If you’re a seafood lover, defrosting lobster must be on your to-do list before cooking it. Using a microwave makes the process faster; thus, ideal when you don’t have a whole day to cook your lobster tails.
Defrosting lobster tails makes them softer, improving their taste. If you don’t thaw lobster tails before cooking, they’ll become tough meat that doesn’t serve your appetite well.
So you must defrost Lobster tails to enjoy them. But you have to do it well. Lest your lobster tails get cooked in the microwave.
You have to do the heat setting right and monitor the process to prevent your lobster tails from cooking while defrosting in the microwave.
In this article, we’ll share insights about defrosting lobster tails to help you do it right.
Can You Defrost Lobster Tails in the Microwave?
Yes, you can defrost Lobster tails in the microwave. The microwave lets you defrost Lobster tails faster than any other method, making it ideal when you don’t have ample time.
But you must be careful not to cook or burn your lobster tails out of the possible irregular heating in the microwave. Every time I defrost Lobster tails, I always keep an eye out to prevent it from overcooking.
Although it’s risky, defrosting lobster tails in the microwave saves you time and energy.
I use it when I need to get the fish done in a few minutes – it’s your go-to method if you want to rush somewhere afterwards.
To defrost Lobster tails in the microwave without causing any problems, you have to follow a set of tested and approved steps.
The following guideline has always given me excellent results, so you should also try it.
Read also: How To Defrost Salmon in Microwave
5 Effective Steps to Defrosting Lobster Tails in The Microwave
- Set the highest heat setting in your microwave.
As a last resort, defrosting lobster tails in the microwave can lead to overcooking. To prevent this, you must minimize cooking time by setting the power setting at the highest mark.
- Put your frozen lobster tails on a microwave-safe plate.
Get a microwave-safe plastic or glass plate to microwave your lobster tails. Remove the lobster tails from their packaging and arrange them in a single layer on the plate to nuke evenly.
Never pile them up because that could prevent them from defrosting wholly.
- Set your microwave to defrost setting/20%/30% power setting and microwave lobster tails for 3 minutes.
Does your microwave have a defrost setting? If yes, choose it and defrost your lobster tails for 3 minutes to avoid overcooking them.
Alternatively, you can set the power setting to 20% or 30% if there is no defrost setting on your microwave.
Ensure there are no pop or sizzling sounds as that may indicate overcooking – get your lobster tails out of the microwave as fast as possible if you hear the sounds.
Point to Note: If your microwave doesn’t have a defrost setting, defrost your lobster tails for 1-minute durations to avoid overcooking.
- Confirm your lobster tails are defrosted.
If you are microwaving your lobster tails in a microwave with a defrosting setting, check after 3 minutes. For those without the defrost setting, you’ll check after each minute.
Remove the plate from the microwave and check if the thickest part of the biggest lobster tail is fully defrosted.
A fully defrosted lobster tail has its center meat at room temperature. And has no frozen parts.
You don’t have to cut open the shell to see if the meat is defrosted. Simply touch the center of the exposed meat at the end of the tail to confirm there are no frozen spots.
Microwave again for one minute if the tails are not yet defrosted.
- Cook the lobster tails instantly after defrosting.
Defrosting lobster tails gets them started to cook, and keeping them a while longer before cooking may get them spoiled.
You must cook it immediately after defrosting in your microwave to preserve its taste and texture.
Never refreeze lobster tails after defrosting them in a microwave.
How Long to Defrost Lobster Tails in the Microwave
The standard time for defrosting lobster tails can vary from 1 to 3 minutes. Defrost your tail meat for 3 minutes if your microwave has a defrost setting, but defrost for 1 minute at 20% or 30% heat setting if there is no defrost setting.
While defrosting your lobster tails, keep note of any sound coming from your meat. Remove the lobster tails from your microwave immediately if you hear any sizzling or popping sound.
You may risk overcooking them if you defrost them for too long.
Additionally, ensure the plate you’re using is marked microwave-safe to prevent fire-related problems.
A glass or ceramic plate like the Mora Ceramic Plate with the “microwave-safe” sign is an ideal container to use in your microwave.
You should also consider cooking your lobster tails immediately after defrosting in a microwave.
Because defrosting may have caused them to start cooking, keeping or refreezing them without cooking may cause them to go bad.
How to Cook Lobster Tails in the Microwave after Defrosting
You can proceed to cook your lobster tails immediately after thawing in the microwave to produce juicy, soft, mouth-watering, and just-cooked meat. But just before cooking, rinse your defrosted lobster tails to remove any residue.
Exposing the meat before cooking can hasten the process and make the meat cook more evenly. To expose your lobster meat, cut or butterfly your tails, then follow the following steps:
Step #1. Place your lobster tails in a microwavable dish.
Get a glass or ceramic dish that’s marked “microwave-safe” to cook your lobster tails. Arrange your tails with the tails fans facing the center of the dish.
Step #2. Cover your lobster tails with a microwavable plastic wrap.
Hasten the cooking by covering your tails with a microwave-safe plastic wrap such as the Amazon Basics Plastic Wrap. Leave a corner open to let steam free during cooking.
Step #3. Set your microwave power setting to high.
You don’t want to cook your lobster for too long because that can cause overcooking. So you set the power setting to the highest setting to ensure your tails don’t last for too long in the microwave before they’re ready to consume.
Step #4. Cook For 3 minutes.
One medium-sized lobster tail with the shell on takes 21/2 minutes to cook on a high-power setting. For each extra tail, add 11/2 minutes. So two tails, for instance, take 4 minutes to cook.
Step #5. Rotate your lobster tails to face the edge of the dish.
More heat will be at the edges of the dish, so rotate your tails halfway to face the edges.
Takeaways
Defrosting lobster tails in the microwave saves you time and energy. If you’re keen enough, you’ll have your tails ready for cooking in less than 3 minutes without any instance of overcooking or frozen parts.
You can use the microwave to cook the lobster tails immediately after defrosting. It takes approximately 3 minutes for medium-sized tails to cook in the microwave, producing tender, juicy, and tasty meat.
If you’re in a hurry, defrost your frozen lobster tails and cook them in your microwave to save time for other urgent matters.