Frozen lobster has some definite benefits over fresh live Lobster.
- Frozen lobster can be bought and stored until you are ready to use it.
- Frozen lobster will be less expensive.
- Frozen Lobster tail is easier to obtain.
- A big benefit is that the frozen lobster has already been prepared so you don’t have to deal with the dilemma of cooking a live lobster.
It is true that fresh live Lobster will generally taste better but that comes at a considerably higher cost. This is because fresh lobster is usually bought for the meat in the tail and claws. Frozen Lobsters tails can come from any of dozens of other different varieties of claw-less species which makes them more available and less costly.
Sources Of Frozen Lobster Tail
In general, there are two distinct sources for frozen Lobster tails. Some are harvested from warm waters and some come from cold waters. Most chefs consider the warm water varieties to be the least desirable. This is because by the time that they are harvested and get to you the meat is of poor quality in a large percentage of the tail.
You should always try to buy your frozen tail from the cold waters of southern countries and avoid the central American variety. Sometimes the information is on the package though often it is not. Then you have to rely on the information the vendor can give you or guess based on the price. The warm water tails will always be the least expensive.
Cooking the Lobster
To get the best flavor and texture from frozen lobster tails they should be thawed prior to cooking. It is possible to cook frozen tails but doing so will produce a tough less tasty meat.
To thaw frozen lobster tails let them sit in their unopened packaging in the refrigerator for about 24 hours. You can thaw them faster by immersing the package in water, then letting that sit in the fridge.
In a rush you can use a microwave with a defrost setting to thaw the tails. Just be careful so that you don’t start cooking the Lobster tails this way.
Once thawed, the Lobster Tails should be cooked in a timely manner. After thawing they can be boiled, steamed, baked, broiled or grilled. It’s up to you.
Here are the two most popular and easiest ways to cook Lobster, boiling and steaming.
Boiling thawed frozen Lobster is really easy.
- Fill a pot with enough water to cover the Lobsters you are cooking,
- Add about one tbsp salt per quart of water
- Heat the water to a rolling boil
- Drop the Lobsters into the boiling water
- Cook for about 1 minute per ounce of Lobster
Steaming is similar except you will use less water. You will need a steaming basket that can hang into the pot but not reach into the water and a tight lid.
- Put 1 to 1 ½ inches of water into pot.
- Add salt (1 tbsp per quart of water)
- Heat the water to boiling
- Hang the steaming basket into the pot
- Cover with heavy Lid (If you don’t have a heavy lid sit a brick or rock on top to hold the lid down)
- Cook them for 7 to 8 minutes
Just remember, be careful and watch out for the hot steam when you open the pot and remember that the pot, lid, strainer and Lobsters will all be extremely hot.
Serve the Lobster on a platter with some hot clarified butter and you are ready to feast.