Simple Grilled Spiny Lobster
- Carter Bellows
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
California Spiny Lobster is a local Southern California delicacy and an easy one to cook! This super simple recipe for grilled Spiny Lobster is done in under 15 minutes and sure to be a huge hit at any barbecue or family dinner. A little taste of luxury in every bite!
Spiny Lobster is a seasonal seafood available from the beginning of October through mid March. The lobster fishery here in California is one the most strictly managed fisheries in the country. For these two reasons, all the seasoned seafood connoisseurs know to get it while the gettin's good. The California Spiny Lobster is similar to the "famous" Maine lobster with the exception of a few key differences. Number 1 is the complete lack of claws. Spiny Lobster have skinny legs in place of where the Maine Lobster have those big recognizable claws. So yes, no claw meat with the lobster here in California, however, key difference number 2 is that Spiny Lobster have much thicker tails and meat throughout their whole body and head meaning you'll be getting a full meal with a single lobster. California Spiny Lobster meat is known to be rich and buttery with a slightly meatier texture and a much sweeter flavor when compared to the brininess of the Maine Lobster. Overall, it is delicious, sustainable, and a California fan favorite that I want to share with the rest of the country and world. No more gate keeping this West Coast seafood icon!
California Spiny Lobster and this recipe -although I've tweaked it a bit over the years - holds a special place in my heart. When I first got into spearfishing and free diving it was during lobster season. I had been free diving with a friend only once before but he went off to join the Navy SEALs and gifted me his speargun. I figured "Why not?" and decided to buy a wetsuit, fins and the rest of the diving gear needed. I was doing some research online on where I should start with this brand new endeavor of mine and I came across a guy talking about how excited he was to go out that week and catch lobster. It hadn't even dawned on me that there were lobster here on the coast of California. So I did some more research, got the rest of the permits and gear I needed and set out on my first solo dive.
So there I was, diving down and poking my head in caves and under rocks looking for anything that looked like antennae. I was swimming around for about an hour, not really knowing what I was looking at or looking for and then BAM!, about five feet in front of me I see two large red/brown antennae poking out from under a rock. I took a breath, dove down and approached as slowly as I possibly could so not to scare the lobster. I got within inches and shot my hand out to grab the top of its back. I managed to get my hand wrapped around the lobster but in the process it had backed up about 2 feet into the cave it was peeking out of. With my adrenaline pumping and my arm shoulder deep in the cave, 20 feet underwater, the fight was on. After about 30 seconds it seemed like we had reached a stalemate. I couldn't manage to get the lobster loose from its cave but I sure as hell was not going to let go. I tried pulling from every which angle imaginable and after prying at it for about a minute and a half, getting nervously close to the very end of my breath hold, I somehow was able to wiggle the lobster free. I triumphantly brought the lobster to the surface, measured it to make sure it was legal size, and threw it in the bag on my hip. I had never had such a happy and proud drive home to show my roommates what I had just done. We looked up some recipes, decided to butterfly the lobster and throw it on the grill with an egregious amount of butter and had ourselves a meal - even though it was only a few bites between the four of us. After that dive though I knew I was hooked (no pun intended) and then lobster diving and spearfishing became my thing. Three years later and I decided to make seafood my life.
But enough with the emotional, dramatic lobster stories. Below I'm going to tell you how to make an absolutely killer Spiny Lobster meal. Who knows, maybe you'll love it so much that you'll hop in the water to catch your own too.
Ingredients
(2) 1.5lb California Spiny Lobster
1 Tbsp of course Kosher or sea salt
1/2 Tsp of ground black pepper
1 Tsp of garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp of your favorite cajun seasoning or Old Bay
6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) of unsalted butter
Directions
Cutting - on a large cutting board, lay out your lobsters so that their back is facing up towards you and so that their tails are fully stretched out behind their bodies. Take a large knife or cleaver and cut the entire lobster in half from head to tail.
Cleaning - "devein" the lobster. You will see a thin digestive track leading from the bottom of their tails all the way up their body to right behind their eyes. Remove this whole thing as it is bitter and not very tasty.
(OPTIONAL) - I like to keep the lobster tomalley in when I cook it because it creates a delicious "head butter" to dip the meat in, however some people do not like it so if you want just standard lobster meat then remove the orange/brown colored stuff in the head.
Seasoning - sprinkle the salt, black pepper, garlic powder and your choice of Old Bay or Cajun seasoning evenly over all exposed lobster meat.
Cooking - turn on the grill to high heat and let it heat up for at least 5 minutes. Place the lobsters on the grill, shell side down, and close the grill. Cook for 6 minutes on high heat. Open the grill and add 2-3 slices of butter on top of each lobster half. Close the grill and cook for an additional 2 minutes. The shell might start to blacken a little bit but that's okay.
Enjoy - take off the grill and serve right away while still hot! For the butter lovers like myself, melt down a few extra tablespoons of butter in the microwave and mix it with the cajun or Old Bay for some flavorful butter dipping sauce.
That's it. That's the whole recipe. Super simple yet unbelievably mouthwatering. It may seem like you've gone a bit too light on the seasoning but that is intentional. With seafood delicacies like California Spiny Lobster, I've always found it best to be conservative with the seasoning so you can really let the natural sweetness and light ocean flavors shine through.
Please take pictures of your final lobster meal and post them. Tag us @bellowsspearandreel. We will repost it, we'd love to see your culinary creations! And if you need some Spiny Lobster to get started, try checking out or Premium BSR Seafood membership where you can get several pounds sent directly to your door.
Comments