set the tomalley, roe, and meat bits aside. C Then use all of the shell pieces, including what is left of
Joe A.
I recently enjoyed lobster tails like this - be sure to use unsalted butter as Mr. Tanis' recipe states. I love salt but the salt level in melted salted butter is overwhelming and will ruin your dinner.
Spaypets
Um, thaw the tails, cook the tails, shell the tails. Proceed according to the recipe. If the package doesn’t include boiling instructions, go to lobstergram.com They have instructions.
K D
Okay, my family comes from a small lobster fishing village on the northeast coast of N.B. Canada. My great grandfather was a lobster fisherman. I like to think we have historical expertise on the matter. All this steaming is crazy. The best part of eating the lobster is the claws' salt/lobster flavored water. You crack them off and suck it out. Boil the lobster. Put lots of salt in the water. It is done when the tiny legs come off when you pull. Enjoy.
Nancy
This was absolutely delicious and very easy, but personally I needed to add a bit of salt at the end. Next time I might do 4 TBLSP unsalted butter and 2 TBLSP salted.
KraftyBeaver
Great and easy enough! We were short on some herbs so I warmed a whole clove of garlic to lightly scent the butter (first half of butter) then pulled it out. Will use again.
Leslie Marqua
How could this be bad? You're right....it can't be bad.
N M
A "Mainer" claiming cooking lobster is too much work? 14 minute cook times for 1.5 lb lobster? Much closer to 10. Also, for those who save bodies/shells for stock, remove the sacs behind the eyes before cooking down due to their bitter flavor.
Kim G
steam the lobsters instead of boiling
Diana
I agree with Norman Drake. I've both steamed and boiled. Same amount of liquid in lobster body both ways.
JohnK860
Sorry. Way too much work, and way too much waste for me. New England lobster is a 10 minute steam while the butter melts and, if you don't want the rest of a 2lb lobster, just buy a couple of Spiny Lobster tails at the grocers and save yourself a lot of trouble.
Sandy S
You put the lobster into a pot lined with some greens, seaweed is good and cold water. Put on the heat and bring it up to a boil. The lobster goes to sleep and you won't hear any banging. He is lulled to sleep gently.
Stacey
How long do you then cook it?
New England gal
Save all shells and make Lobster Bisque: Shells of 2 lobsters 1-2 tsp. tomato paste 250g tub of mascarpone cheese Boil lobster shells in fresh water. Sieve out shells, and sieve remaining liquid again in a fine sieve. Transfer liquid to a wide and shallow (preferably enameled) pan over medium heat. Add tomato paste and mascarpone cheese; mix thoroughly and stir to reduce.
New England gal
This recipe is only lazy for the diner, not the cook! Crack open the shells over a bowl, then it doesn’t matter how much water comes out. Boil lobsters in water with the same % of salt as the ocean.
eweidman2
Just sous vide tails with butter and tarragon.
Tj
Lobster is so delicious. In the UK, they are classified as sentient beings and are to be killed prior to boiling/steaming. I'm now following the UK's lead and I do feel much better about my lobster.
Chimpy
You STEAM lobsters if you want them to be delicious.
Brenda Verbeck
I learned from a Chinese cook some years ago to feed live lobsters sherry before their demise. Use a dropper. you will see that they open their mouths and actually get a bit drunk, flipping around the counter.
Chabsn
If you use fresh lobster and cook it yourself, process the lobster over a large bowl and keep the liquid. And SAVE THE SHELLS to make a seafood (lobster) stock! Use the stock to flavor/cook anything else.
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