Lobster Tails with Hazelnut Browned Butter

Valentine’s Day has never been a holiday close to my heart. In my younger, more loudly feminist days, I dismissed it as the (mostly) commercialized, hallmark inspired holiday that it is. Since meeting my now husband, I have stopped celebrating Valentines Day altogether because his birthday falls on February 13th and that obviously takes precedence. Well despite my lack of enthusiasm for Valentines Day, on behalf of women and love everywhere I want to voice my displeasure with the NFL. By adding another week of regular season games, you have (inadvertently?) placed Superbowl Sunday on the same weekend as Valentines Day. Superbowl and Valentines Day do not go together! Instead of romantic, candle-lit dinners, we are met with chili, chicken wings, jerseys, and painted faces. This is the exact opposite of romance. For shame!

Those few of you who will be celebrating Valentines Day this year (perhaps on Saturday or Monday), the classic lobster tail is always a winner. They are much cheaper than a full lobster, they look stunning and they are extremely easy to prepare. This method ensures that you don’t overcook the lobster and keeps it the show stopping centerpiece it is meant to be. While this recipe calls for hazelnuts, you could substitute pecans or pistachios.

If you don’t have the luxury of living on the ocean, there is no harm in purchasing frozen lobster tails. Unless you are buying the lobster while it is alive in the tank, the lobsters were most likely frozen in any event.

Lobster Tails with Hazelnut Browned Butter

From Simply Recipes

Serves 2 (or more, just add another tail!)

2 Lobster Tails (6-8 ounces each), defrosted if frozen
1/4 cup unsalted, raw hazelnuts
8 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp minced shallots
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp grated lemon zest
pinch of kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay out the hazelnuts in a single layer. Toast until fragrant and lightly browned, approximately 10-15 minutes, watching carefully so that they don’t burn. Remove from the oven and transfer the hazelnuts to the center of a dry, clean dish towel. Rub the hazelnuts together inside of the dish towel to remove as much of the papery dark skins as you can. Coarsely chop them and set aside.

In a small, stainless steel saucepan, melt the butter on medium heat. The butter should foam up and then start to recede and the milk solids will fall to the bottom and start to brown. Watch carefully as the butter can go from brown to burnt very quickly! Once most of the solids have browned, remove from the heat and strain through a mesh strainer into a bowl. Remove 2 Tbsp of the brown butter and set aside. Combine the remaining brown butter with the chopped hazelnuts, parsley, shallots, lemon zest and salt and set aside.

Preheat the oven broiler. Line another sheet pan with aluminum foil.

Prepare the lobster tails: Using kitchen shears, cut the top side of the lobster shell lengthwise from the open end to the base of the tail. To help make the shell easier to deal with, put the tail side upside down in the palm of your hand and squeeze to break the translucent bottom shell. Grip the sides of the shell and pull open by about an inch or two. Using your finger, carefully wiggle between the lobster meat and the bottom shell, to separate the meat from the shell. [Watch this Youtube video for more information on how to do this]. Then gently pull the meat up through the crack you created, keeping the meat attached to the tail. The lobster meat should be sitting up on top of the shell.

Place the prepared lobster rails on the lined baking sheet. Brush the lobster meat with the reserved 2 Tbsp of browned butter. Broil for 7 to 10 minutes or until the meat is cooked through and the shells are bright red. This will vary depending on the size of your lobster tails. When done, the meat should register 145F on an instant read thermometer.

Remove, spoon the browned butter hazelnut sauce over each lobster tail, and serve.

Note: the hazelnut butter can be prepared up to 3 days in advance, but bring to room temperature before serving. The Lobster tails can be prepared up to the point of broiling a few hours before. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to cook and serve.