Broiled Lobster Oreganata combines succulent lobster tails topped with seasoned breadcrumbs in a garlicky sauce with just a touch of tomato. These Italian-style lobster tails can be ready in 30 minutes and are perfect for Christmas Eve’s Feast of the Seven Fishes.
There are so many ways to prepare lobster from boiled or steamed to simmered in sauce like lobster fra diavolo, but broiled lobster tail oreganata style is truly one of the best!
Because the tails take very little time to cook, this dish can be ready quickly and is especially great for Christmas Eve alongside other seafood favorites like zuppa di pesce, shrimp scampi, and calamari salad.
Be sure to serve with plenty of crusty bread because wasting this sauce would be a crime!
And if you love oreganata flavors, try my recipes for shrimp oreganata, salmon oreganata, and clams oreganata!
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Lobster. I’m using six 4-ounce lobster tails for this recipe. If you have access to Maine or North-Atlantic lobster, I recommend using that as the flavor and texture is superior to lobsters that are caught in warm water. Costco will often have great prices on Maine lobster.
- Stock. I’m using low-sodium chicken stock for my lobster tail oreganata, but if you have shrimp stock or lobster stock the flavors will be even better!
- Tomato. I like to use just a touch of tomato for this dish because it adds body and works so well with the other flavors. For this recipe I’m using passata, but you can use crushed tomatoes if preferred and scale up or down depending on how much tomato flavor you want.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Mince 6 tablespoons of flat-leaf Italian parsley, cube 6 tablespoons of butter, mince 10 garlic cloves, and slice 1 large lemon into wedges. With a sharp knife or scissor, remove the small legs (swimmerets) from and split down the middle 6 4-ounce lobster tails and set aside.
- This is how the tails will look once they’re split in half. Any visible intestinal tracks can easily be removed at this time. Set your oven rack to the second highest level and turn the broiler to high.
- In a medium bowl combine 3 tablespoons of the parsley along with 1/2 cup of plain breadcrumbs, 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon of crushed hot red pepper flakes, and 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Mix well, taste test, and adjust salt and pepper if needed.
- Heat a large oven-safe pan to medium heat with 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil and the garlic and cook until golden, about 3 minutes.
- Add 1/2 cup of dry white wine, 3/4 cup of passata, and 1 1/4 cups of chicken stock (or shrimp/lobster stock) to the pan and bring the mixture to a lively simmer for 5 minutes. Taste test and adjust salt and pepper if needed, then remove from the heat.
- Pack each split tail with the breadcrumb mixture and place in the sauce, meat side up.
- Spoon some of the sauce on each tail to moisten the breadcrumbs, and sprinkle a bit of the remaining breadcrumb mixture (no more than 2 tablespoons worth) into the sauce. Place 1-2 small cubes of butter onto each tail making sure to reserve half of the butter for later. Drizzle 2 tablespoons worth of lemon juice over the tails and broil for 4-6 minutes and watch carefully to prevent burning. When the meat is opaque and slightly firm remove the pan from the broiler. If desired, use an instant-read thermometer to check the thickest part of the broiled lobster tail (it should be ~140F-145°F).
- Add the remaining butter and parsley to the sauce and whisk to combine. Serve with lemon wedges, crusty bread, and/or a bit of pasta, and enjoy!
Top tips
- Split the tails. While you certainly can use whole tails for this recipe, I prefer to cut them down the middle. It makes it easier to remove the meat and is great if serving a crowd.
- Don’t overcook the lobster. 4-ounce lobster tails take only a few minutes to broil, so watch carefully and remove promptly. The meat should be opaque and firm. For accuracy, use an instant read thermometer to check the thickest part of the lobster is 140-145°F.
- Serving. Broiled lobster oreganata is great with crusty bread or pasta and lemon wedges. This recipe yields enough sauce for about a 1/2 pound of pasta. Be sure to save your pasta water to add to the sauce if needed.
More seafood favorites
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Broiled Lobster Oreganata
Ingredients
For the breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup (50g) plain breadcrumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) extra virgin olive oil
For the sauce and lobster
- 6 4-ounce (120g) lobster tails about 1 1/2 pounds worth
- 1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 10 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup (120ml) white wine
- 1 1/4 cup (320ml) low sodium chicken stock
- 3/4 cup (180ml) passata
- 6 tablespoons (84g) butter small cubes, divided
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
- 1 large lemon cut into wedges, for serving
Instructions
For the breadcrumbs
- In a bowl combine the breadcrumbs, salt, crushed red pepper flakes, parsley, oregano, and 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Mix well and taste test. Adjust salt and pepper if needed.
For the sauce and lobster
- Set oven rack to the second highest level and turn the broiler to high.
- With a sharp knife, split the tails down the middle and set aside. Any visible intestinal tracks can easily be removed at this time.
- Heat a large oven safe pan to medium heat with the extra virgin olive oil and garlic and cook until golden (~3 minutes).
- Add the white wine, passata, and chicken stock to the pan and bring to a lively simmer for 5 minutes. Taste test the sauce and season with salt and pepper if required. Turn off the heat.
- Add the lobster tails to the pan meat side up. Pack the tails with the breadcrumb mixture. Spoon some of the sauce over each tail to moisten the breadcrumbs.
- Sprinkle a bit of the remaining breadcrumbs (no more than 2 tablespoons worth) into the sauce. Place 1-2 to small cubes of butter onto each tail, making sure to reserve half of the butter for later. Squeeze the lemon juice on top of the tails. Broil for 4-6 minutes or until the meat is opaque and slightly firm. Carefully watch the lobster tails so that they don’t burn.
- Remove the pan from the broiler and add the remaining butter and parsley to the sauce and whisk to combine. Serve with crusty bread or with a bit of pasta. Enjoy!
Notes
- 4 ounce lobster tails will only take a few minutes to broil. For accuracy, check in the thickest part of the meat with an instant read thermometer and cook to 140°F
- There will be enough sauce for about a 1/2 pound of pasta.
- Leftovers can be saved in the fridge for up to 3 days and can be reheated in the oven, microwave, or stovetop.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Superb!
Best NYE lobster every! And, I made it!
Thank you!
I made this for Christmas dinner and it was absolutely delicious! I followed recipe exactly, but added top neck clams to the pan before popping in the broiler. Served with linguine and all loved!! The leftover sauce and clams made for yummy linguine with clam sauce the next day. Great recipe we’ll definitely be making again.
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Rachel!
My first time making lobster ever and this was so good! He really does mean 1 minute per ounce on the tails, I got three 6 ounce and tails and 6 mins was perfect.
So happy to hear that, Teresa!
If I wanted to bake these lobster tails at 350 oven how long and what to put in pan l
Hi Lucyann, probably 10 minutes or so, but your best bet is to use a thermometer to check – the lobster should be 140-145°F.
Can this be prepared up to step 4/5 and then refrigerated until ready to complete?
Hi Greg, yes, you can do that.
Thank you! It’s going to be a new addition to my Feast of the 7 Fishes this year so I’ll let you know how it goes.
We hope you love it, Greg!
This was amazing. I followed everything exactly and it turned out perfect. I did not use the chicken stock, I went with Lobster Stock as mentioned in the notes. It’s a great new addition to our Feast of the 7 Fishes!
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Greg!
This recipe is the perfect first course for my small holiday dinner party next week! Can you offer any further input on the lobster. I will look for cold water lobster, Maine or Canada probably is the way to go. Do you buy these frozen, is that acceptable or were these fresh when you purchased them. You mention Costco, I think they sell both fresh and frozen fish, it will be helpful to know which you have had success with. Love cooking from your site, we lived in Long Island for 60 years before retiring to Florida. It’s fun for us when you refer to places, we know them all! Thank you for the terrific, comforting Italian meals you offer.
Hi Den, you can use fresh or frozen. Lately we’ve been using frozen raw tails from either Costco or Wild Fork.
Can you tell me please do you leave the lobster meat in the shell when you split them down the middle!?! Thanks in advance…was hoping to find a video on YouTube but nothing came up!?!
Thanks again…Phil
Hi Phil, yes, the lobster meat stays in the shell while cooking. We don’t have a video up for this one just yet but will soon.