Lobster: From the Grocery Store to the Grill

By: JP

When lobster is in season, you need to take advantage of it. It’s delicious and… It’s even tastier cooked on the grill, so let’s enjoy it. 😉

If you’re reading this blog post, it’s probably because you’re about to head out to the grocery store to pick out some nice lobsters and you want to cook them just right. I’m going to talk more about live lobsters here, but know that I also touch on “cooking” pre-cooked lobsters at the very end. If this is your first time cooking them, there’s nothing to fear; I’m here to give you all my tips and secrets to get it done. 😊

Let’s start with the basics: picking your lobster.

The first thing I’ll say on this is to get one that’s alive and well. If there’s a small lobster mountain, I like to take the one that had to climb its way to the top. If, on top of that, it waves to me with its claws when I look at it, I know I’ve found my champion. 😎

Okay, I’m exaggerating, but it’s actually important that you pick one that is alive and well. 😜 If you get it and it’s really fidgety and often lifts and folds its tail under its body, for example, that’s a good one.

Weight also matters for lobster. I suggest you pick one that weighs about 500 grams. That’s a good amount for one person. So, if you have several guests for dinner, plan on about 500 grams of lobster per person (you have some math to do, but it’s not rocket science 😉).

As for the sex, you can choose a male or female lobster. The difference in taste isn’t super noticeable, but some people have a preference for females because they have eggs in addition to meat. They are also said to have more meat and be more delicate, but in the end, it’s really a matter of personal preference because males and females are equally delicious.

If you want to know the sex of your lobster, turn it over onto its back and look at the two small “hooks” located between the thorax and the tail. A female’s are thin, soft and flexible, and a male’s are quite hard, sharp, and whitish. If the lobsters are the same size, the female’s tail is also wider than the male’s, which is narrower.

Cooking Lobster

Once you have your lobster, the next step is to cook it to eat it. And there are several ways to prep it for cooking.

Personally, I’m not a fan of the boiled water technique because I find that lobster loses its flavor when it’s cooked that way. I would recommend instead cooking it using either of the methods I’m going to talk about here—both of which I use myself.

What I do is either cut off its head with a sharp blow to detach it from the rest of its body, or I split it in half lengthwise, starting with the tip of my knife in the middle of the head. In both cases, it’s quick and efficient.

If you prefer, you can put your lobster in the freezer for about ten minutes beforehand to put it to sleep or knock it out to make things easier.

Be sure to do this step just before cooking. This is very important because lobster meat contains harmful bacteria. So, if you wait too long, the bacteria tend to multiply and release toxins that cannot be cooked off.

Sauces and Seasonings

In my opinion, the best spice blends to pair with lobster are the House of BBQ Experts Caribbean Spice Mix and Rub and the House of BBQ Experts California Spice Mix and Rub. Caribbean for its small sweet and sour mix, which gives perfect flavor, and California for its freshness.

As for sauces, I lean toward the House of BBQ Experts Samurai Sauce with its fruity pineapple flavor, which is really nice if you’re a fan of Asian sauces (personally, I would serve it cold as a dip, alongside the cooked lobster). Otherwise, it’s not a sauce, but melted butter is always phenomenal with lobster. 💯

And if you’re looking for the ultimate “sauce” for your lobster, I have it right here. 😎👇

We agree that the go-to for lobster is, like I said, melted butter. BUT! There are usually two sides when it comes to melted butter: one that opts for garlic butter and one that prefers lemon butter. I say doing both garlic butter AND lemon butter is the stuff dreams are made of. It’s seriously delicious, especially with grilled garlic and lemon. Yum. 🤤

If you’d like to give it a try, here’s how to make this heavenly butter:

Ingredients :

• 1 lemon
• 1 garlic bulb
• ¼ lb salted butter
• House of BBQ Experts California Spice Mix and Rub, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the grill to 500°F with a direct cooking zone.
2. Slice the lemon in half, then place the lemon halves on the grill, peel side up. Grill the lemons for about 5 minutes, or until they get nice grill marks.
3. Meanwhile, place the garlic bulb on the grill and let it grill whole for about 10 minutes, until it starts to blacken.
4. When they’re done, take the ingredients off the grill and let them cool.
5. Melt the butter in a grill-safe container (the House of BBQ Experts Basting Kit is perfect for this 😉 ).
6. Finely chop 3 cloves of garlic and add them to the melted butter. Then squeeze the lemon halves over the container to catch the juice, then sprinkle the California spice mix over the dish.
7. Mix and serve with the lobster.

Grilling

Now that you know the basics, you’re ready to step up and cook the lobster. And, since I’ve given you two ways of killing lobster, I’ll also give you a proper cooking technique for each one.

Headless Lobster

First of all, know that you won’t be eating the lobster head, so you can simply discard it when you start cooking.

As for the body, here is how I suggest cooking it:

1. Preheat the grill to 500°F with a direct cooking zone.
2. Make the lemon-garlic butter sauce (see above), then strain it while it’s still hot to make sure it doesn’t contain any large chunks or hard bits.
3. “Draw” the sauce into an injection syringe, then inject the mixture into the lobster’s tail and claws by inserting the needle into the thinnest areas (I recommend doing this under the tail and where the claws meet).
4. Once the lobster is filled with delicious butter, grill it on its back with the tail extended and the claws spread for about 8 minutes. Then flip it over and cook it for another 8 minutes on the grill, making sure to always spread the tail and claws. When the lobster is a nice red color and the meat is consistently cooked and fluffy with an internal temperature of 145°F or higher (take the temperature by probing through the tail), take the lobster off the grill.
5. Servir et savourer!

Lobster Split in Two

If, on the other hand, you’ve split your lobster in half lengthwise, here’s what I recommend you do:

1. Preheat the grill to 500°F with a direct cooking zone. (If you’re working with a charcoal or pellet grill, I recommend using maple charcoal or maple wood pellets. It’ll give your lobster a nice little smoky touch as an added bonus. 👌)
2. Make the lemon garlic butter sauce (see above) and set aside.
3. Sprinkle the Caribbean spice mix all over the lobster meat (optional).
4. Lay the lobster pieces on the grill, meat side up, and let them cook for about 10 minutes.
5. Brush the lobster halves with the butter sauce and grill, meat side down, for about 2 minutes, until the meat is golden brown and reaches an internal temperature of 145°F or higher.
6. Take the lobster halves off the grill, place them meat side up on a plate, and brush the meat with butter sauce one last time.
7. Serve and enjoy!

In both cases, you can obviously also serve the lobster with Samurai sauce on the side, as I mentioned earlier, if you want to change up each bite.

Oh, I’d also like to mention that if you prefer to buy a lobster that’s already been cooked, in that case, just heat it up on the grill in the indirect cooking zone for about 10 minutes, depending on the size of the piece you’re working with (whether you have a whole lobster or just the tail). Once the meat reaches an internal temperature of 145°F or higher, it’s ready. You can then serve it with the lemon garlic butter “sauce” on the side.

And that’s it!

Whichever method you use to experience your mouth-watering lobster, I’m sure you’ll go crazy for it. 😉

Happy grilling! 🔥