Prepping the Lobster

• Fully thaw lobster tails before you do anything else. For both precooked, fresh or thawed tails, rinse the tails under water to remove any saltwater or preservatives. To make butterflied tails, cut along the length of the tails, through the center and all the way to the base of the tail fan using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife, then pull apart the shell along the cut, exposing the meat. Butterflying tails allows you to season them before cooking. For whole or butterflied tails, run a bamboo or metal skewer through the length of each tail flesh to prevent it from curling during cooking. Precooked tails cannot be butterflied and they do not need to be skewered before steaming.

Seasoning Options

• Because steaming is such a gentle cooking method, only lightly season the tails prior to cooking for optimal results. Heavy flavors may overpower the delicate taste of lobster meat. Consider rubbing fresh minced herbs such as garlic and ginger or tarragon and black pepper onto the exposed flesh of butterflied tails. Whole tails and precooked tails should not be seasoned prior to steaming. In all cases -- whole, butterflied and precooked tails -- season the steaming liquid to flavor the tails. However, precooked lobster tails absorb less flavor from the steaming liquid than raw lobster meat. Options include adding wine or whole dried spices such as black peppercorns, bay leaves and fresh rosemary to the steaming liquid.

Steaming and Doneness

• Use a pot that can comfortably hold all of the tails. A 4- to 5-gallon pot roughly holds 6 to 8 pounds of lobster. Use 1 liter of liquid — water, stock, wine or a combination — for every four tails, then cover the pot. Heat the liquid until it reaches a rolling boil. Arrange the tails so they are in a single layer on a metal steam colander, place it into the pot and put on the lid. Bring the liquid back to a rolling boil before lowering the heat so the liquid stays at a simmer. Steam for roughly two minutes per 1/4 pound of lobster. The lobster is fully cooked when the shells are bright red and the meat is white and opaque. The liquid from the tails will have turned white and coagulated. The steaming time is roughly the same for precooked lobster.

Serving Ideas

• Serve lobster tails in the shell or remove the meat after cooking for less messy eating. Chill steamed lobster tails and use the meat for salads such as a Thai-style salad with lobster meat, cucumber and fresh Asian herbs. To consume the meat hot, immediately serve it after steaming, with a small bowl of clarified butter on the side in which to dip the meat. If you seasoned the steaming liquid, strain it and reduce it, adding in some butter, to make a quick sauce for the steamed tails. Steamed lobster tails can be stored in the fridge in a sealed airtight container for up to two or three days. Freezing cooked lobster meat is inadvisable because the higher temperatures of home freezers means the cooked meat becomes mushy when frozen.