Sous Vide Lobster

October 30, 2015

Sous Vide Lobster

Sous vide turns lobster tail into something closer to custard than to the rubbery, overcooked version most people have accidentally made at home. The meat comes out of its shell, goes into a bag with butter and a sprig of tarragon, and cooks in a precisely held water bath until it is exactly as tender as you want it and no further. There is no guessing whether three more minutes will ruin dinner, because the water never gets hotter than the number you set.

The technique comes from the same modernist kitchens that pushed sous vide into home cooking generally, and lobster is one of the clearest cases for it. Boiling or steaming heats the outside of the meat far past the point you want before the center catches up, which is why restaurant lobster so often ends up chalky at the tail. A water bath removes that gradient entirely: the whole piece of meat settles at one temperature, and that temperature is a direct dial for texture, from soft and barely set to firm and close to traditional steamed lobster.

Butter and tarragon go into the bag raw and poach alongside the meat, so by the time the tail is done the fat has already picked up the herb and the meat has already picked up the fat. The lobster itself stays naturally sweet under that mellow, herbal butter, with tarragon’s faint anise note doing most of the seasoning. Nothing gets seared or finished afterward - this is one of the few sous vide proteins that goes straight from bag to plate. A squeeze of lemon at the table is the only addition it needs.

Frozen tails work as well as fresh ones here, which makes this a realistic weeknight dish rather than something reserved for a lobster dinner occasion. If claws are part of the picture, they need their own bag and a hotter bath, since claw meat is dense enough to stay unpleasantly gelatinous at the temperature that is perfect for tail meat.

Ingredients

Serves 2-4

2 lobster tails, 140-225 g each, thawed if frozen, meat removed from shell
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 sprigs tarragon, fresh
1/4 tsp kosher salt
lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

Preheat a water bath to 135°F (57°C). This lands in the middle of the lobster texture range, giving a tender bite that is no longer translucent without going as firm as traditionally steamed lobster.

Using kitchen shears, cut along the underside of each tail shell, crack it open, and lift the meat out in one piece. Season the meat lightly with the salt.

Place the lobster tails, butter, and tarragon sprigs in a single layer in a zipper-lock or vacuum bag. Seal using the water displacement method, or vacuum seal on the moist setting, pressing out as much air as possible before sealing.

Submerge the bag in the water bath and cook for 45 minutes. The lobster can safely hold in the bath up to about an hour without any loss of quality, so lean toward the longer end if the tails are on the larger side.

Lift the bag out of the bath and remove the tails. Plate the lobster and spoon the butter and tarragon left in the bag over the top. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

Notes

Temperature is the texture dial for this dish. 120°F (49°C) gives a soft, barely-set, almost sashimi-like texture, best suited to cold preparations like a chilled lobster roll. 130-134°F (54-57°C) gives a tender, succulent texture that is still slightly translucent - the range most sous vide cooks prefer for hot buttered lobster. 140°F (60°C) gives a firmer texture closest to traditional steamed or boiled lobster, and is the safest choice for anyone unsure about sous vide lobster’s naturally softer default.

If cooking claws along with the tails, bag the claw meat separately and cook it at 150°F (66°C). Claw meat is denser than tail meat and stays unpleasantly jelly-like at tail-meat temperatures, even at the top of that range.

Leftovers keep refrigerated, in the sealed bag or an airtight container, for up to a few days. Reheat gently in a 120°F (49°C) water bath for about 20 minutes rather than in a pan or microwave, to avoid pushing the delicate meat past its original doneness.