Grilling Frozen Lobster Tails At Home
Memorial Day marks grilling seasons opening day here in the Northeast. Whats better than dogs and burgers on the grill? You guessed itMaine lobster!
One of the best things to kick off the grilling season is to learn how to grill lobster tails at home. Because summer and lobster go hand in hand or should we, say claw in claw.
In this quick grilling guide, well show you
- The fundamentalcant skip thesesteps of grilling lobsters
- The 4 most common lobster grilling FAQs
- Lobster grilling recipes we live by
And more! Take the plunge and discover how deliciously simple it is to grill lobster tails at home.
Grilling lobster tails is a snap. The beauty of grilling lobster tails is that they are more convenient than working with pinching and snapping crustaceans. Grilling lobster takes about the same prep time as the conventional boiling and steaming methods, but it can take the tail in a whole new direction. The grill will imbue the smoky flavors of the coals and any marinades or butters. Barbecue lobster has a nice charred, somewhat smoky flavor that is difficult to match.
To Clean Your Grill: Turn the heat up to high, close the grill and in 10 minutes turn off the grill and scrape clean.
Page Contents
What Is The Best Way To Cook A Lobster
Method
Directions Grilled Lobster Tails At Home
Time needed: 20 minutes.
If you can light a grill, you can grill lobster tails. Our simple recipe will walk you through grilling frozen lobster tails butterfly style. Be careful! You do not want to overpower the sweet, delicate flavor of the lobster meat.
Be sure your lobster tails are fully defrosted. Its best to defrost overnight in the refrigerator.
Prior to starting the grill, pour a small amount of vegetable oil on a paper towel and lightly coat the grill rack . Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal or gas grill. As the grill heats, prepare lobster tails.
Set each lobster tail on a cutting board with the translucent membrane down, curve shell facing up. With kitchen shears or a heavy knife, cut through the curved shell and meat, leaving the membrane intact. Open the tail gently like a book so its hinged in the center.
Use about 1 teaspoon of olive oil for each lobster tail rub onto the cut surfaces of the lobster meat, and season to taste with salt and pepper. The olive oil keeps the lobster from drying out on the grill.
Place lobster tails on the grill, meat-side up. Grill tails with grill lid closed, until the meat is opaque, about 6-8 minutes, turning once. Be careful not to overcook!
Squeeze fresh sliced lemon half over lobster and drizzle and serve with melted unsalted butter. Try pairing grilled lobster with a nice steak or fresh shrimp!
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How Long Do You Grill A 4 Oz Lobster Tail
Grill lobsters cut side down over medium high heat about 5 minutes, until the shells are bright in color. Turn the tails over and spoon a generous tablespoon of herbed butter onto the butterflied meat. Grill for another 4 minutes, or until the lobster meat is an opaque white color.
Clawed Vs Clawless Lobsters
While there are lots of different kinds of lobster out there, the crustaceans fall into two main categories: clawed lobsters and those without claws. The most common and popular clawed lobster is the Maine lobster, which comes from the cold waters off the northern Atlantic coast. It has two distinctive meaty front claws and four more pairs of legs, and it is whats most often depicted when you see pictures of whole steamed lobsters. Lobsters without claws, known as spiny or rock lobsters, have five sets of legs that are all the same size and often live in warmer waters, like those the Caribbean and off the coast of Florida. All of the edible meat in spiny lobsters is in the tail.
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What Sides Should I Serve With Lobster Tails
Some popular sides that go well with lobster tails are actually more meat. Lobster goes well with steak, shrimp, or other seafood dishes like clambakes.
Check out how we do surf and turf in the north east.
If youre looking for the lobster tail to be the main dish, vegetable sides like mashed potatoes or grilled asparagus make for a great side dish and recipes are easy to find. If you want to boost your presentation, lay the lobster on a bed of lemon rice. We dont recommend grilling the rice.
How To Cook Costco Lobster Tails In The Grill
Cooking Costco lobster tails takes between 10-12 min on the grill.
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How Long Should You Cook Lobster
Boil lobsters for 10 to 20 min, depending on size: Note the time at which the water comes to a boil again. From that point, boil the lobsters for 10-20 minutes or longer, depending on the size of the lobster. 10-13 minutes for 1 lb lobster, 12-18 minutes for a 1 1/2 pound lobster, 18-23 minutes for a 2-3 pound lobster.
Grilled Lobster With Lemon
Grilling lobster leaves you with a wonderfully tender and sweet meat, while a brushing of lemon-shallot butter adds a nice brightness and richness that accentuates the crustacean’s natural flavor.
- 1/2 cup clarified butter, divided
- 2 tablespoons finely diced shallots
- 1/2 teaspoon zest and 1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
- 4 live lobsters, about 1 1/2 pounds each
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Type of fire: Direct
- Grill heat: medium-high
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How Long Does Lobster Stay On The Grill
Lobsters can be killed by immersing them headfirst into salted boiling water for one minute and then removing them. Remove the item and drain it. Place the lobsters on a medium-hot grill and cook until done. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating once or twice to avoid scorching the shells, until the shells are soft.
How To Season Lobster For Grilling
Were keeping the seasoning really simple
- Before grilling: Brush the lobster tails with olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper.
- While grilling: Brush with the seasoned garlic butter after flipping. To make it, whisk together melted butter, crushed garlic, lemon juice, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper.
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Storing & Reheating Tips
Lobster tails are best eaten fresh off the grill. However, you can store them for up to a day before they begin to turn.
- Storing: To keep your tails as fresh as possible, store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Reheating: To reheat, place the lobster tails in the oven until warmed through, basting them every 45 seconds with melted garlic butter to prevent them from drying out.
Preparing And Grilling Lobster Tails
Once the lobster tails are thawed, theres a little more prep that needs to be done before they hit the grill. Because of their shape one end is significantly thicker than the other cooking them evenly is difficult if you keep them whole. To make sure they cook evenly and to create a wide, flat surface for melting the garlic butter, butterfly the tails first.
Butterflying means to halve something into two thinner, more even pieces. For a lobster tail, this means cutting through the hard shell with kitchen shears, then slicing the tail meat in half so that it can open up flat like a book. One other step worth doing is using your fingers to loosen the meat from the shell, which will make it easier to remove the meat once the lobster is cooked. Once butchered properly, the lobster tail meat will cook up evenly without the need for skewers or other tools to keep it from curling up.
To grill the lobster tails, place them meaty-side down on a really hot grill for a few minutes to get some grill marks. Once they release easily from the grill grates, flip them over and top with an easy-to-make garlic butter . The total cook time depends on the size of the tail. You want the meat to be just cooked through, so aim for an internal temperature of 135 to 140ºF. Serve with lemon wedges for a nice bright pop of flavor to cut through the richness of the garlic butter and the sweetness of the lobster meat.
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Ideas For Serving Grilled Lobster Tail
For a full-blown steakhouse dinner, serve grilled lobster tail alongside a grilled ribeye steak, air fryer baked potatoes, and your favorite roasted vegetables. Also, dont forget to put out extra lemon wedges and garlic butter.
Hot Tip: Sprinkle the grilled lobster tail with a garnish of herbs. Fresh parsley and chives are great options and add such a nice pop of color.
How Much Meat Is In A 4 Oz Lobster Tail
When planning menus many of our customers ask how fresh frozen lobster tails equate to the size of a live lobster tail the following is our rule of thumb: 4/5 oz is approximately equal to a 1 1 1/8 pound live lobster tail.
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How To Prepare Lobster Tail
Start by choosing lobster tails that are similar in size so that they cook at the same rate. Use sharp kitchen shears to cut down the top of each tail. Place a knife into the cut you made, then cut through the lobster flesh, stopping when you hit the bottom shell. Use your hands to flatten the cut lobster tail. Place a wood or metal skewer through the lobster meat, which will keep it from curling up as it cooks. This cutting technique will allow for the lobster meat to make direct contact with the grill, which gives it more of that great smoky flavor.
Where To Buy Lobster Tails
Lobster tails may be found in almost any supermarket store! If you dont have access to a seafood market, frozen lobsters can be found in a variety of supermarket stores.Lobster tails are frequently available at warehouse clubs such as Costco and Sams Club, and often in the larger sizes shown below.
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Can You Boil Frozen Lobster Tails
Cooking Frozen Lobster Tails
In a large kettle, bring enough water to a boil to cover lobster tails add 1 tbsp. salt, if desired, for each quart of water. Place thawed tails in boiling water. When water returns to a boil, reduce heat and simmer , covered, 5 min.
Is It Better To Steam Or Boil Lobster
Boiling is a little quicker and easier to time precisely, and the meat comes out of the shell more readily than when steamed. For recipes that call for fully cooked and picked lobster meat, boiling is the best approach. Benefits of Steaming: In contrast, steaming is more gentle, yielding slightly more tender meat.
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The 5 Grilled Lobster Recipes We Live By
Here weve curated some of our top recipes for grilling lobsters.
Barbecue master and certified judge of Dirty Smoke, Dru Chai, offers some foolproof tips for grilling tails, plus a simple marinade to kick up the flavor. Take a look.
Rhonda Atkins, aka, the Kitchen Witch, grilled some of our gi-normous lobster tails with tequila lime butter. Her tails were split and cooked on medium heat.
Food stylist and chef, Jeff Parker, grilled our tails West Coast style with drawn butter, citrus zest, lime juice. In Rosarito Beach, Baja California, lobster is split in half. Jeff, however, prepared the tails piggyback style and unlike New England lobster, served our tails with lime wedges. Check out the recipe for Grilled Lobster Tails with Baja butter.
Weve also worked with Maine chefs to create a stunning New England-inspired recipe thats easier to make at home: Lobster Tails with Balsamic Dressing.
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.
Can You Cook A Live Lobster On The Grill
Par boil your live lobsters first for approximately 4 minutes, drain and cool slightly. Turn lobster belly side up and cut the lobster lengthwise completely through the meat and shell to yield two halves per lobster. Start the lobster meat side down on grill, and then grill 8-10 minutes, turning once.
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How Do You Split Lobster Tails On The Grill
To prepare your lobster tail for grilling , use sharp kitchen shears to split the tail of the lobster open. Next, grab a sharp knife to cut through the meat of the lobster following the line you made with the shears. Take care not to cut through the membrane of the shell, only the meat itself.
How To Cook Costco Lobster Tails In The Air Fryer
Cooking Costco lobster tails take between 8-12 min at 400°F in the air fryer.
LOBSTER TAILS
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How Do You Cook Frozen Lobster Tails Without The Shell
Probably the most traditional way to cook lobster tails, steaming is faster than boiling. Place a steamer basket inside a large pot with a tight-fitting lid. Pour water into the pot until it comes about two inches up the sides. Bring the water to a boil. Cook until the lobster meat is opaque and white.
Tips For The Perfect Lobster
- You can use any type of lobster for this recipe. I typically use Maine lobster, but you can use a warm water spiny lobster if you prefer.
- Lobster tails are done when the shell turns red and the flesh is opaque. Its important not to overcook your lobster, so use both the visual cues and the suggested cook times.
- I recommend serving lobster immediately after it comes off the grill. Lobster can get tough when reheated.
- You can use a charcoal grill, gas grill or an indoor grill pan on the stove top for this recipe.
- Serve your lobster with lemon wedges and fresh parsley for garnish.
- I like to serve my lobster with a variety of side dishes such as grilled vegetables, quinoa salad or roasted potatoes.
- Leftover lobster? Try using it to make lobster mac and cheese.
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Serve Up A Casual Grilled Lobster Dinner
Place your lobsters on a large platter and serve with plenty of butter and lemon wedges. You can pre-crack the claws with the chef knife. For a casual affair cover table with the local newspaper and lay some shell crackers and seafood forks on the table so your guests can dig in.
References
- Charcoal-Grilled Lobsters Cooks Illustrated.Cooks Illustrated. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2015.
- White, Jasper. Lobster at Home. New York: Scribner, 1998. Print.
- Coffey, B. . Lobster lovers cookbook. N. Attleboro, Mass.: Douglas Charles Press.
Open The Lobster Like A Book
3. The remaining soft membrane will keep the sections intact while exposing the meat.
4. Lobster is grilled over direct medium heat. Rub the flesh with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
5. Grill flesh side down for approximately 5-7 minutes, then flip. Figure another 4-5 minutes after you flip the tail. I am using 6-8 oz. tails here.
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How To Make Sauce For Costco Lobster Tails
You will find so many sauces for lobster tails but the best one is butter and lemon sauce.
Melt 3 tablespoons unsalted butter in a skillet over medium heat, then season with 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, lemon juice, and parsley. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until everything is combined. Your lobster tails are now ready to be served with butter lemon sauce.
