Wine and Butter Lobster Tails

Lobster tails basted with white wine and lemon juice and topped with butter, parmesan, and crumbs.

Originally Posted: Jan. 6, 2022

Total Time: 30ish minutes? 20 minutes for prep, 10 for cooking

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Intro

My family has never been big on turkey for holiday meals, but we love meat and seafood. As a result, we usually cook some sort of Surf-and-Turf dish for the holidays. My mom has been cooking this wine-and-butter basted lobster dish for years now, and it’s become a family favorite that we usually pair with some sort of beef tenderloin dish.

One of our favorite places to get lobster for the holidays is Costco. They sell frozen lobster tails in a big box, so we usually end up with a few leftover tails to cook for New Year’s. There are people who claim that cold water lobster tastes better than warm water lobster, but personally I think the main factor in a lobster’s flavor is its size. The small-to-medium tails taste the best in my opinion, and luckily the ones sold at Costco tend to fall within this range.

Ingredients

Note: Amounts are per 4 lobster tails, and can be scaled up (which is what we usually end up doing).

• 4 small-to-medium Lobster Tails (we had 4.5oz tails)

For Topping:

• 2 Tbsp. crushed Crackers (we’ve used saltines before, but also almond flour crackers or rice crackers for a gluten-free option)
• 2 Tbsp. fresh-grated Parmesan (Manchego or Asiago might be good substitutes)
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh Parsley
• Dash of Paprika
• 1 Tbsp. melted Butter

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For Basting Liquid:

• 2 Tbsp. dry White Wine
• 5 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced

Other Ingredients:

• More melted butter or ghee for serving

Equipment

• Baking pan
• Oven

Written Instructions

Total Time: 30ish minutes (20 for prep, 10 for cooking)

Prep the Tails

Preheat oven to 425°F.

First thaw your lobster tails (if frozen) and rinse them. Then with a sturdy pair of scissors, cut all the sharp spines off the underside of the shells. After that, cut between the meat and hard upper shell to remove the thinner “belly” shell.

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With your thumb, carefully peel the meat away from the hard upper shell so that you can see the red pigment on the meat. This will help your diners to get all of the meat out when eating. Put the meat back in the hard shell for cooking and presentation.

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Topping and Basting Liquid

Mix 2 Tbsp. crushed crackers, 2 Tbsp. fresh grated parmesan, 2 tsp. chopped fresh parsley, 1 Tbsp. melted butter, and a dash of paprika in a bowl. This will be the topping that goes on the lobster tails towards the end of baking.

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In another bowl, combine 2 Tbsp. dry white wine (such as chardonnay), 5 Tbsp. lemon juice, and 2 cloves of minced garlic. You’ll use this mixture to baste the lobster tails before and during the bake.

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Cooking

Brush the lobster tails with about half the basting liquid mixture. Arrange on a baking pan and bake for about 10 minutes, basting with more liquid about halfway through and perhaps every couple of minutes after that. Towards the end, check for opaqueness in the tails (visually for the outside, and with a fork and knife to check the inside).

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For the final minute or so, take lobster tails out of the oven and coat with the parmesan-crumb topping. Place back in the oven for a minute or so until topping is melted. Serve with melted butter (or ghee). This dish pairs well with beef tenderloin for a surf-and-turf meal. We’ve also used scalloped potatoes, mashed potatoes, and smashed potatoes as side dishes.

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