Grilled Lobster With Lemon-Shallot Butter Recipe

By
Joshua Bousel
a photo of Joshua Bousel, a Contributing Writer at Serious Eats
Joshua Bousel is a Serious Eats old-timer, having started sharing his passion for grilling and barbecue recipes on the site back in 2008. He continues to develop grilling and barbecue recipes on his own site, The Meatwave, out of his home base of Durham, North Carolina.
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Updated March 06, 2020
20130704-258272-grilled-lobster.jpg
Joshua Bousel

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.

Recipe Details

Grilled Lobster With Lemon-Shallot Butter Recipe

Active 45 mins
Total 45 mins
Serves 4 servings
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

For the Lemon Shallot Butter:

  • 1/2 cup clarified butter, divided

  • 2 tablespoons finely diced shallots (about 1 small)

  • 1/2 teaspoon zest and 1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon

  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

For the Grill:

  • 4 live lobsters, about 1 1/2 pounds each

  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. To make the lemon-shallot butter: Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until foaming subsides. Stir in shallots and cook until softened but not browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in remaining butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest and cook until butter is melted and warm throughout, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir chives. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  2. Fill a large bowl with ice water, set aside. Fill large stockpot with 2 inches of cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to boiling water and place steamer insert into pot. Place 1 lobster in steamer, cover, and steam for 2 minutes. Transfer lobster to bowl with ice water. Repeat with remaining lobsters.

  3. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread the coals evenly over entire surface of coal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Break off claws from lobsters and split lobster bodies in half lengthwise, removing green tomalley if desired. Brush lobster flesh with lemon-shallot butter and place on grill, flesh side down, and grill for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip lobsters flesh side up and continue grilling until meat registers 135°F on an instant read thermometer, about 3 minutes more. Transfer lobsters to a serving tray and brush again with lemon-shallot butter. Place claws on grill, cover, and cook until meat registers 135°F on an instant read thermometer, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to tray with lobster bodies and serve immediately with remaining lemon-shallot butter.

Special Equipment

Large steaming pot, grill

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
365Calories
27gFat
2gCarbs
29gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories365
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 27g34%
Saturated Fat 16g81%
Cholesterol 282mg94%
Sodium 957mg42%
Total Carbohydrate 2g1%
Dietary Fiber 0g2%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 29g
Vitamin C 3mg15%
Calcium 151mg12%
Iron 1mg3%
Potassium 389mg8%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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