Eating lobster can be an elegant affair, but the process of getting it to the plates is more of an adventure.
Fun fact: these crustaceans are part of the arthropod phylum, which includes mosquitoes and spiders. According to fossilized shells found on British shores, they have been eaten as far back as the Stone Age.
Back then, the creatures weren’t delicately prepared, nor were they petite. Our ancestors caught bigger, easier-to-spot lobsters, sometimes as large as 45 pounds. The meat would have been tougher and plucked out, consumed raw, and eaten using their hands.
According to Global History, coastal communities in Africa were likely the first to cook them — and first discover that their dark shells turn bright red when roasted over hot stones. Later civilizations across South America and Europe began boiling them and preserving the meat by drying it with smoke or soaking it with brine and burying it in the sand.
It wasn’t until the 19th century, after haute French chefs started experimenting with lobster, that they became a food of the elite.
Americans followed suit — scalloping, fricasseeing, potting, deviling, and simmering the meat in white wine with cayenne and nutmeg — before developing a much simpler and wildly popular approach in the 1930s: The lobster roll.
Now that laws dictate lobster can only be caught and sold at the ideal weight for eating (between 1 and 2 pounds) their taste is consistently better — especially when cooked in straightforward ways like boiling, steaming, or even grilling…just as our ancestors did!
Coal-Grilled Lobsters with Charred Corn, Tomatillos, and Blue Potatoes
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
6 1 1/2 pound live lobsters, about pounds total
24 small blue new potatoes (about 1 1/2 lb.)
Kosher salt
18 medium tomatillos (about 1 1/2 pounds total) husked and rinsed, large ones halved through the stem;
4-6 large cobs fresh corn, shucked
2 small garlic heads, tops sliced off
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 lemons or limes, halved crosswise
Freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch fresh dill, for garnishing (optional)
Freshly shucked oysters, for serving (optional)
Melted or clarified unsalted butter, for serving
Directions:
To prepare the lobsters for grilling, set each on its stomach with its head facing inward on a steady, clean cutting board. Holding the lobster down against the board in your non-dominant hand, steady the tip of a sharp chef's knife 2 inches in from the tip of the lobster's head. Firmly press the tip of the knife downward through the shell, then swiftly bring the blade down toward the cutting board to cut cleanly through the head. Transfer the lobsters to a large-rimmed baking sheet. Tear off the tails and large claws. Rinse or remove any innards as needed. Make a long vertical cut through the soft underside of the tails, being careful not to cut through the hard outer shell. Set aside the large claws and tails, saving the bodies and small claws for another use.
In a medium pot, add the potatoes and enough water to cover, seasoning generously with salt. Cook over medium-high heat until tender, 10–12 minutes. Drain and keep warm.
Meanwhile, preheat a grill to high heat. Rub the reserved lobster claws and tails, tomatillos, corn, and garlic heads all over with olive oil and season with salt. Place on the baking sheet and set next to the grill.
Set the corn and garlic at the edges of the grill where the temperature is slightly cooler. Put the lemons, cut sides down, in a hotter zone. Add the lobster claws and tails to the hottest area of the grill in a single layer.
Remove the lemons once well charred on the cut sides, about 5 minutes. Cook the lobster parts, turning as needed, until the shells are bright red and charred in places and the tail meat looks opaque, 6–7 minutes for the claws and 7–9 minutes for the tails. Cook the corn and garlic, turning and stacking the cobs occasionally to avoid over-blackening, until the kernels and garlic heads are charred and tender, about 15 minutes. Remove everything to the baking sheet and keep warm. Quickly add the tomatillos to the grill and cook, turning occasionally, until well charred and softened but not mushy, 3–4 minutes. Remove to the baking sheet.
Toss the boiled potatoes with the tomatillos and season the mixture with more salt, pepper, and oil, tossing to coat.
To serve, line a large platter with fresh dill and arrange all ingredients together, including the oysters, or serve the lobster parts with the vegetables and shucked oysters on the side. Season the melted butter generously with salt and brush some of it on the lobster and corn.
Serve hot with more butter on the side for dipping.