Grilled Moreton Bay Bugs with Garlic Herb Butter
Sweet, succulent Moreton Bay bug tails split and grilled with a luscious garlic herb butter — a true Australian coastal treat that's impressive yet surprisingly easy to make at home.
Recipe details
- Yield
- 4 people
- Prep time
- 10 minutes
- Cook time
- 8 minutes
- Total time
- 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 8 medium Moreton Bay bugs, raw, whole (also called slipper lobsters or bay lobsters)
- 100g unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 lemon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (for brushing)
Instructions
- Preheat your barbecue or grill to medium-high heat (around 200°C/400°F).
- Finely mince 4 cloves garlic.
- Finely chop 3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley.
- Zest 1 lemon (reserve the lemon itself for later).
- In a small bowl, combine 100g softened unsalted butter, the minced garlic, chopped parsley, lemon zest, ½ teaspoon sea salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper. Mix until well blended.
- Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife, cut each of the 8 Moreton Bay bugs in half lengthwise through the tail. You want to split them right down the middle so the meat is exposed but still attached to the shell.
- Brush the flesh side of each bug tail with 2 tablespoons olive oil (divided among them).
- Place the bug tails flesh-side down on the hot grill. Grill for 3 minutes until the flesh develops nice char marks.
- Flip the tails shell-side down. Spoon a generous amount of the garlic herb butter onto the flesh of each tail. Grill for another 4-5 minutes until the meat is opaque, white, and just cooked through (the butter will melt and pool beautifully).
- Cut the reserved lemon into wedges. Transfer the grilled bugs to a serving platter, drizzle any melted butter from the grill over them, and serve with lemon wedges on the side.