Grilled Lobster

Ingredients

1 quart water
Four 1 1/4-pound lobsters
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Drawn butter
Lemon wedges

Preparation

In a large stock pot, bring salted water to a boil over high heat. Add lobsters and cover the pot. Return to a boil and cook about 2 minutes. Using tongs, remove the lobsters from the pot. Set them aside to cool or refrigerate until ready to grill. When cool enough to handle, break off the claws and crack them when ready to grill.

To grill, place the lobsters on a cutting board on their backs and cut them lengthwise with a sharp knife and remove the intestines. Put the claws and lobster bodies cut-side-down on the grill and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until slightly browned. Turn the bodies over and brush liberally with the herb butter. Cover the grill with its lid and grill the lobsters for about 6 minutes longer, until they are cooked through. Serve with the drawn butter and lemon wedges.

Note: Lobsters should be purchased live. There are two ways to prepare lobsters for grilling. In this recipe, I blanch the lobsters quickly in simmering water, cool to room temperature and refrigerate until ready to grill. Purists prefer to kill the lobster right before grilling. Use a sharp, heavy knife, such as a chef’s knife. Pierce the lobster right at the cross-hatch behind the head. Allow extra grilling time for fresh-killed lobster. As with all shellfish, be careful not to overcook.