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    You are here: Home » Food » Grilled Lobster Tails with Red Chili Pepper Herb Butter

    Grilled Lobster Tails with Red Chili Pepper Herb Butter

    January 29, 2020 By Mary 2 Comments

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    Jump to Recipe
    Grilled Lobster Tail with Butter

    Grilled Lobster Tails is incredibly elegant and also incredibly easy to make. A simple compound butter adds even more flavor to this amazing date night meal. Grilling lobster tails is so much easier than you think!

    It may sound intimidating, but we’re here to break it down into some easy steps.

    Two Grilled Lobster Tails with an Herb Compound Butter on a serving platter
    Jump to:
    • Selecting the Right Tails
    • Preparing Lobster Tails for Grilling
    • Seasoning Lobster Tails
    • Grilled Lobster Tail Compound Butter
    • How to Grill Lobster Tails
    • Other Uses for Grilled Lobster Meat
    • Other Seafood Recipes for the Grill
    • Wine Pairing for Lobster Tails
    • Grilled Lobster Tails

    Selecting the Right Tails

    You want as fresh as possible. When buying lobster tails, be sure to find a local fish monger that you know will have it fresh. If you can’t get it fresh, they may be frozen for purchase. Another option is to get some lobster tails from online sources like Lobster Anywhere.

    Be sure that when buying fresh lobster tails that they don’t smell fishy at all. Also if buying frozen, defrost the day before you plan on cooking. You don’t want them to sit very long, uncooked, in order to maximize the flavor.

    Preparing Lobster Tails for Grilling

    One of the more intimidating experiences when doing grilled lobster tail is preparing the tails for the grill. As we reference the lobster tails, there are two sides. The shell side and the soft underbelly where the legs connect.

    1. Start by removing any legs on the underbelly of the lobster. It’s best to use a sharp paring knife to simply pop them off.
    2. Place the lobster tails on a cutting board. Starting about ½ inch from the actual tail side of the lobster, insert a chef knife straight down to cut through the shell, but not completely through the underbelly.
    3. With your hand on the tail, slowly cut along the top shell in up and down motions to cut the shell until you cut all the way down the length of the tail. Alternatively you can use kitchen shears to do this. If using shears, start by cutting where the meat is exposed and then cut toward the tail.
    4. Using two hands, one hand on each side of the shell that was cut, gently open the shell, like opening a book. It will crack and you may see some shell break, which is fine. Be sure to remove any small shell pieces at this point.

    Now it’s time to season.

    • Raw lobster tails
    • How to season lobster tails

    Seasoning Lobster Tails

    Keep it simple with kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper. The lobster has it’s own amazing rich and buttery flavor that we don’t want to compete with. The idea is to season simply and bring out the natural sweet and rich flavors of the meat.

    We are also going to add some compound butter as the lobster grills, which will be that much more pop in flavor.

    Grilled Lobster Tail Compound Butter

    Ingredients for herb compound butter on a cutting board

    Compound butter is simply a room temperature butter that has added herbs and spices for flavor. For lobster tails we focus on herbal flavors with a slight amount of heat. The compound butter we’re using for our grilled lobster tails is a mix of:

    • Unsalted Butter (so we can control the amount of salt)
    • Chopped Parsley
    • Chopped Chives
    • Diced Shallots
    • Minced Garlic
    • Fresh Lemon Juice
    • Red Chili Pepper Flakes
    • Kosher Salt

    Simply place all the ingredients into a bowl and stir together. You can roll into a log on top of plastic wrap and store if for up to 10 days in the fridge. This allows you to cut small medallions as you want them.

    If you forgot to get the butter to room temperature, simply place the butter in a microwave safe dish and warm up on high in 10 second intervals until it is soft but not melted.

    How to Grill Lobster Tails

    Two Lobster tails grilling on the grill
    1. Use direct heat and be sure the grill is hot (like 500 degrees hot over the coals). It’s also important the grill grates are clean.
    2. Place the lobster, meat side down (the side with the open shell), over direct heat for five minutes. Flip over when it easily pulls away from the grill grates without sticking.
    3. After flipping add about a 1 heaping teaspoon medallion of the compound butter over the meat. Grill for an additional 3 – 4 minutes over direct heat. The butter will slowly melt.
    4. When the internal temperature of the lobster meat reaches 135 degrees F it is done. Use a high quality instant read thermometer like the Thermoworks Thermapen MK4 to ensure proper cooking temperature.
    5. Place another teaspoon medallion of butter on the meat (optional) and then serve warm with your favorite sides.

    It’s really that easy. The hardest part is finding good quality lobster tails and preparing those shells. Once prepared they are an amazingly simple meat to grill, and perfect for a date night or to impress your friends!

    2 Grilled Lobster Tails with Herb Compound Butter on a white platter

    Other Uses for Grilled Lobster Meat

    Follow the same steps and use the meat for a salad, or use in a lobster bisque. Adding the grilled flavor will enhance any dish you plan to use lobster for.

    Other Seafood Recipes for the Grill

    • Grilled Seafood Seasoning
    • Tuna Steaks on the Grill
    • Grilled Oysters with Wine Butter
    • Grilled Blackened Salmon
    • Cod with Chimchurri Sauce on the Grill

    Wine Pairing for Lobster Tails

    A Grilled Lobster Tail with Herb Compound Butter and a glass of wine for wine pairing

    Lobster, to me, is a delicacy, much like Champagne. And as such, the pair fantastically together! The richness of the tender lobster meat, along with that lemony herb compound butter, is brightened up by the freshness and intensity of Champagne, or a good quality sparkling wine (I recommend a blanc de blanc for my favorite match).

    My second favorite pairing for these grilled lobster tails would be a good quality Chardonnay (Chablis from France is fantastic with lobster, as is white Burgundy). Oregon Chardonnay is pretty darn spectacular with this meal too!

    And when in doubt, Rosé is a pretty nice match for grilled lobster any day of the week as well! Cheers

    Grilled Lobster Tails with Herb Compound Butter

    Grilled Lobster Tails

    Lobster Tails grilled over direct heat with a decadent, rich and delicious herb compound butter.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate Save Saved!
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 15 minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes
    Servings: 2 People
    Author: Mary Cressler | Vindulge
    Cost: $50.00

    Ingredients

    • 2 10 ounce Lobster Tails, legs removed (We love Lobster Anywhere)
    • ½ tablespoon kosher salt
    • ½ tablespoon coarse black pepper

    Compound Butter

    • 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
    • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
    • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, ½ a lemon
    • 1 tablespoon diced shallots
    • 1 tablespoon diced chives
    • 1 clove garlic, minced
    • ½ teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    For the Compound Butter

    • In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and stir with a fork. Place a towel under the bowl to avoid it slipping while mixing.
    • Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap and place the butter onto the plastic wrap. Slowly form into a log about 1 ½ inches wide. Cover the log with the plastic wrap tightly and twist the edges. Place into the refrigerator to harden until ready to use.
    • When ready to grill the lobster tails, cut 4 teaspoon size medallions. Store any excess compound butter in the fridge for later use (great on grilled steak and pork!)

    How to Grill Lobster Tails

    • Prepare the grill for direct cooking targeting 500 degrees Fahrenheit on the grill.
    • Place the lobster tails on a cutting board with the hard shell facing up. Using a chef knife or kitchen shears, gently cut the shell starting about ½ inch from the tail and working your way to the side that is open with the meat. Take care not to cut all the way through the other side.
    • Gently open the shell, exposing the meat using two hands. You will hear some cracking. Remove any shell that may break from the meat.
    • Season the flesh of the tails with the salt and pepper.
    • Place the lobster tails over direct heat, meat side down for approximately 5 minutes or until it gently pulls away from the grill without sticking.
    • After flipping add about a 1 heaping teaspoon medallion of the compound butter over the meat. Grill for an additional 3 – 4 minutes over direct heat. The butter will slowly melt. When the internal temperature of the lobster meat reaches 135 degrees F it is done.
    • After removing from the grill, place another teaspoon medallion of butter on the meat and then serve warm with your favorite sides.
    Find the perfect wine pairing at the Vindulge Wine Shop
    Tried this recipe? We would love to see!Mention @vindulge or use the hashtag #vindulge

    This post may contain affiliate links. This means if you click on the link, we may receive a small commission if you purchase through the link. We partner with brands we know and love and use and it helps keep the blog going!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. susan says

      March 21, 2020 at 10:26 am

      Sorry, but don’t mention any thing about removing the poop shoot which you should always remove !!

      Reply
      • Sean Martin says

        August 11, 2020 at 12:21 pm

        Susan, fair point! We should note that as we bought ours already cleaned.

        Reply

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    Mary-Cressler-Sept-2015-smI'm Mary, a wine/food/travel writer, Certified Sommelier, mom of twins, former vegetarian turned BBQ fanatic, runner, and founder of Vindulge and author of Fire + Wine cookbook.  Thanks for stopping by!

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