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Broiled Lobster Tails with a Garlic Butter White Wine Sauce is the perfect Valentine’s Day or special occasion dinner!
Fancy, classy and best of all EASY to make lobster tails ready in under 20 minutes, including the sauce! Another ‘let the oven do all the cooking for you’ recipe. Full of flavour, there’s no need to go to a restaurant for chef-tasting lobster tails.
LOBSTER TAILS
I can’t think of anything more romantic than seafood on Valentine’s Day…especially a couple of lobster tails. I know the one thing that stops me from buying lobster tails more often is that they’re so unbelievably expensive. You definitely want to make sure whatever recipe you choose for your special night will provide the flavour you’re looking for.
This is THE recipe we loved the most. And what a winning combination! White wine and garlic butter with a hint of lemon juice and honey seeps into the lobster meat, perfectly charring it under the broiler (or grill if you’re in Australia), and caramelising the edges. SO. GOOD!
I only have one major tip. Please don’t omit the white wine. It provides the sauce with the BEST flavour. We tried the sauce without wine, replacing it with broth instead and it’s just not the same. We also tried it with a tablespoon of Dijon to provide the acidity you need in the sauce, but the flavour of white wine won.
If you’re worried abut the alcohol quantity, you can reduce the wine to less than half to reduce the amount.
FRESH OR FROZEN LOBSTER TAILS?
We buy frozen and thaw them overnight in the refrigerator. If you’re in a hurry and need to thaw them faster, place them in a pot filled with cold water for about half an hour. Please don’t be tempted to microwave them or put them in hot water. Go slow and do it right.
HOW DO YOU OPEN A LOBSTER TAIL?
- Something that may seem intimidating to some readers is opening a lobster tail. Before you start, get your hands on a pair of sharp scissors. We use a sharp pair of kitchen shears.
- Hold a lobster tail in one hand, or place it on a bench top supporting it with your hand. With the shell facing up, cut down through the centre of the back to the end of the tail, leaving tail fan intact.
- With your thumbs and fingers, open the shell to loosen it from the meat, opening the meat away from the shell side walls.
- Pull the meat up from the bottom of the shell to seperate the shell from the meat underneath it.
Once you’ve done that, insert a small wedge of onion in the bottom to allow flavour to steam through. You could also add a couple of smashed garlic cloves in there for extra garlic flavours!
WHAT TYPE OF WHITE WINE DO YOU NEED?
Try to find or use a good quality dry white wine. We use Pinot Grigio for this recipe, but Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay will work. Make sure you always choose good quality over something cheap, especially when cooking with seafood.
Drizzle with the white wine honey garlic sauce aiming to get as much sauce into the shells as well as all over.
THE BEST WAY TO COOK A LOBSTER TAIL
We normally grill ours on a barbecue, and you’re more than welcome to do that if you like. However, due to the amount of honey in the sauce, we went the broiling option. Easier clean up, no honey stuck on grill plates to scrub later and similar results with charred edges. Another great way to cook it is in a soup, just like in this lobster bisque.
MORE SEAFOOD RECIPES
If you’re not a fan of lobster, this Honey Garlic Salmon is similar to the sauce in this recipe, omitting the white wine. There’s also Creamy Shrimp Piccata (or Lemon Garlic Salmon Piccata), Creamy Tuscan Salmon , and even Browned Butter Honey Garlic Chicken to choose from.
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Broiled Lobster Tails
Ingredients
- 4 lobster tails 6 ounces each
- 1/2 onion cut into 4 wedges
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 6 cloves garlic large, crushed
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice fresh squeezed, adjust to your taste
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 pinch cracked pepper to taste
- 4 lemon slices to serve
- 2 tablespoons parsley freshly chopped
Instructions
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven (4-6 inches from heat element). Preheat broiler and line a baking tray / sheet with foil.
- Thaw out lobster tails, if frozen, in a pot of cold water for 30 minutes or more, until fully thawed. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant (about 1 minute), then add the white wine. Allow to simmer and let reduce slightly (about 2-3 minutes), then add the honey, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Whisk until the honey has melted through the butter and the mixture is well combined. Set aside.
- Using sharp kitchen shears, cut the top shell down the centre of the back to the end of the tail, leaving tail fan intact. Remove vein or shell shards, if any. Run your finger between the meat and the shell to loosen it. Spread the meat slightly open. Pull and lift the lobster meat off of the bottom of the shell, being careful not to pull the tail out completely. Place an onion wedge beneath the meat (between the meat and the shell).
- Place lobster tails, meat side up, on baking sheet. Set aside. Sprinkle each lobster with a pinch of salt and a little pepper (If desired).
- Using half of the sauce, pour or brush over each lobster (concentrating on the meat) and reserve the remaining sauce for serving.
- Broil for 12 to 14 minutes or until lobster meat is opaque, and edges are slightly charred.
- Garnish with parsley and serve immediately with the remaining sauce and lemon slices.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I just made this tonight, and it was amazing! I don’t make lobster often, but this will be my go to recipe from now on. I had Prosecco on hand, so that’s what I used, and the flavour was sublime! Thank you so much for sharing this easy but delicious recipe.
I made this recipe last night … I’d never attempted to broil lobster tails before.t it was well written, easy to follow … and a great recipe. The white wine added a subtle touch… will make it again!
This is,without a doubt, the best way to cook lobster tails. I never make them any other way.anymore. THANK YOU!!
Hello Karina! I’m so excited I found this recipe. I want to make it this weekend but have a MAJOR problem, I have no idea how to buy wine. There’s hundreds at the store I’m so overwhelmed. Could you tell me what brand you use so I can pick it up PLEASE. I love white wine sauce and want to be able to make it at home. Thanks so much. You can direct message me if you would rather than post it.
Any dry white wine will do!
Generally, if you get a wine that is in the middle of the shelves, it’ll be good. The top of the shelves is for more expensive wines and the bottom is for less expensive. Middle of the road is usually good for cooking. You can use a bottle that costs between $12-$20 and most times will be just fine. Sauvignon blanc is a good dry wine. Personally I am a sparkling wine drinker and like the dry, tart wines. I use prosecco in my recipes that call for dry white wine. I hope this helps. It’s intimidating to try and figure it out. :o]
I. Tired this lobster and sauce tonight and it was excellent ! The sauce. Was really easy to make, I will make this again . I would like to try this sauce over grouper as well.
My husband and I really loved this recipe. I was very simple and the lobster came out perfectly. The onion really kept it moist.
It definitely came out a bit on the sweet side but I’ll probably just use less honey next time.
I made this for our Christmas dinner (husband and me only), and it was AH-MAY-ZING!!!!! Definitely as good as (actually, maybe even bar better than) anything I’ve had at a restaurant! Definitely a keeper, and may become our new Christmas meal tradition! Thank you for posting such delicious and EASY recipes! This site is my new go-to for dinner ideas. Keep the recipes coming, especially Instant Pot ones!
AMAZING! Be prepared to have your family and friends request this every time you cook. I reduced the honey content to 50% of the suggested amount after the first of MANY meals. That is just my opinion. Thank you for helping me branch out into cooking Lobster, as I was previously intimidated by the thought of such. I would love to share a picture, as an amateur, of your recipe coupled with my Jalapeño Steak, shrimp, and sides. I will include SOME detail so you can tweak it to your palette. It is my personal choice not to participate in “social media”, so, if you can provide an email address I can show you what my beautiful Wife and I have done with this recipe. I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to copy and paste the photo in the comment box. My email address is below. Merry Christmas and God Bless.
Yes that is so good to hear! Feel free to tweak some of these recipes to your liking as you will enjoy it more! I apologise that we don’t have a feature to upload photos in the comments, I would love to see you and your wife’s creations of our recipes! Send them to: [email protected]