On this week’s Commissioner’s Spotlight, Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam is joined by Executive Chef Justin Timineri to talk about the newest Fresh! Recipe video featuring Florida Spiny Lobster Tails.
Download Recipe – Florida Spiny Lobster Tail
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Discover more by visiting FreshFromFlorida.com. You can view recipe here.
From: Fresh From Florida
Sweet Cream Butter Broiled Florida Spiny Lobster Tails
Ingredients:
4 (6-9-ounce) spiny lobster tails, split open in the shell
1/4 stick unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
sea salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste
Directions:
- Preheat oven broiler on medium high.
- Place all 4 of the lobsters on a cookie sheet and make sure they are opened up down the middle.
- Evenly spread the softened butter over each of the lobster tails’ meat.
- Lightly season each lobster tail with salt and pepper.
- Place lobsters in the oven on the middle rack under the broiler.
- Let lobster cook under the broiler for about 7 minutes or until just barely cooked throughout.
- Remove lobsters from oven and let cool slightly.
- Serve lobster tails warm with fresh lemon.
Spiny Lobster
Florida’s commercial spiny lobster season runs from August through March. Spiny lobster is one of Florida’s top commercial seafood products in dockside value, with the bulk of the harvest coming from Monroe, Miami-Dade, and Broward counties.
The spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) is a crustacean related to crabs, shrimp, crayfish, and the Spanish lobster. Common names include crawfish (this is not the freshwater crawfish) and Florida lobster. In Florida, the spiny lobster is caught off the Keys and around the southern tip of the state in the Atlantic Ocean near the Florida Reef Tract.
The spiny lobster has numerous spines on the body; two large, hooked horns over the eyes; a pair of long, jointed antennae; and five pairs of walking legs. It has mottled coloring, with yellow, brown, orange, and blue markings over the body and tail. The tail is segmented and can be rapidly curled under the body to propel the lobster backward.
Like all crustaceans, the spiny lobster molts or sheds its shell to grow. Its diet consists of clams, snails, seaweed, and small marine organisms. Lobsters form a single line, called “marches,” and move from shallow to deep water during seasonal migration.
Spiny lobsters are harvested using special traps at depths of 6 to 300 feet and are usually landed live. They are marketed as whole lobster, lobster tails, split tails, and lobster meat. These products are available fresh or frozen, raw or cooked. The term “green” is used to refer to raw lobster.