Grilled Lobsters with Lemon Basil Butter
GINA Can’t have a Mini-Moon without my favorite seafood. Lobster, lobster, lobster . . . Some people find it too expensive, but isn’t your relationship worth it? If you are going to splurge, then splurge on your biggest investment. Dip it in the drawn butter, feed it to your honey, and let your imagination run wild.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 2
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Bring a large stockpot of water to a rolling boil. Add a generous handful of kosher salt, and add the lobsters. Boil for about 6 minutes, until the lobsters are beginning to turn red. Remove the lobsters from the water with tongs, and reserve until cool enough to handle. (We par-cook our lobsters before grilling, so they can cook evenly and all the way through.)
Step 2
Preheat a charcoal grill to medium heat.
Step 3
Once the lobsters have cooled, use a pair of kitchen shears or a very sharp knife to split each lobster completely in half through the entire shell and flesh, starting from the tail end and working your way through the body. It will be easiest to use your chef’s knife to split the thickest part of the lobster. Give the claws a whack with the back of your knife to break open a portion of the shell. This will allow the meat to be exposed to the smokiness and heat of the grill. Once they’re halved, use a spoon to scoop out and discard the tomalley from each half (the green gunk—the stomach and intestinal tract).
Step 4
Brush the exposed lobster meat with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Grill the lobster halves, exposed meat side down on the grill, for 4 minutes, until they’re lightly charred and the meat is opaque and cooked through. Remove the lobster pieces to a platter.
Step 5
Mix the hot melted butter with the garlic, lemon zest, basil, salt, and pepper. Drizzle the butter over the tails, and serve remaining butter on the side.
NOTE
Step 6
When buying live lobsters, look for lively guys who will curl their tails and wiggle when you pick them up. Splitting the lobsters before grilling may seem like a hassle, but it makes it easier to eat so you have more time to enjoy each other, rather than wrestle with your food! We like to use charcoal in this recipe, because the lobster will only be on the grill for a short period of time and the charcoal adds just enough of that smoky flavor. Soft shells are easier to split in half, but if all you can find are hard-shell lobsters, use a sharp chef’s knife to split their bodies—and be careful!
