Grilled Chocolate
Lobster Tails

Prep Time: 1 Hour
Marinade Time: 30 Minutes
Grill Time: 10 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour, 40 Minutes

Ingredients

• Napoleon Grill Topper
• 6 to 8 lobster tails
• 1½ tbsp. Grill-Roasted Garlic
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. bittersweet chocolate, grated
• 1 to 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 2 tsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• salt to taste
• ²/₃ cup of beer
• ½ cup butter, melted
• ½ cup of grated bittersweet chocolate
• ¼ cup panko crumbs
• ½ cup of peanuts, cashews, or pecans, crushed
• 6 to 8 lemon slices

Method

1. Lay the lobster tails on a clean flat surface and, with a very sharp knife or good kitchen shears, cut through the top shell, end to end. You can go right into the meat, but you don’t want to go all the way through the back shell. Once you’ve made this cut, take the tail in your hands and firmly break it open enough to work your fingers under the tail meat and free it from the shell. Then pull it up out of the shell while leaving it still attached at the end. Push the halves back together and lay the tail meat back down on the shell. You now have a lobster tail on a stand that should sit steady. It's the hardest part. This is not a pleasant job, but it’s well worth the effort. Be patient. And be careful — some nasty wounds have resulted from a battle with lobster tails. You should end up with 6 to 8 lobster tails, each of which you will cut open, slightly more than halfway through the meat, length-wise, if you didn’t already while freeing the tail. This gives you that awesome and pretty puffy meat that you see on the commercials.
2. Place the lobster tails in a flat nonreactive dish and refrigerate if you're not using immediately. Unlike meat, shellfish must be kept cold.
3. In a bowl, combine the roasted garlic, oil, 2 tbsp. chocolate, chipotle, cilantro, and black pepper and mix well. Pack some of this mixture into the split down each tail. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to marinate.
4. In one bowl, combine the beer with the melted butter.
5. In another bowl, combine the ½ cup chocolate, panko, and nuts and mix.
6. Preheat the grill to medium-high (450ºF/230ºC).
7. Place the tails on the Napoleon® Grill Topper and place in the grill. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes with the lid down. Baste with the beer butter and close lid for another 2 to 3 minutes. Open lid and baste once more, then sprinkle with the chocolate-nut mixture. Close the lid for a final 2 to 3 minutes. Lobster should be just cooked through. Depending on the size of the tails, you may want more or less time.
8. Serve immediately garnished with grilled lemon slices. (Just before serving place the lemon slices on the grill for about 45 seconds to char.)

Happy Grilling!

© Copyright 2014 by Napoleon

Recipe courtesy of Chef Ted Reader, Photography by Mike McColl and the Sultana of Sizzle