Fill a large bowl with cold water. Place the lobsters in the bowl and let them soak for 15-30 minutes. Drain the lobster tails and pat them dry with paper towels. This step removes the excess iodine, it's optional but good to do if you have extra time.

Use kitchen shears to cut through the top of the shell, from where the body would've been attached all the way down to the tail. Partially cut through the lobster meat to butterfly it and just cut the top of the shell lengthwise down to the end of the body. Stop right before you get to the fin and do not cut into it.

With clean fingers, gently open the shell to expose the lobster meat. Remove the intestinal vein that runs down the center of the tail if it wasn't removed by the grocery store.

Gently take your thumb and loosen the tail meat from each side of the lobster tail.

Carefully remove the tail meat from the shell, letting it still stay attached to the end of the tail and fin. Push the cracked shell together and lay the butterflied lobster on top of the shell.

Give the lobster a quick rinse and pat it dry with paper towels.

Proceed with your preferred recipe on how to cook lobster tails, we love to make air fryer lobster or broiled lobster. Drizzle the cooked lobster dinner with garlic butter and enjoy!