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Grilled Lobster Tails

February 12, 2020 by Lyuba 3 Comments

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Making grilled lobster tail is easy, fast, and out-of-this-world delicious. When you introduce smoky barbecue flavors to the delicate, tender, and slightly sweet lobster meat, the results are divine. Finishing butter is a perfect way to top off grilled lobster tails and it is packed with lemon, garlic, and herbs.

grilled lobster tails collage with wording

GRILLED LOBSTER TAILS

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to live on the coast. We have fresh seafood available year-round, sometimes straight off the local fishing boats. It amazes me that my husband still refuses to eat any kind of seafood when we have such amazing seafood around us.

On one hand, I give him the “you’re crazy” look for refusing to even try an amazing taste experience like the grill lobster but on the other hand, I don’t have to share it.

Although, grilled lobster is something that should be shared. Lobster is often regarded as a delicacy and people tend to have it only for special occasions. But you can easily make it at home and it’s so much cheaper to buy it at a store and prepare it yourself. You will never pay $5.99 for lobster tail in a fancy restaurant but at the store, absolutely. Prepare it yourself and you will have an exquisite dinner at home.

That’s exactly what makes lobster tails so great, you can have romantic dinner at home, celebrate a special occasion, or just make some lobster salad sandwiches for lunch.

Grilling lobster tails will take your special lobster night to a whole new level. It’s the smoky scent infused into food, the fire, and the whole barbecue experience that will take your taste buds to a special place. Grilled lobster will pair just as good with a risotto as it would with a simple salad.

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uncooked lobster tails

opened lobster tails

GRILL NOTES:

Coals: briquettes or lump coal

Grill temperature: medium: 350°-400°

Placement on the grill: direct heat

Wood if desired: alder – delicate and earthy flavor that’s great for seafood.

lobsters on the grill

HOW TO GRILL LOBSTER TAILS

Thaw lobster tails if needed:

Lobsters should be fully thawed before grilling. Pull them out of the freezer and into the refrigerator the night before and let the tails slow-thaw overnight.

Finishing butter:

Pull butter out of the refrigerator, cut off the right amount, and place it in a small bowl. Leave it on the counter for about 30 minutes to let it soften.

Add lemon juice, lemon zest, chives, parsley, salt, and garlic and mix well until all ingredients are incorporated into butter. Set aside.

Prepare lobster:

Start the coals as you prepare the lobster. You will need medium heat so do about ½ a chimney starter of coals.

Pick up the lobster tail and cut the hard, outer shell down the middle all the way down to where the shell meets the tail. To pull the shell apart, you will need to use some muscle and crack the softer underside with your hands. But be careful not to actually crack the shell apart in two.

(Be careful, the softer underside of the lobster tail has some sharp spikes along the shell. You can use kitchen gloves if desired.)

As you pull the shell apart to expose the lobster meat, use your hands to gently separate the meat off the sides of the shell. Don’t pull out all the lobster meat completely, just separate it off the sides.

If you see a dark vein along the lobster tail meat, which is lobster’s intestines, pull it out.

Season

Brush lobster meat with some oil and season with salt. Don’t use too much salt because the finishing butter has salt in it already.

adding finishing butter on lobsters

Grill

Add coals to the grill and spread them evenly. Lobster can be cooked over direct heat.

Preheat the grill for a few minutes and place lobster tails on the grill cut side down. Close the lid and cook for about 5 minutes.

Turn each tail over and generously spread finishing butter over the lobster meat. Close the lid and grill for about 6 more minutes. (Exact time will depend on the size of the lobster tails. For large tails, add a couple of minutes.)

letting finishing butter melt into the lobster tails

WHAT TO SERVE WITH GRILLED LOBSTER

Lobster goes great over risotto or with a side salad. You can also throw some vegetables on the grill or roast them in the oven. These sides would be great with your perfect lobster:

Parmesan Risotto

Mushroom Risotto

Side Salad

Tomato Cucumber Salad

Asparagus

Green Beans

Mixed Vegetables

Wine is another thing to consider when planning a lobster dinner. These wines would go nicely with a grilled lobster:

Chardonnay

Champagne

Sauvignon Blanc

Rosé

Chablis

grilled lobster tails on the grill

MORE GRILLED SEAFOOD RECIPES TO TRY

Grilled Salmon with Herb Butter

Grilled Shrimp and Peach Kebabs

Scallops and Shrimp Kabobs

Taco Lime Grilled Shrimp

If you made any of my recipes and shared them on Instagram, make sure to tag me @grillingsmokingliving and #grillingsmokingliving so I can see all the things you tried!

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Grilled Lobster Tails

Juicy lobster tails grilled with lemon garlic and herb finishing butter.
Print Recipe
CourseMain Course
CuisineAmerican
Keywordgrilled lobster, lobster, lobster tails
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Time to start coals:15 minutes
Total Time42 minutes
Servings4
Calories154kcal

Ingredients

  • 4 lobster tails
  • canola or vegetable oil to brush the lobster meal
  • salt

Finishing Butter:

  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter softened
  • 2 tbsp minced chives
  • 1 tbsp fresh minced parsley
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • salt
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • If using frozen lobsters, thaw lobster tails overnight in the refrigerator.

Finishing Butter:

  • Pull butter out of the refrigerator, cut off the right amount, and place it in a small bowl. Leave it on the counter for about 30 minutes to let it soften. (Or soften in the microwave if you have that setting. Don't melt!)
  • Add lemon juice, lemon zest, chives, parsley, salt, and garlic and mix well until all ingredients are incorporated into butter. Set aside.

Prepare Lobster Tails:

  • Start the coals while preparing lobster tails. You will need medium heat so do about ½ a chimney starter of coals.
  • Pick up the lobster tail and cut the hard, outer shell down the middle all the way down to where the shell meets the tail. To pull the shell apart, you will need to use some muscle and crack the softer underside with your hands. But be careful not to actually crack the shell apart in two.
  • (Be careful, the softer underside of the lobster tail has some sharp spikes along the shell. You can use kitchen gloves if needed.)
  • As you pull the shell apart to expose the lobster meat, use your hands to gently separate the meat off the sides of the shell. Don’t pull out all the lobster meat completely, just separate it off the sides. (If you see a dark vein along the lobster tail meat, that is lobster’s intestines and you need to clean it out.)
  • Brush lobster meat with some oil and season with salt. Don’t use too much salt because the finishing butter has salt in it already.

Grilling Lobster Tails:

  • Add coals to the grill and spread them evenly. Lobster can be cooked over direct heat.
  • Preheat the grill for a few minutes and place lobster tails on the grill cut side down. Close the lid and cook for about 5 minutes.
  • Turn each tail over and generously spread finishing butter over the lobster meat. Close the lid and grill for about 6 more minutes. (Exact time will depend on the size of the lobster tails. For large tails, add a couple of minutes.)

Video

Notes

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©GrillingSmokingLiving. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have a slight variation.

Nutrition

Calories: 154kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 110mg | Sodium: 270mg | Potassium: 136mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 499IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 1mg

grilled lobster tails long collage

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Filed Under: Seafood

Comments

  1. Marcy says

    February 13, 2020 at 4:26 pm

    5 stars
    Can’t wait to try this!

    Reply
  2. Carla Brooke says

    February 13, 2020 at 4:55 pm

    5 stars
    Congratulations on this new and wonderful site. Great photography as well as yummy food!

    Reply

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  1. Lobster Roll - Learn to Cook and Break Down a Whole Lobster Too! says:
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Let's get grilling!

Welcome, everyone! I’m Lyuba Brooke, come in, grab a beer, and head to the backyard. Here, I love to grill, barbecue, and share everything I make. You will find a ton of recipes for grilling, smoking, and the sauces to dip it in.

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