Grilled Thai-style Lobsters
These split grilled lobsters are basted with a compound butter flavored with fresh ginger, chile, lime, and fish sauce, which gives them a delicious Thai spin. One half of a grilled lobster is perfect as a main course. Serve with steamed rice and scallion pancakes. And don’t ditch the precious shells when you’re finished, instead, freeze and then use them to make a rich lobster stock, which is the perfect base for bisque and other seafood soups and sauces.
Ingredients
- 6 small radishes, thinly sliced
- 2 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
- Zest and juice of 2 limes, plus lime wedges, for serving
- 1 Tbs. rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. fish sauce, plus additional as desired
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ Tbs. finely chopped shallots, from 1 large or 2 small shallots
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely grated
- 1 ½ tsp. finely grated ginger
- 1 tsp. finely chopped Thai or serrano chiles
- 2 lime leaves, finely chopped
- 2 (1 ½ to 2 pound) lobsters, split in half lengthwise
- ¼ cup (slightly packed) cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup (slightly packed) mint leaves, roughly chopped
Instructions
Heat a gas or charcoal grill to high.
Combine radishes and cucumbers in a small bowl and dress with lime juice, rice wine vinegar, and 2 teaspoons fish sauce. Transfer to refrigerator until ready to serve.
In a small bowl, combine butter, shallots, garlic, ginger, chiles, lime zest, lime leaf, and remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce. Mix until smooth and season to taste with additional fish sauce. Transfer 3 tablespoons compound butter to a small pot and melt over low heat. Set aside.
Divide remaining compound butter among lobster halves, spreading to coat tail meat. Transfer lobsters to grill, cover, and cook until tail meat is cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes, basting with melted butter mixture twice during cooking. Alternatively, broil lobsters, 8 to 14 minutes, until tail meat is cooked through. Cooking time will vary greatly on the strength of your broiler.
Just before serving, toss cucumbers and radishes with cilantro and mint. Transfer lobsters to serving plates and serve with lime wedges, any additional basting butter, and cucumber-radish salad.
