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Smoky, buttery, and a little sweet – grilled lobster tails are the perfect summertime meal! This grilled lobster tail recipe with garlic lemon butter is quick, easy, and delicious!
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I want each reader to walk away with a solid knowledge of each recipe, with all of the tips I’ve gathered from extensive testing of each recipe. I also answer questions my friends and family have asked about my recipes, to help everyone better understand the processes we use – and why!
Table of contents
Garlic Butter Grilled Lobster Tails
Do you love grilled lobster tails? This grilled lobster tail recipe with garlic lemon butter is sure to amaze your taste buds. Grilling lobster tails is a great way to cook them, and it only takes a few minutes. In this blog post, we will show you how to grill lobster tails like a pro!
If you loved this grilled lobster tail recipe, be sure to check out our other seafood recipes! We have something for everyone – Sweet C’s lobster recipes are a great way to show off your culinary skills and impress your guests. Our Perfect Broiled Lobster Tails have been a hit on site for years – we also have an Instant Pot Lobster Tail version, too!
This grilled lobster tail dish with garlic lemon butter is sure to do the trick for a romantic dinner, a backyard cookout, a big summer bash, or a special Sunday dinner. Give it a try today and let us know what you think in the comments below. Happy grilling!
How to Grill Lobster Tails
To make a knockout lobster tail recipe on the grill, we’re using a blend of ingredients meant to enhance, not overpower, this delicate seafood. Using smoked paprika, white pepper, garlic powder, and a bit of lemon juice and butter, we create a delicious, layered hint of spice that enhances the naturally sweet and rich lobster flavors. Don’t overdo it – our goal is to have a hint of spice, not a hint of lobster flavor.
To make this recipe, you’ll need:
- Lobster tails – find high quality, fresh or fresh-frozen tails that have been fully thawed, and butterflied for this recipe. We recommend 1 tail per person for a meal that includes another main, unless your lobster tails
- Butter – butter helps balance the sweet, delicious seafood flavor and add fat to the meat – it brings a rich saltiness and takes lobster meat over the top. We prefer a salted butter, but using unsalted butter works just fine if you’re watching your sodium intake.
- Paprika – adding a pinch of high quality paprika brings an earthy, smoky flavor to lobster tails, and gives lobster tails a bright red appearance. Just a pinch does the trick – lobster meat is a very delicate flavor, and a bit of paprika is meant to enhance, not mask, the seafood flavor.
- White pepper – a pinch of white pepper brings a bit of heat to lobster, layering a little spice that isn’t overpowering to the delicate seafood.
- Garlic powder – a bit of garlic adds an addictive earthy depth to lobster meat, giving it a richer flavor that is a bit meatier.
- Lemon juice – lemon juice is a bright, tart, lightly sweet flavor that pairs perfectly with lobster’s light flavor, and is a perfect accent flavor to fresh seafood.
- Silicone brush – to brush your lobster tails with our melted butter and spices, it is best to use a silicone brush, so you can add more flavor as you grill.
- First, you will need to preheat your grill.
- Then, take your lobster tails and cut them lengthwise down the center.
- Next, remove the vein that runs through the center of each tail.
- Season your lobster tails with paprika, butter, pepper, and garlic powder.
Tips to Perfect Grilled Lobster Tails & FAQs
- Make sure to have plenty of lemon wedges on the side to squeeze on top for even more lemon juice if you’d like it!
- Brush melted butter over the top of lobster as it cooks for a gorgeous golden red appearance.
- Serve with melted butter, a butter mixture with old bay stirred in, or lemon juice sprinkled on top.
FAQs
In general, you should plan for about 8-10 oz of cooked lobster tail meat per person if you’re serving lobster tails as your main dish – meaning two lobster tails per person, unless they are jumbo lobster tails.
Most often frozen lobster tails that are readily available in grocery stores (not from specialty fishmongers, who will have larger Maine lobster tails more readily) are around 4-6 ounces, so plan on about two per person if making lobster tail your main dish.
Place frozen Lobster tails in the fridge the day before you make these to thaw naturally. We like to let it sit on paper towels to soak up any ice melt.
Submerge frozen lobster tails under cold water for 20 minutes to 30 minutes to thaw rapidly if you can’t let them thaw overnight.
You want frozen lobster tails to fully thaw before cooking so meat can cook evenly.
Don’t rush the thawing process in the microwave. Defrosting lobster tails in the microwave will make the frozen lobster meat tough.
Lobster tail is fully cooked at 135-140 degrees Fahrenheit.
Lobster meat will go from grey and translucent to bright pink and white and opaque when fully cooked.
Other Lobster Recipes You’ll Love
If you love this delicious, easy lobster recipes, be sure to check out our favorites below.
From our classic broiled lobster tail recipe that only takes 10 minutes under the broiler to get to broiled perfection, to an easy and creamy lobster pasta with brie, mayonnaise free and totally decadent Garlic Butter Naked Lobster Rolls.
Check out my web story about these grilled lobster tails to see my process!
For more of our delicious seafood recipes, click here.
Grilled Lobster Tail Recipe
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Grilled Lobster Tails
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Lobster tails
- 1 ½ tablespoon butter, divided
- pinch celtic sea salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
Instructions
- Preheat grill to high – 400+ degrees.
- With sharp kitchen scissors or a knife, carefully cut the top of the lobster tail shell down to the tip of the tail, avoiding the meat. Devein and remove any grit if needed.
- Carefully pull shell down, so meat looks like it is sitting on top of shell and open.
- Optional: slide a lemon wedge or two under the lobster meat in between the meat and the tail.
- In a small pot, combine lemon juice, butter, salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika.
- Brush butter and herb mixture over lobster tails, reserving half the butter mixture to baste during grilling.
- Place tails on grill, in the shell. Grill 4 minutes per side, basting with butter as you flip lobster tails to other side on grill.
- Cook to bright white and opaque, 135-140 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove and serve immediately with drawn butter.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
