Grilled Lobster with Café de Paris Butter

⏱ 50 min · Serves 4

Split lobsters kissed by fierce charcoal heat, then flooded with the legendary Café de Paris butter — a herby, anchovy-spiked, brandy-laced compound butter that melts into every crevice. Serve with lemon halves and cold white wine, and let everyone get their fingers messy.

Per serving: 617 kcal · 34.0g protein · 4.5g carbs · 51.0g fat

Ingredients

• 2 live lobsters, about 700–800g each (or 4 small lobster tails)
• 250g unsalted butter, softened
• 4 anchovy fillets in oil, finely chopped
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 tbsp brandy
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp capers, drained and chopped
• 2 shallots, very finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tbsp chopped tarragon
• 1 tbsp chopped chives
• 1 tsp chopped dill
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• Sea salt and black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil, for grilling
• 2 lemons, halved, to serve

Method

1. Make the butter first: beat the softened butter with the anchovies, Dijon, tomato purée, brandy, Worcestershire sauce, capers, shallots and garlic until smooth.
2. Beat in all the herbs, paprika, curry powder, cayenne, lemon zest and juice, sugar, 1/2 tsp salt and plenty of black pepper. Taste — it should be punchy and savoury.
3. Roll half the butter into a log in baking parchment and chill; keep the rest at room temperature for basting. (The butter can be made up to 3 days ahead.)
4. Chill the live lobsters in the freezer for 30 minutes to sedate them, then kill humanely by driving the tip of a heavy knife straight down through the cross mark on the head. Split each lobster lengthways through the head and tail, remove the grit sac and intestinal tract, and crack the claws with the back of the knife.
5. Heat a barbecue to medium-high with a clear, ash-white bed of coals, or heat a ridged griddle pan until smoking.
6. Brush the cut flesh with olive oil and season with salt. Grill shell-side down for 5 minutes, then flesh-side down for 2–3 minutes to get some char.
7. Turn shell-side down again, spoon a generous tablespoon of soft Café de Paris butter over each half plus the claws, and grill for 3–4 more minutes until the flesh is opaque and just firm (internal temp 55–57°C). Don't overcook.
8. Transfer to a warm platter, top each half with slices of the chilled butter log so it melts into the shell, and grill the lemon halves cut-side down for 1 minute.
9. Serve immediately with the grilled lemons, extra butter on the side, and plenty of bread to mop the shells.