Butter Poached Lobster Tails with Risotto (video) (2024)

This butter poached lobster recipe with simple risotto is the pinnacle of gourmet cooking at home! It’s a 5-star, restaurant quality seafood dish that is not only easy but fun to make at home for a special occasion. The lobster tails are first poached in water, then peeled and poached in herbed butter, served over a bed of risotto. This easy risotto recipe is the perfect complement to the buttery lobster!

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Perfect for a Special Occasion!

Serve this butter poached lobster recipe with a side of champagne for the ultimate dinner!Surprise your guests or that special someone with this elegant and delicious lobster tail dish at home for a special occasion, holiday, birthday or celebration. Nothing says ‘I love you’ with food like lobster!

Ingredients for the Recipe

Here are the main ingredients you’ll need for this seafood recipe:

• Lobster Tails: use large, fresh (or frozen and thawed) lobster tails for best results.
• Butter: both unsalted or salted butter will work great for poached the lobster.
• Parsley: use fresh parsley for the best flavor.
• Lemon:add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice over the lobster tails when serving for a bright and refreshing flavor.
• Arborio Rice: this is the type of rice you need for making risotto.
• White wine: for making the simple risotto.
• Broth: you can use seafood, chicken or vegetable broth for making the risotto.

How to Make Butter Poached Lobster Tails

Here’s how I make butter poached lobster tails at home:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Place thawed, not frozen, lobster tails into the boiling water and set a timer for 7 minutes for 5 oz lobster tails (adjust the timing according to size; increase time by 30 seconds for each additional ounce). Remove the tails from water and place into a bowl of ice water immediately.
2. Once the tails have cooled down enough to handle, peel them using the help of a tea towel. Place lobster facing down into the palm of your hand and give the shell a few gentle squeezes to crack the shell. Use kitchen shears to split the shell in half on the underside. Peel the shell gently away from the meat.
3. Melt the butter of poaching a small sauce pot just big enough to accommodate the tails. Season the butter with salt, pepper, smoked paprika and parsley. Once the butter comes up to a simmer, add all the tails in and poach in the butter for about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, rotating the tails frequently. Serve the tails immediately over a bed of risotto and pour a few tablespoons of butter over the top. Add a squeeze of lemon juice right before enjoying.