How to Grill Lobster Tail (4oz) 

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It may seem intimidating at first, but once you know how to grill lobster tail, you’ll realize making this delicious dinner is actually fast and easy.

If you’re planning special meals for a romantic date night or for special occasions, grilled lobster is a really impressive meal to make.

(Don’t worry, your secret is safe with us, we won’t tell your partner that it’s actually super simple to cook!).

So skip the fancy restaurant and just head to the grocery store to make the perfect lobster dinner at home.

Lobster’s Interesting History

The history of lobster is widely fascinating. 

Lobster was not always considered a delicacy. 

In fact, for much of history, it was seen as a low-class food that was even fed to prisoners and servants. Can you imagine that?

During the colonial years in America, lobster was so abundant and easy to catch that it was often used as bait. It was not until the mid-19th century that lobster began to be considered a luxury food.

It’s likely the expansion of railroads that caused lobster to gain popularity. 

It made it easier to transport lobsters inland, where they were not as common and therefore more prized. 

Additionally, lobster was popularized by wealthy tourists who visited coastal areas and enjoyed eating it as a gourmet food.

Today overfishing has caused lobster to become scarcer and more expensive, further leading to the elevated price tag and delicacy status.

How to Thaw Lobster Tails

The best way to thaw lobster tails is to place them in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 24 hours before you plan to cook them.

Here are the steps to properly thaw lobster tails in the refrigerator:

1. Remove the frozen lobster tails from the freezer and place them in a resealable plastic bag.
2. Place the bag in a bowl or on a plate to catch any drips as the lobster thaws.
3. Put the bowl or plate with the lobster tails in the refrigerator.
4. Allow the lobster tails to thaw in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight. For larger tails or more than a few tails, it may take up to 24 hours to fully thaw.
5. Once the lobster tails are fully thawed, remove them from the refrigerator and prepare them according to your desired recipe. You may want to keep them on ice to keep them chilled prior to your preparation.

Do not use hot water or the microwave to thaw lobster tails since this can cause them to become rubbery and tough.

Making Garlic Herb Butter

One of the best parts of this lobster tails recipe is the luscious garlic butter sauce.

When you are grilling lobster tails, you simply place a sauce pan on the grill to make the garlic herb butter while the lobster is cooking.

This makes basting the lobster so incredibly easy with less risk of dripping butter everywhere.

Its flavorful as a basting sauce also doubles as a dipping sauce! 

Grilling Lobster Tails

Cooking lobster tails can occur in a variety of ways: from boiled lobster in hot water, to using a sous vide, to even an air fryer preparation method.

Our favorite way to cook lobster tails fast is to use a grill.

It’s a great option to elevate a BBQ cookout by opting for Maine lobster instead of the same old burgers and hot dogs.

You can do this on any type of grill, from a gas grill to a charcoal grill, but we actually used our Big Green Egg Smoker. 

You’ll add a slight smoky flavor to your lobster by using a smoker or by using pellet grills.

Don’t worry, the flavor won’t be overwhelming since the seafood is only on the grill for a few minutes. It will take on just a touch of smoke.

Lobster Meat Internal Temperature

It’s important not to overcook your lobster meat or it will become chewy instead of staying tender.

Since the cooking time may vary by the different sizes of lobsters and variances of your grill, one way to ensure you achieve perfectly cooked lobster is to use a meat thermometer to monitor when the seafood is done.

You should remove the lobster from the heat when the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees F.

Other Ways to Make Lobster

We’re made lobster in a number of ways and they are all delicious in their own right. Here are some of our other favorite ways to cook lobster.

• If you don’t want to fire up the grill and you own a sous vide, we highly recommend our Foolproof Sous Vide Lobster Recipe. It’s perfectly cooked and incredibly tender.
• Looking for a lobster roll recipe? Adding brown butter to your sandwich is a game changer. Check out our Brown Butter Lobster Roll Recipe for a lobster roll that is on the next level!

No Matter How You Make Your Lobster, Don’t Miss The 40 Tastiest Sides for Lobster.

The Easiest Grilled Lobster Tail Recipe

Prep Time: 2 Minutes

Cook Time: 8-10 Minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• 2 Lobster tails (4 oz.)
• ⅛ teaspoon of salt and black pepper
• One dash of paprika
• 8 Tablespoons of unsalted butter
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 lemon, halved
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tablespoons of chopped herbs of your choice

Directions:

1. Preheat your grill to 400 degrees F.
2. Start by removing the lobster from the back of the shell to butterfly lobster tails. The best way to do this is to use a sharp knife (a small knife like a paring knife or even sharp kitchen shears works best) to cut down the center of the shell. Use your thumbs to separate the lobster meat from the sides of the shell. Slide your thumbs around to the bottom of the lobster shell to continue to release the meat from the bottom shell. Do not remove the tail meat from the bottom of the shell near the tip of the tail fins.
3. Season the meat with salt, pepper and paprika, then lift the meat up so it sits on the top of the shell and slide in some lemon wedges between the shell and the meat.
4. Place the lobster shell side down on the preheated grill.
5. Place the sliced lemons, cut side down, directly on the grill grates, next to the lobsters,
6. Finally, place a sauce pan on the grill with the lemon juice, butter, garlic and herbs.
7. Use a silicone brush to baste the lobster meat with the herb butter mixture every few minutes throughout the cooking process.
8. The lobster tails will be fully cooked when the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees F. This took about 8-10 minutes for 4 oz. lobster tails.
9. Remove the lobster tails, the pot of butter, and lemons from the grill.
10. To serve, squeeze the grilled lemons on top of the lobster meat. Dip the meat into the remaining garlic herb butter.

Notes: Serve the lobster with the grilled lemon (these lemon nets help to keep the seeds out) and melted butter. Consider using butter warmers to keep the garlic herb butter nice and warm.

Continue to Content

Garlic Butter Grilled Lobster Tails

Yield: Serves 2

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Once you learn how to grill lobster tails with garlic herb butter, you'll be floored by how fast, easy, and delicious this meal is!

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Ingredients

• 2 Lobster tails (4 oz.)
• ⅛ teaspoon of salt and black pepper
• One dash of paprika
• 8 Tablespoons of unsalted butter
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 lemon, halved
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tablespoons of chopped herbs of your choice

Instructions

1. Preheat your grill to 400 degrees F.
2. Start by removing the lobster from the back of the shell to butterfly lobster tails. The best way to do this is to use a sharp knife (a small knife like a paring knife or even sharp kitchen shears works best) to cut down the center of the shell. Use your thumbs to separate the lobster meat from the sides of the shell. Slide your thumbs around to the bottom of the lobster shell to continue to release the meat from the bottom shell. Do not remove the tail meat from the bottom of the shell near the tip of the tail fins.
3. Season the meat with salt, pepper and paprika, then lift the meat up so it sits on the top of the shell and slide in some lemon wedges between the shell and the meat.
4. Place the lobster shell side down on the preheated grill.
5. Place the sliced lemons, cut side down, directly on the grill grates, next to the lobsters,
6. Finally, place a sauce pan on the grill with the lemon juice, butter, garlic and herbs.
7. Use a silicone brush to baste the lobster meat with the herb butter mixture every few minutes throughout the cooking process.
8. The lobster tails will be fully cooked when the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees F. This took about 8-10 minutes for 4 oz. lobster tails.
9. Remove the lobster tails, the pot of butter, and lemons from the grill.
10. To serve, squeeze the grilled lemons on top of the lobster meat. Dip the meat into the remaining garlic herb butter.

Notes

Notes: Serve the lobster with the grilled lemon (these lemon nets help to keep the seeds out) and melted butter. Consider using butter warmers to keep the garlic herb butter nice and warm.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Lemon Bags
• 
  Norpro Ceramic Butter Warmers, Set of 2, White

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