An Epic Surf-and-Turf: Filet Mignon And Butter Poached Lobster

This ultimate marriage of land and sea is perfect for date night and for those times that you simply want to treat yourself!

Those “unlimited bread sticks and salad” chains may be fine for an ordinary date night but for a special romantic dinner like Valentine’s Day or New Year’s Eve for two, somehow surf and turf has always been thought to be the great aphrodisiac, and nothing says “I love you” like home cooking.

Surf & Turf is traditionally a filet mignon and lobster, but you can use other steaks. Click here for more on beef cuts. And interestingly, when you buy just a lobster tail, you almost always get a frozen tail from a warm water lobster, a breed that doesn’t have the big meaty claws of cold water lobsters. They are delicious, and perfect for this dish. If you are a Maine lobster devotee, make sure to buy a live whole lobster with claws. Click here for more about lobster types as well as some interesting pictures.

Grilled Surf and Turf Recipe: Smoked Filet Mignon And Butter Poached Lobster

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Traditional surf-and-turf gets reimagined in this recipe with a smoke kissed filet mignon and delicate butter-poached lobster tails.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 2 servings

Course: Brunch, Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Difficulty: Difficult

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

 

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• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1 uncooked lobster tail, approximately 6 ounces (170.1 g)
• 2 wagyu ribeye filets, 8-ounces (226.8-g) each (feel free to substitute a prime grade filet)
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
•  Morton Coarse Kosher Salt 
• finely ground black pepper

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Method

 

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1. Prep. Using a set of heavy-duty kitchen shears, cut through the bottom of the lobster shell and gently remove the tail from the shell. Refrigerate the tail until ready to use.
2. Fire up. Prepare a grill for 2-zone cooking. On a charcoal grill, place a chimney full of pre-heated charcoal briquets to one side of the grill's charcoal grate in order to create direct and an indirect cooking zones. You want one side scorching hot and the other side at about 225°F (107.2°C). On a gas grill, adjust the temperature knobs so that one half of the grill is as hot as possible and the other half is approximately 225°F (107.2°C).
3. Cook. Add the butter to a small saucepan and place it on the grill (you can do this indoors, but I like to do it on the grill so I can coordinate the timing). Allow the butter to slowly melt, moving the saucepan to the cool zone of the grill if it begins to boil. Once the butter begins to form a layer of foam, remove it from the heat and gently spoon off the foam. Pour the clarified butter into a heat resistant bowl, leaving the sediment of milk solids in the saucepan. Discard milk solids and return the clarified butter to the saucepan.
4. Season the filets liberally on both sides with Kosher salt and ground black pepper. 
5. Add 2 to 3 chunks of your favorite smoking wood to the grill. Place the steaks on the cool side of the grill along with the saucepan of clarified butter. Cover the grill and allow the steaks to collect some smoke until they reach an internal temperature of 115°F (46.1°C) (note: a remote thermometer such as the Thermoworks Smoke allows you to set and monitor the internal temperature while attending to other matters such as side dishes).
6. Once the steaks reach 115°F (46.1°C), open the lid and sear the steaks on the hot side of the grill, frequently flipping until an even crust has formed. At this point, the internal temperature of the steaks should be in the medium rare range, 130 to 135°F (54.4 to 57.2°C). It's best to aim for the lower temperature to avoid possible overcooking the meat during carryover cooking.
7. As the steaks grill, add the lobster tail to the butter and allow it to poach for approximately 5 minutes until it is cooked through to about 145°F (62.8°C). At that point, the lobster meat will be white instead of translucent. Remove the lobster tail from the butter and set it aside.
8. Serve. Slice the lobster tails into 1/2" (1.3 cm) medallions. Plate the ribeye fillets, top each with butter poached lobster medallions, and drizzle with the clarified butter. Serve with your favorite side dishes.

Notes

About the beef. If you can’t find wagyu ribeye filets, order them from Snake River Farms or, if you must, substitute a prime filet or even a ribeye.

About the salt. Remember, kosher salt is half the concentration of table salt so if you use table salt, use half as much. Click here to read more about salt and how it works.

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