Ember Grilled Lobster Tails With A Shallot Butter Broth

Sometimes I wonder what our neighbors think about us based on the observable changes occurring in the areas of our yard visible from the street. First, we turned a perfectly good lawn into a giant vegetable garden/tiny farm. Then, we turned a little gated area along the side of our house into a bustling chicken run. And now, we’ve dug an enormous fire pit in the backyard which we’re using on a weekly basis, over which we’ve cooked everything from flatbread to oysters to an entire lamb. Some things are cooked on a grate over the flames, some are cooked in cast iron pans sitting on the grate over the fire, and others are cooked directly in the hot embers and ash, the latter bring my favorite method so far. Placing food items directly in the embers imparts a distinctly smokey flavor to them, (yum!), and also helps them cook very quickly, which my impatient side finds deeply appealing. Out of all the things I’ve cooked in it, though, my hands-down favorite has been these spitefully delicious lobster tails. I call them spitefully delicious because they’re so good it seems like they’re doing it just to taunt you, like “Oh, you thought chocolate cake was your favorite food of all time? We’ll I’m about to BLOW. YOUR. MIND.” It’s the kind of tasty that makes you a little sad because you know that almost nothing you’re going to eat in the next several months will even come close to measuring up to it, but so good that it’s worth the tinge of preemptive sorrow.

I know the idea of cooking directly in embers or coals can be a bit intimidating, but it’s actually incredible easy and straightforward. You wait until the fire is dying down and break apart the log with a metal fire poker to make the little embers (if you’re using coals you don’t need to break them apart). You know the heat intensity is right when they’re grey and glowing with a twinge of red (like in the photos here). Then you just use tongs to place the lobster tails, shell side down, directly on the embers and let them cook. They simmer away in their own juices and the smokey flavor envelops them, and once they’re off the fire you cut open the underside and drizzle it with a delicious shallot butter broth, which consists of some Progresso Chicken Cooking Stock reduced with butter and shallots. Their chicken stock is made from real chicken bones and imparts the most wonderful comforting element to the butter broth. I know it might sound a little strange to use it in a sauce drizzled over lobster, but when it’s reduced with the butter and shallots you don’t taste a distinct chicken flavor, but rather an umami and comforting savoriness that’s familiar yet refreshing with a caramelized shallot kick. To cut the richness of the broth, you squeeze some fresh lemons over the top for a bit of acidity and sprinkle on some fresh cilantro for a touch of brightness. When all of this combines with perfectly cooked lobster…well, you can imagine. It’s pretty darn good, y’all.

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Ember-Grilled Lobster Tails with a Shallot Butter Broth

Author Eva Kosmas Flores

Ingredients

Shallot Butter Broth

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 shallots (finely diced)
• 1 clove garlic (finely diced)
• 1/4 cup Progresso Chicken Cooking Stock

Ember Grilled Lobster Tails

• 5 lobster tails
• 2 shallots (finely diced)
• 3 tablespoons diced fresh cilantro
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon flake sea salt

Instructions

Shallot Butter Broth

1. For the shallot butter broth, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the shallots and garlic and sautee until the shallots have softened and become transparent, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the Progresso Chicken Cooking Stock and stir to incorporate. Bring to a simmer and then allow it to reduce over low heat for an additional 10 minutes, stirring every 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Lobster

1. For the lobster, get a fire going in a contained fire pit and allow it to burn until the log is black and still burning. Use a fireplace poker to break the log into pieces by firmly poking it. Allow the embers to continue to burn until they’re grey and glowing red. If you’re using coals, allow them to burn down until they are also grey and glowing red. Use grilling tongs to place the lobster tails directly on the embers, shell-side down, and cook for 6 to 10 minutes, or until they turn bright red and the meat is opaque white and cooked through. Remove from the fire and place on a serving platter. Cut the thin lining along the underside of the tails to expose the meat, then drizzle the exposed meat with the shallot butter broth. Squeeze the lemon half over the tails, and sprinkle them with the cilantro and flake sea salt. Serve immediately.