Grilled Whole Lobster with Garlic Herb Butter

Get the taste buds salivating over smoky succulent seafood kissed by fire with this Grilled Whole Lobster with Garlic Herb Butter recipe. Combining a straightforward process with fresh flavors that perfect accent the natural sweetness of lobster, this will become your favorite way to prepare the king of crustaceans.

Skip dining out and bring the restaurant experience straight to your table with this succulent grilled lobster recipe. This easy-to-follow guide will walk you through being confident enough to break down and clean a whole lobster as well as grill it. Just serve these with an easy side like calabacitas con elote and you have the perfect meal.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Freshness – It doesn’t get any fresher than live lobsters. Not only will you get a sea to table experience with whole grilled lobster, but you will experience the freshest taste of the sea.
• Texture & Flavor – Some methods of cooking lobster such as boiling dilute the flavor of the meat while others like broiling risk making it tough. Grilling lobster allows the meat to cook in its own juices, concentrating the flavors while remaining tender.
• Versatility – Once you master the technique of how to grill whole lobster you can have fun with different seasonings and flavor combinations. Swap out the seafood seasoning for more traditional barbecue flavors or simple sea salt and use your favorite compound butters.

Ingredients

• Live Lobsters – These are the star of the show and the Maine event so you want to make sure you’re picking quality lobsters. The lobsters used in this cook were sourced from LobsterAnywhere. These hardshell Maine caught, sustainably sourced lobsters are caught daily and delivered directly to your doorstep within 24 hours. When buying live lobster, you want to plan on cooking it withing 48 hours, but ideally within 24.
• Seasoning – Let’s keep it both simple and classic with a traditional light dusting of seafood seasoning. I used Old Bay but you can use your favorite.
• Garlic Herb Butter – Start with a high quality unsalted butter for the most richness and flavor. Fresh garlic, the kick of crushed red pepper flakes, tons of sunny lemon zest, and three types of herbs including dill, chives, and parsley are the perfect accents to the sweet lobster meat.

How to Split a Whole Lobster

All great things in life take a little work, including diving into decadent and delicious grilled lobster meat. Maybe you’ve split a lobster tail in half before, but splitting a whole lobster takes a couple more steps. Let’s take it step by step and break down the process so you can do this easily and with confidence.

• Leave the bands on the claws during the entire process. Lobsters can be feisty.
• Place your lobsters on a sheet plan and place the sheet pan into the freezer for 10-15 minutes. This won’t freeze the lobster meat but it does put the lobster into more of an inactive state allowing you to safely and humanely dispatch lobster.
• After 10-15 minutes remove the tray from the freezer. Make sure that you have a cutting board that is secure to your counter and won’t slide. You can use a towel or safety mat to make it more stable.
• Lay the lobster flat onto the work surface. Locate the X or cross shape on its head.
• Using the sharp point of a chef’s knife firmly and assertively insert it into the X. Slice down, splitting the head in half.

• Once the head has been split continue down through the body, and tail. You may need to apply a little extra pressure to completely crack the shell in half.
• Congratulations! You’ve now split the lobster in half! There’s still a little more work to do. Just like you remove the vein from shrimp, you’re going to need to clean out the lobster. You can use a spoon for this or even just give it a quick rinse in the sink. There are three, sometimes four, parts that need to be removed. The small sac at the base of the head called the sand sac, the green runny goop located in the head and sometimes the exposed flesh of the tail called the tomalley, and just like a shrimp the intestinal tract running down the tail. Some female lobsters may contain roe. You can remove this and save it to use in your butter if desired.
• Give your cleaned lobsters a quick rinse and then pat them dry. Remove the bands from the claws.
• This step is optional but will make it easier to crack the claws once you’ve grilled the lobster. Use the blade of your knife and firmly but carefully give the claw a smack, cracking the shell. Repeat with the other claw.

• Place the lobster halves on a baking sheet and keep them refrigerated until you’re ready to cook them. You’ll want to cook them within 24 hours after you humanely dispatch lobster.

How to Make Grilled Whole Lobster with Garlic Herb Butter

• Prepare your grill for two zone grilling. If using a charcoal grill spread the coals in an even layer across the bottom of the grill but leave a cooler spot free of charcoal. If using a gas grill heat your grill to 400 degrees, not lighting all of your burners. Make sure that your grates are clean.
• Season the lobster. Pat the flesh of the lobster dry. Brush olive oil over the meat and then lightly season it.
• Make the garlic herb butter. Add the butter, herbs, lemon zest, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes to a grill safe pot and stir until the butter is completely melted. Remove from the heat but keep close by. You’ll need it soon and the residual heat will keep it warm and melted.
• Sear the lobsters. Place the lobsters over direct heat flesh side down. Allow the lobsters to sear for two minutes or until the part of the shell touching the grill is just beginning to turn red and the meat easily releases from the grill.

• Flip and baste. Carefully flip the lobsters over so the shells are now touching the grate. Spoon the garlic herb butter into the tail and head cavity of the lobsters. Be careful not to spill too much butter as it will cause flair ups. The butter will begin to bubble. Allow the lobster to cook for 8-10 minutes or until the tail meat registers between 130-135 degrees. The meat will be white and opaque and the shells will be red. Don’t worry the final temperature will be around 140 degrees.
• Finish off the claws. Carefully rotate the lobsters so the tails are over indirect heat and the claws are over direct heat. Let the claws grill for another 1-2 minutes.

• Let cool slightly and serve. Remove the lobsters from the grill. Let cool enough to handle and then dive in! Garnish with extra fresh herbs and serve with charred lemon halves or lemon wedges and additional melted butter if desired.

Tips From the Beach

• When you purchase live lobsters you ideally want to cook them within 24 hours. Keep them stored in the cooler they’re shipped in. If buying local you’ll want to keep them wrapped in damp paper and keep them stored in the coldest part of your refrigerator. Make sure to check on them every couple of hours.
• Always keep the bands on the claws of your live lobsters until after you’ve dispatched them.
• Leave a cooler zone on your grill when spreading your charcoal or heating up your gas grill. This will allow you to Move the lobster away from the heat if you experience any flair ups or if it starts cooking too quickly.
• An instant read thermometer is your best friend. Check the internal temperature in the thickest part of the tail. You want to aim for 130-135. Remember there will be carry over cooking and you’re also going to be cooking the claws over direct heat a little longer.
• Use a high-quality butter for the most flavor.
• Have fun using your favorite combination of herbs. Basil, tarragon, thyme, and cilantro are all great options.
• For extra flavor and to draw out even more juice from your lemons char them on the grill with the lobsters.
• You can remove the claw/knuckle from the body if desired. Put that on the grill first and let cook for 2 minutes before proceeding with the recipe.

Grilled Whole Lobster with Garlic Herb Butter

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Get the taste buds salivating over smoky succulent seafood kissed by fire with this Grilled Whole Lobster with Garlic Herb Butter recipe.

• Author: Nicole Stover
• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 15
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 4-8 1x
• Category: Seafood
• Method: Grilling
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2–4 1 1/2-2 pounds live lobsters
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Seafood seasoning
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chives, snipped
• Lemon halves for serving

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Instructions

1. Place the lobsters in the freezer for 10-15 minutes on a sheet tray.
2. Remove from the freezer. Place a lobster on a stable cutting board.
3. Locate the X or cross on the top of the lobster’s head. Use the tip of a sharp chef’s knife to firmly slice through the spot and cut down, splitting the head in half. Continue slicing down through the body and tail.
4. Use a spoon to remove the sac in the head, the green tomalley, and pull out the intestinal track along the tail. Remove the roe if present. Quickly rinse out the lobster and pat dry. Remove the claw bands.
5. Use the blade of your knife to firmly smack the claw, creating a slice in the claw shell. This will make it easier to crack the shell open after cooking.
6. Keep the split lobsters stored on a baking sheet until ready to cook.
7. Prepare your grill for two zone grilling. If using a charcoal grill spread your charcoal along the bottom but not all the way across leaving a cooler zone. If using a gas grill heat the grill to 400 degrees and leave a burner off. Make sure your grates are clean and fully heated.
8. Place a grill safe pot on the grill with the butter, lemon zest, crushed red pepper, and garlic. Stir until the butter is melted. Stir in the fresh herbs and remove from the heat. Keep it near the grill as you’ll need it soon. 
9. Pat the lobsters dry. Brush them with olive oil and lightly season the with seafood seasoning. 
10. Place the lobsters flesh side down over direct heat. Allow the meat to sear for 2 minutes or until the lobsters easily release from the grill and the part of the shell that was in contact with the grate is beginning to turn red.
11. Flip the lobsters over so they’re now shell side down, flesh side up. Spoon the herb butter into the cavity of the head and tail, careful not to splash to prevent flair ups. Allow the lobsters to cook for 8-10 minutes or until the thickest part of the tail is between 130-135 degrees. 
12. Carefully rotate the lobsters so the tail portion is over indirect heat and the claws are over direct heat. Allow them to cook for another 1-2 minutes. 
13. Remove from the heat and let cool enough to crack the claws. Garnish with extra herbs if desired and serve with lemon wedges and additional melted butter.

Notes

1. You’ll want to cook your lobster within 24 hours once split. Live lobsters should also be cooked within 24 hour ideally.
2. For extra flavor char your lemons on the grill.
3. You can use your favorite combination of herbs for this. Stick to soft herbs like chives, dill, basil, parsley, tarragon, cilantro, or the leaves of thyme.