Enjoy this impressive and succulent Butter Poached Lobster Tail Recipe for a special occasion like Valentine’s Day, New Years or a birthday celebration. Perfectly cooked every time with just 3 simple ingredients. A truly decadent treat!

With a few tips, this recipe is especially easy as no additional browning step is necessary with most sous vide cooking.

For the recipe, all you need are 3 ingredients: lobster tails, butter, and tarragon. If you don’t have or don’t like tarragon (a classic combination with butter), you can use other fresh herbs. A splash of lemon juice is also a perfect complement and pairing if you like lemon.

Tips: The hardest part of the recipe is removing the lobster tail meat from the shell. But don’t worry, it’s not that difficult and we have a video to help you if you need it. The only other tip is to defrost the lobster tails, which you can do overnight in the fridge or faster (see FAQ).

Traditional methods vs sous vide method

While lobster tails can be successfully broiled, boiled, steamed, or baked, all of these more traditional methods have one drawback in common. It’s just too easy to get overcooked lobster with a rubbery texture. Especially if you are cooking lobster tails for the first time or infrequently.

The sous vide method uses precise temperatures that will cook lobster tails in a sous vide water bath to the exact doneness you choose, every time. With such an expensive delicacy, this is a great stress reducer. It’s the easiest way to achieve virtually guaranteed perfection.

Cooking time and temperature

Choosing the best temperature is the only guesswork you’ll have the first time you make the recipe. You will need to experiment with these options to find your sweet spot.

• 130F/54.4C: tender, juicy, slightly translucent
• 136F-138F/57.8-59C: tender, succulent, little to no translucency (this is my preference)
• 140F/60C: tender, slightly firmer, similar to a steamed lobster
• 150F/65.6C: firm, closer to traditional texture

You can of course try any temperature in between.