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Home » Recipes » Main Dishes

Published: Dec 8, 2022 by Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Smoked Lobster Tails With Lemon-Garlic Butter

Jump to Recipe
A smoked lobster tail on a white plate with freshly chopped parsley scattered around it and text overlay on top.
A smoked lobster tail on a white plate with freshly chopped parsley scattered around it and text overlay on top.

Make your next special occasion even more memorable and put these smoked lobster tails with a decadent lemon-garlic butter on the dinner menu. You’ll love how sweet, buttery lobster gets an extra touch of flavor with the perfect kiss of smoky notes. Plus, this gourmet dinner only requires 20 minutes of hands-on preparation time — it’s elegance meets convenience.

A smoked lobster tail on a white plate with a bunch of parsley to the side and a blue and white napkin behind it.
Jump to:
  • Why You’ll Love This Recipe
  • Ingredients
  • Step-by-Step Instructions
  • How to Store Leftovers
  • Recipe FAQs
  • Expert Tips
  • Perfect Pairing
  • Get More Smoker Dinner Ideas
  • 📖 Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Elevates any meal: Is there anything more elegant than a lobster dinner? Whether you’re celebrating a holiday, birthday, anniversary or any other special occasion, this smoked lobster brings fine dining right to your own home.

Relatively short smoking time: If you’ve smoked plenty of meats, such as my brisket, chicken or ribs, you know this cooking process often takes hours. But with lobster tails, we can smoke our dinner in an hour or less, and it takes just minutes to prepare the lobster and lemon-garlic butter sauce. That always bodes well for a hungry crowd.

Simple ingredients: No giant grocery shopping lists required here. With just a handful of common ingredients, we can put a five-star dinner on the table with little effort.

Related: For more elegant dinner ideas, try this smoked salmon risotto, braised red wine short ribs, smoked rack of lamb and coq au vin.

Ingredients

The recipe ingredients on a white marble surface with black and white labels next to each item.

Lobster tail: This recipe is for lobster tails that weigh between 4-6 ounces. That said, if you come across massive lobster tails that weigh around 10 ounces or even more, you’re welcome to use those instead, but you’ll need to increase the cooking time and double the lemon-garlic butter sauce. Keep in mind, smaller lobster tails tend to taste sweeter and less fishy, so big doesn’t necessarily mean better. 

Garlic: For the best flavor, skip the jarred garlic or garlic powder and mince or grate your own. We don’t want to skimp on ingredients when it comes to making a lobster dinner.

Lemon juice: Like the garlic, fresh lemon juice is best. Bottled lemon juice lacks the bright flavor of freshly squeezed juice.

Salt and pepper: For most of the meats I smoke, I like to use a BBQ dry rub, but lobster meat is so wonderful on its own that we keep the seasoning simple here. We don’t want to overwhelm that delicate flavor.

Fresh parsley: This adds a touch of fresh flavor and a pop of green for a beautiful presentation. 

Step-by-Step Instructions

How to Make Lemon-Garlic Butter

Step 1: I like to start by making our lemon garlic butter sauce, so it’s ready to go. The first step is to melt butter over medium-low heat, add garlic and then stir the mixture for about 30 seconds (photo 1).

A wooden spoon stirring together the melted butter and garlic in a small stainless saucepan on the stove.

Step 2: Now we turn off the heat and stir in our freshly squeezed lemon juice for a little zip (photo 2). In two easy steps, we now have our lemon-garlic butter sauce. 

A hand pouring a small bowl of lemon juice into the garlic-butter mixture in a small saucepan.

How to Prepare Lobster Tails

Step 1: We start by butterflying the lobster tails. For this step, we take a pair of kitchen shears and snip down the middle of the shell to the base of the tail fin on a cutting board (photo 3). We then flip the tail over and press gently push on the belly to loosen the meat.

Now we flip the lobster again with the slit side facing up and gently pull apart the lobster shell halves and use our fingers to loosen the meat from the inside of the shell while still keeping it attached at the base. Once the meat comes loose, we set it on the back of the shell, and we have our pretty presentation (photo 4). If you’d like to see this process in action, this quick video is a great guide for butterflying lobster tails.

Of course, if you don't want to bother lifting the meat out, you can simply cut through the top of the tails and pull apart the shells, leaving the meat in tact and exposed for smoking. Butterflying is all about presentation.

A hand cutting the lobster shell with kitchen shears on a brown wooden cutting board.
The butterflied lobster tail on a brown wooden cutting board before going into the smoker.

Step 2: With our lobster prepared, we sprinkle it with salt and black pepper and brush the tail meat with our melted butter (photo 5).

A silicone brush glazing the butterflied lobster tail with the butter sauce on a brown wooden cutting board.

Step 3: We now place the butterflied lobster tails directly on the grill grates with a water pan, close the lid and let the meat smoke (photo 6). 

The lobster on the grill grates of a pellet electric smoker before closing the lid and cooking.

Step 4: When the lobster finishes smoking, we pull it off the grill and brush it once again with that divine remaining butter mixture and sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley (photo 7).

Serve that succulent lobster with some smoked mac and cheese and mashed potatoes and enjoy one swoon-worthy meal. It's also great on a bed of pasta with this easy white wine sauce. Or make it even more special and turn it into a surf and turf dinner with this smoked leg of lamb, smoked prime rib or smoked tri tip.

A hand sprinkling freshly chopped parsley onto the meat on a white plate with a blue napkin in the background.

Note: I tested this recipe on an electric pellet grill, but you can use any type of smoker.

How to Store Leftovers

Of course, I’m sure you will devour every delicious bite, so the thought of leftover lobster may seem silly. But let’s say you make extra for the specific purpose of enjoying leftovers — you can completely remove it from the shell and keep it in an airtight container for three to four days in the refrigerator. 

Another option is to store the cooked lobster meat in a freezer-safe container for about three months. You can still safely consume the lobster after three months, but the quality eventually degrades.

Recipe FAQs

What wood should you use to smoke lobster?

You’ll love to use apple wood or cherry wood when smoking lobster. These woods add just the right smoked flavor without overpowering the meat while both bring a fruity quality that’s perfect with lobster’s natural sweetness. 

What temperature should you use to smoke lobster?

I find a low temperature of 225 degrees F is the perfect sweet spot. While some recipes call for a higher temperature and shorter cooking time, a low 225 degrees F allows us to smoke our lobster for a bit longer to infuse more smoky flavor without overcooking the delicate meat. 

How long does it take to smoke lobster tails?

Expect for the lobster to take 45-60 minutes of cook time. The internal temperature should range from 130-140 degrees F for the best texture. 

A close-up shot of one of the smoked lobster tails on a white plate with chopped parsley to the left.

Expert Tips

Be careful while cutting: While cutting to the tip of the tail, make sure you only snip the shell and not the lobster tail meat. 

Rinse and devein: After butterflying the lobster, rinse off the meat and make sure you pull off the digestive track if it's present. 

Do not overcook: Shellfish turns rubbery when it’s overcooked. As you get near 45 minutes of cooking time, use an instant thermometer to check when the internal temperature reaches 130-140 degrees F for best results.

Pull the meat from the refrigerator before smoking: Allow the lobster to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes prior to cooking. This takes the chill off the meat and helps it cook more evenly.

Fully thaw the lobsters before cooking: To thaw, place frozen lobster tails in the refrigerator overnight. If you need to thaw even faster, place the lobster tails in cold water with a small stream constantly running. That should thaw the lobster in about an hour. Do not use hot water to speed up the process — that can encourage bacteria growth. 

Use it for all sorts of lobster dishes: While you can certainly enjoy the whole tail, you can also smoke the meat and use it in other lobster recipes, such as my lobster BLT, lobster rolls, lobster tacos and lobster fettuccine.

Perfect Pairing

You can’t go wrong with a witbier when lobster is on the menu. Every sip shows off bright citrus notes to bring out the sweet lobster flavor, and it has a delightful bubbly finish to cut through the buttery sauce. To really bring a taste of New England to the table, White from Allagash Brewing Company is especially lovely.

If you prefer wine, it doesn’t get better than an oaked chardonnay on the side. The charred oak matches those smoked notes, and chardonnay is famous for its buttery quality that’s perfect with lobster.

For a cocktail, try my French 76. Bubbly is always a welcome pairing with lobster, and this is a citrusy Champagne-based cocktail that will keep your palate refreshed.

When you need an easy yet elegant dinner, this smoked lobster tail recipe is your perfect meal. You’ll love every buttery bite with the perfect touch of smoke flavor.

Cheers!

Looking down on one of the smoked lobster tails on a white plate with a bunch of parsley in the background.

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If you love this recipe, please leave a comment with a five-star rating — or simply hit the five-star button in the recipe card. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter, and you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok.

📖 Recipe

A smoked lobster tail on a white plate with a bunch of parsley to the side and a blue and white napkin behind it.

Smoked Lobster Tails With Lemon-Garlic Butter

Make your next special occasion even more memorable and put these smoked lobster tails with a decadent lemon-garlic butter on the dinner menu. You’ll love how sweet, buttery lobster gets an extra touch of flavor with the perfect kiss of smoky notes. Plus, this gourmet dinner only requires 20 minutes of hands-on preparation time — it’s elegance meets convenience.
5 from 150 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour hour
Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 258kcal
Author: Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Equipment

  • Kitchen shears
  • Smoker any type
  • Wood chips or pellets preferably apple, cherry or pecan
  • Water pan

Ingredients

Lemon Garlic Butter

  • ½ cup salted butter
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Smoked Lobster Tails

  • 4 lobster tails fully thawed, about 4-6 ounces each
  • Salt and pepper
  • Freshly chopped parsley for garnish, optional

Instructions

Lemon Garlic Butter

  • In a small skillet over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic, stirring constantly for 30 seconds.
  • Turn off the heat. Stir in the lemon juice. Reserve.

Smoked Lobster Tails

  • Take a pair of kitchen shears and snip down the middle of the shell to the base of the tail fin on a cutting board. Flip the tail over and press gently push on the belly to loosen the meat. Flip the lobster again with the slit side facing up and gently pull apart the lobster shell halves and use your fingers to loosen the meat from the inside of the shell while still keeping it attached at the base. Once the meat comes loose, set it on the back of the shell.
  • Brush with the lemon-garlic butter sauce and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  • Place directly on the grill grates of a 225-degree F smoker with a water pan. Close the lid and smoke until the meat's internal temperature reaches 130-140 degrees F, about 45-60 minutes.
  • Remove from smoker. Brush with the lemon-garlic butter again and sprinkle with parsley if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

  • Preparing the lobster tails is known as butterflying. If you don't want to bother lifting the meat out, you can simply cut through the top of the tails and pull apart the shells, leaving the meat in tact and exposed for smoking. Butterflying is all about presentation.
  • While cutting to the tip of the tail, make sure you only snip the shell and not the lobster tail meat.
  • After butterflying the lobster, rinse off the meat and make sure you pull off the digestive track if it's present.
  • Allow the lobster to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes prior to cooking. This takes the chill off the meat and helps it cook more evenly.
  • To thaw, place frozen lobster tails in the refrigerator overnight. If you need to thaw even faster, place the lobster tails in cold water with a small stream constantly running. That should thaw the lobster in about an hour. Do not use hot water to speed up the process — that can encourage bacteria growth.
  • Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tail | Calories: 258kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 141mg | Sodium: 451mg | Potassium: 153mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 712IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 0.2mg
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @BurrataandBubbles or tag #burratandbubbles!

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Comments

    5 from 150 votes (140 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Hayley Dhanecha says

    December 19, 2022 at 8:07 am

    5 stars
    My friend made this when she had us over this weekend. We were so pleased with how the lobster turned out that I had to get the recipe. Can't wait to make it myself.

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 19, 2022 at 9:48 am

      Love that! Thanks for grabbing the recipe.

      Reply
  2. Tammy says

    December 18, 2022 at 6:24 pm

    5 stars
    What a meal to splurge on for the holidays. These were superb and a big hit at our house!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 19, 2022 at 7:00 am

      So great to hear, Tammy! Happy holidays!

      Reply
  3. Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer says

    December 18, 2022 at 1:06 pm

    5 stars
    Definitely a keeper! I was on the fence about what to make for Christmas dinner and after seeing this, I know what I'm making. These look PHENOMENAL! You can never go wrong with garlic butter and lobster!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 18, 2022 at 9:29 pm

      No argument from me!

      Reply
  4. Leslie says

    December 17, 2022 at 7:34 pm

    5 stars
    Lobster tails with lemon garlic butter is a match made in heaven! I love your recipe!!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 18, 2022 at 9:29 pm

      Thanks so much, Leslie!

      Reply
  5. Linda says

    December 16, 2022 at 2:35 pm

    5 stars
    Yum! I've grilled lobster tail before but never tried smoking it. It was easy to make and even more amazing to eat. The lemon garlic butter was the perfect finishing touch.

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 17, 2022 at 7:50 am

      Thanks so much for trying it, Linda! I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it.

      Reply
  6. Lauren Michael Harris says

    December 16, 2022 at 5:26 am

    5 stars
    I never would have thought to do this! My husband put them on the smoker, and we loved how they turned out. Best way to cook lobster from now on!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 17, 2022 at 7:47 am

      Totally agree!

      Reply
  7. Elaine says

    December 15, 2022 at 10:21 am

    5 stars
    Smoking lobster tails is my favorite way to make these. Fantastic recipe that is just perfect for the weekend gathering!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 15, 2022 at 10:58 am

      No argument from me! It really is my favorite way to cook them.

      Reply
  8. Veronika says

    December 14, 2022 at 3:21 pm

    5 stars
    Who would've thought lobster would be so easy to make?! The garlic lemon butter adds great flavor and allows the lobster to really shine!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 14, 2022 at 4:17 pm

      I mean, you can't go wrong when a butter sauce is involved! Thanks for the nice comment.

      Reply
  9. Bernice says

    December 13, 2022 at 10:42 am

    5 stars
    I'm always nervous about cooking lobster but your post is full of great tips and tricks. I felt like I had the confidence to try over the weekend and made a special dinner for my husband. Huge success!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 13, 2022 at 12:10 pm

      I'm so glad it worked out for you!

      Reply
  10. Marta says

    December 12, 2022 at 2:47 pm

    5 stars
    What a genius way to make lobster tails even more decadent. We loved the smokiness they had. Paired with the lemon garlic butter, I don't think I want them any other way now.

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      December 13, 2022 at 11:56 am

      I don't blame you! They're so, so good smoked. Thanks for trying it!

      Reply

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A headshot of Amanda, the owner of Burrata and Bubbles, holding a beer.

Hi, I'm Amanda, a Denver-based lady who believes life is best spent with comforting meals, tasty beverages and good company. When I'm not playing in the kitchen, I'm probably exploring new breweries with my husband, Matt, or obsessing over my adorable dog, Baylor.

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