Grilled Lobster Tail

I don’t know who was the first person to try grilled lobster tail, but they are a genius. The hearty meat from these seafood kings is delicious, especially when you add butter and fire!

Easy grilled lobster tails are the best way to impress anyone that comes over to try your fire-cooked food, and learning how to cook them is a cakewalk!

This is a great option for Valentine’s Day, the SuperBowl, or any dinner party! Either way, I am sure that my fire cooked lobster tail recipe will make everyone calling you King of the Grill. 

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Why You’ll Love This Grilled Lobster Tail Recipe

There are many different ways to cook lobster tail fins, and today I’m sharing my favorite method. In this Grilled Lobster Tail recipe, you actually split the lobster in half from the underside of the tail. This will allow the meat a wider spread as it cooks.

You can also grill them with the flesh pulled out! Either way, you’ll end up with a great lobster dinner.

For today’s recipe, I must insist on the addition of the melted butter sauce! The chive butter sauce below is one of my favorites to add to seafood specifically, but this herb butter makes pretty much everything better.

While the chive butter sauce is technically “optional”, it makes lobster tails incredibly good. 

Ingredients

All you need for this simple meal is North Atlantic whole lobster tails, a little olive oil, some salt, and black pepper. The Chive and Garlic Butter Sauce is made of butter, chives, paprika, garlic, salt, and black pepper.

How to Make Grilled Lobster Tail 

Using scissors, cut the lobster tail’s shell down the back. I cut the underside of the tail, making sure to only cut the shell. Do not cut the tail. With a sharp knife, cut the lobster meat down the line you cut with the scissors making sure not to cut all the way through the lobster.

Fold the lobster tails in half so that the meat is exposed from the cutting side. Season the lobsters with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Light the Cowboy Hardwood Lump Charcoal in a charcoal chimney or mound inside your charcoal grill and let burn for 10-15 minutes. (Optional) Add 3-4 small pieces of apple wood to the top of the charcoal for added flavor!

When the fire is at a nice medium to medium high heat, place the lobster tails on top of the grill grate with shell side up first. Let cook for about 6 minutes per side.

If you want to serve with the Chive Butter Sauce, mix the ingredients in a small bowl, then transfer them to a cast iron skillet and set on top of fire at medium heat. Let cook until the butter is nice and melted. Once melted, use a pastry brush to apply butter mixture to the lobster tails.

Serve and enjoy your Grilled Lobster Tails!

Recipe FAQs

Should I cut my lobster tail before grilling?

We cut the lobster shell with a good pair of kitchen shears for this recipe to fold open the shell and expose the meat so it will cook evenly, and we can baste the meat at the same time, adding amazing flavor!

Which side should I grill the lobster tails on?

We grill flesh side down for the initial sear to begin the cooking process. Then we finish with the meat side exposed up and the top of lobster shell on the grill grate, as the meat cooks through to avoid burning or overcooking it.

Do I need to boil lobster before grilling?

No, there is no need to boil the lobster before grilling. The tail meat cooks through over the open fire.

How long do I need to grill lobster for?

You want to cook lobster until it reaches a safe internal temperature of 140 degrees F with a digital thermometer.

Can I cook my lobster from frozen?

We don’t recommend cooking frozen lobster tails. One, it takes longer to cook and risks burning. Two, as the meat thaws it adds unneeded liquid to the grilling process and it just makes for a bad experience. To maximize the flavor of the lobster meat, live lobster is your best option, but if you don’t have access to that, just make sure the lobster flesh is thawed.

For more delicious recipes, check out my second cookbook Flavor X Fire or my first cookbook Food X Fire!

Needing more spice in your life? My spice line can help with that. Check them out here.