One of my favorite proteins to grill is lobster, hands down. I would take grilled lobster over steamed or boiled lobster any day of the week. The firm texture and sweet flavor from the lobster is the perfect complement to chargrilled flavor. Unless you completely ignore your lobster so that it overcooks into a rubbery mess, you just can't screw up grilled lobster.
Over the past weekend, I grilled some lobster tails from LobsterAnywhere.com, a wholesaler and mail order seafood company in New England. They were shipped raw and frozen in a reusable styrofoam box with dry ice. After letting the lobster tails defrost in the fridge for a couple of days, it was time to get grilling!
I fired up the Weber grill and made sure to lightly oil the cooking grate so that the lobster meat doesn't stick. I also brushed the lobster tails with the perfect sauce for lobster (ingredients below). If you don't want to go through any of this trouble, then you can't go wrong with just some good 'ol fashioned melted butter.
- Juice from half a lemon
- 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- Finely chopped garlic
- Seasoned salt
- Cracked black pepper
- Optional, but highly recommended: Pinch of dried oregano or chopped parsley, pinch of Old Bay seasoning or paprika, cayenne pepper if you want a kick
For the 24 oz. lobster tail, I grilled approximately 3-5 minutes per side directly over medium-high heat. You want the meat to turn completely opaque and for the shell to transform into a bright orange-red color. This is the part where you do NOT leave the grill. No matter what.
Wait patiently and shift the lobster if you need to depending on any flareups after you brush the sauce. If you see some of the legs getting burnt, that's okay. Just shift the lobster over to indirect heat away from the hot charcoal. You can even cover the grill for a few minutes to cook the meat all the way through.
For the smaller lobster tails, about a minute per side was all it took. You don't want to overcook them. These lobster tails were about 5 oz. each, and already cut, cracked, and butterflied from LobsterAnywhere.com.
Grilled some lobster tails from @lobsteranywhere.🔥😋👌 #bbq #grilling #lobster #sundayfunday https://t.co/1O0NutNgJN— THE DIRTY SMOKE (@dirtysmokebbq) June 6, 2016
PRO TIP: If you still aren't sure if the lobster tail meat is fully cooked, check to see if the temperature is 120 -130 degrees F. Also keep in mind that the lobster will still cook a bit longer after removing from the grill. It's always better to slightly undercook the lobster than overcook. You can always put it back on the grill to cook a bit longer.
I enjoyed the grilled lobsters with some vegetables and an ice cold beer. The smaller lobster tails were sweet, while the monster lobster tail meat had that salty ocean flavor. Though frozen, everything tasted very fresh -- I was "lobster wasted" by the time I was done. I even used the leftover lobster shells to make a stock for lobster bisque. 'Til next time, happy grilling!
