Why it works: Lobster and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,609 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓
Lobster-to Broil
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut down the back of the lobster with a sharp knife along the line on the shell.
Remove the stomach and intestine.
Broil and serve
Place the lobster shell side down on the broiler.
Broil for 25 minutes, brushing with melted butter to prevent drying.
Serve with additional melted butter, salt, and pepper.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Lobster + buttertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,609 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Lobster + peppertop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,247 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lobster
- Forms the main protein; its flesh turns firm and opaque as it cooks.
- Melted butter
- Adds moisture and richness, helping prevent the lobster meat from drying in the heat.
The step that matters
Brushing with melted butter during broiling. Lobster meat is lean and dries out quickly under high direct heat. Regular basting with melted butter adds fat and moisture to the surface, helping keep the flesh tender.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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