Grilled lobster tail is one of the fastest ways to get dinner on the table after a lazy weekend at the beach or when you need to wind down over a good meal after work.
Fresh or frozen lobster tail grill up equally well, but you’ll need to take frozen lobster out the night before and thaw it in the refrigerator prior to cooking. Don’t try to speed up the process by thawing it in the microwave because the delicate meat will have cooked hot spots rather than thawing evenly.
Fire up the grill before you start to prep dinner so it’s hot before you begin cooking. The fire’s ready when you can hold your hand 2 – 3 inches above the grate and it feels hot after a few seconds.
Grilled Lobster Tail Recipe
-
- Remove the lobster tails from the store’s paper wrapper, place each tail on a cutting board with the hard, curved shell facing up. Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, cut through the shell from top to tail. Don’t cut all the way through the tails unless you intend to grill them with the meat down and serve half-tails.
- Gently rub a teaspoon of olive oil on the exposed lobster meat and season with salt and pepper. Some cooks also add a light dusting of garlic or Penzey’s Chesapeake Bay Seafood Seasoning which gives the meat a spicy kick of pepper, mustard, thyme and other aromatics.
- Transfer the lobster to your hot grill, placing each tail directly on the rack with the exposed meat up. Close the grill’s lid and cook 4-6 minutes, then flip the lobster over and cook another 2-4 minutes until the meat is opaque. Total cooking time should be 6-8 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
- Because lobster tails cook slightly faster than steak, if you’re serving 1″ thick steak with your lobster start the steak about 2 – 3 minutes before adding the tails. If the beef is done first, set it aside to rest or keep warm on the edge of the grill while the lobster continues to cook.
- Serve with melted butter for dipping or drizzle each tail with one of these sauces.