Hamburgers are so ho-hum.
Hot dogs? Not so hot.
Additional Photos
Why not add a little class to your Fourth of July cookout this year by throwing some lobster tails on the grill?
Grilled lobster retains more of the natural flavor of the crustacean, and its texture is fall-apart-in-your-mouth tender.
But people are often afraid of grilling lobster because they’re worried about doing it wrong or drying it out, and wasting that precious lobster meat.
Sure, you don’t want to overcook lobster on the grill, just as you don’t want to boil or steam it so long that the meat becomes chewy. But if you do it right, grilled lobster can be so tasty it wins competitions.
Last year’s Maine Lobster Chef of the Year, Kelly Patrick Farrin, wowed the audience and won his title by preparing Herb Grilled Maine Lobster Tail on Arugula with Chive Ricotta Gnocchi and Corn Milk.
Yes, that’s a mouthful, but don’t be intimidated. All you need at home are some lobster tails and a little herb butter to baste them with, and you’ll wow your guests and become Maine Lobster Chef of Your Backyard.
Still nervous? We asked Christopher Bassett, executive chef at Azure Cafe in Freeport, to give us a lesson in grilling lobster.
Bassett helped Farrin, his sous chef at the time, grill at least 225 lobsters at the 2010 lobster cook-off. So he’s had plenty of practice.
First, the grill. Hardwood charcoal is best for grilling lobsters, Bassett says, because it will impart a smoky flavor to the lobster meat. If you have a gas grill, it should be set on medium-high heat.
“You don’t want it to be too hot,” Bassett said. “You don’t want it to burn. In all grilling, I look for golden-brown grill marks. You don’t want black char marks. That would be too hot of a grill. The black will be bitter; the golden brown will be a sweet caramelization.”
Next, the lobster. What’s the best way to, um, dispatch the little fellow?
The easiest way (easiest on the cook’s conscience, anyway) would be to parcook the lobster in boiling water for a couple of minutes to kill it before moving on to dismemberment.
Uh-uh, Bassett says.
Water could change the taste of the meat, and possibly the texture, if you end up cooking it for too long. Instead, you should “stun” the lobster in the head, a process that involves a big sharp knife and squeamish noises coming from anyone watching.
What about cheating a little and buying those frozen lobster tails?
Nope. Bassett, it turns out, is a purist. “Lobster is best done from its live state,” he said. “The meat will be the most tender.”
To demonstrate, Bassett turned a wriggling lobster on its back and poised his chef’s knife above its “mouth,” right above where the claws come together. He swiftly thrust the knife into that head cavity (where the brain is) to kill it, then began twisting off the tail and claws.
(For the record, Bassett is convinced this is the most humane way to kill a lobster.)
Some people crack open the claws to grill right alongside the tail, but Bassett set them aside for use in a lobster roll or some lobster salad.
“I think the claws are better not grilled,” he said.
Next, Bassett cut the lobster’s tail in half with the knife.
“I always cut lobsters with their back down and their bottom facing upward so that the hardest part of the lobster, just like anything you would cut, is against the cutting board, and it doesn’t damage the meat or anything else you’re cutting through,” he explained.
This step can also be done with kitchen shears, but you might need to cut it twice — once down the under side of the tail shell, then a second cut through the meat and the back shell.
Always clean the tail before cooking. Remove the vein, the tomalley and anything else you find that’s not pure lobster meat.
There’s no need to baste the tail with butter before adding it to the grill, Bassett said. Basting too early might cause flare-ups that can leave a bitter taste. A hot, well-seasoned grill should keep the meat from sticking too much.
“You want to start with the meat side down on the hot grill,” Bassett said. “That way, you’ll get your perfect grill marks and you’ll be able to finish cooking it against the shell, which will help to steam it. An overcooked lobster is a chewy lobster, so you don’t want to leave the meat side down for very long.”
Let it cook for about two to three minutes, or until the tail releases easily from the grill. You should see the edges of the shell start to turn red.
Flip the tail, and let it cook another four to five minutes to finish. This is when you can start basting.
For our demonstration, Bassett used melted butter with some fresh thyme and fennel fronds added to it, but you can also add shallots, salt and pepper, lemon zest, chives and onion.
Butter will help keep the lobster moist, but won’t save it if you overcook it, Bassett warns.
As the lobster tail cooks, it should curl up and have a good spring to it. If it doesn’t, it’s not fresh enough to cook and eat.
You’ll know the lobster is done when the translucent raw meat becomes more opaque and the entire shell turns red.
“You will get a little bit of char on the shell eventually,” Bassett said. “That’s fine. A little bit of black on the shell isn’t going to hurt the flavor of the meat. Just make sure you don’t get it on the meat itself.”
The cooked meat should pull easily out of the shell. Savor the smoky flavor of the lobster on its own, or add it to a salad or lemon butter-dressed pasta.
“This is so easy,” Bassett said. “It’s as easy as grilling a piece of chicken or even a hot dog on a grill.”
Staff Writer Meredith Goad can be contacted at 791-6332 or at:
mgoad@pressherald.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
