Steamed Lobster Tails

Happy Monday ya'll!  The weather has been beautiful here in San Francisco after a bit of rain last week, and it's all bright blue skies, and crisp cold air!  Yesterday, my parents came into the city for the day, and we took a long walk on the Marina Green down to the Golden Gate Bridge - we really do live in the most incredible city in the world.

How can you say no to that view?!


Last night, the Grammy's were on (did you end up watching??), and we wanted to stay in for dinner.  On the menu were lobster tails!  Sounds daunting, but they were the easiest thing to make IN THE WORLD.

Our lobster tail feast came about because they were on sale at the market - $5 each!  Kris came home with them to surprise me, and since I'm still a novice in the kitchen, I was more than a little worried about not messing them up.


After discovering that our broiler didn't work (awesome news) I turned to Google, and found out that steaming them was the easiest way to go.

Here they are - perfectly steamed and begging to be eaten!  In case you are thinking of tackling lobster (perhaps a good idea for Valentine's Day dinner this week?) here are the instructions - so easy, and SO delicious!

How to prepare perfectly steamed lobster tails:
Fill a pot with about an inch of water, salt the water, and place in a steamer (in my case, we didn't have a steamer, so I used a small colander with legs).  Once the water comes to a boil, toss in the lobster tails, and put the lid on tight.

Set the timer for 6 minutes, and do NOT take the lid off.  While the lobster tails are steaming away, melt some butter in a pan.  I tossed in a few whole garlic cloves, and a few red pepper flakes to flavor the butter.

Once the timer goes off, rescue your little lobster tails - they should be bright red, and curled up a bit.  Do not let them go longer than the timer!  Overcooked lobster is tough, and chewy, and not very good.

The lobster is easy enough to take out of the shell - but if you don't want to deal with it after it's cooked, you can also run your knife along the shell before steaming.  We dipped it in the butter, and feasted like kings - I kept the sides simple, some roasted broccolini, and mashed potatoes, but these would be amazing with polenta, on top of a salad, or even just with french bread.