Herb Compound Butter
This herb butter is a delicious way to add a burst of flavor to any meal. It’s perfect for melting over grilled meats, roasts, steaks or stirring into steamed vegetables. Made with fresh, aromatic and herby flavors, this garlic herb compound butter recipe has a secret ingredient that adds a tangy kick.
Try this compound butter for turkey and poultry, too – It’ got herbs and a touch of citrus!
Why I love this Garlic Herb Butter:
Oi, Gente!!
Compound butter is nothing more than soft butter mixed with seasonings and herbs. It imparts great flavors onto meat, and adds an excellent, buttery mouthfeel to whatever you add it to.
This butter is great on steaks and beef roasts, in general, but it’s also delicious on pork cuts, roasted or steamed veggies and even just spreading on warm bread!
The beauty of this recipe is you can add pretty much any combination of herbs you like to it.
I particularly love using fresh rosemary, which brings in an earthy woodiness, along with thyme, which adds a sweet and floral taste. Garlic and fresh chives introduce an aromatic depth.
My favorite ingredient in this recipe is whole grain mustard, which brings in a subtle tang. To me, this makes this compound butter perfect for steaks.
Red pepper flakes are optional, but I love adding them for the pretty red specks and a spicy kick.
Anyway, it’s easy to create your own delicious version of homemade herb butter with your personal favorites.
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!
Beijinhos xoxo
Ingredients:
remember!
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Substitutions can greatly alter your final results.
- Room Temperature Butter — I use unsalted butter and add salt on my own, but you can use salted butter if you’d like. Just don’t add that pinch of salt to the recipe because you do not want the butter to become too salty.
- Fresh herbs — for this compound butter recipe, we’re using a combination of fresh chives, fresh thyme and fresh rosemary. Dried herbs will not work because their flavors are not as vibrant and their texture is unpleasant for this application. If you need a substitute for the chives, try green onions or garlic ramps!
- Whole grain mustard — I like using this mustard because of its texture. If you need to substitute, stone ground mustard should works. Other mustards are stronger in flavor, which can hide the brightness of the herbs. Also, they may not mix too well with the butter.
- Garlic cloves — freshly minced. Do not use pre-minced garlic because we need the flavor to be as fresh and strong as it can be.
- Red pepper flakes — these are optional. Not only do they add pretty speckles of red to the butter, but they add a little heat, if you’re into that kind of thing. If not, just omit.
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How to make Compound Butter with Herbs and Garlic
Mise en place. Make sure your butter is sitting out at room temperature so it’s soft and spreadable. I like to leave mine on the counter for 30-45 minutes before I make the compound butter.
In the meantime, mince your herbs and prep the rest of the ingredients.
Then, add the softened butter to a medium-sized bowl. Measure in the chopped herbs.
Add the mustard, fresh garlic and also the red pepper flakes, if using.
Season with a pinch of kosher salt and some black pepper, too.
Stir with a spatula to incorporate.
How to store compound butter:
You can make this compound butter recipe ahead of time!
Simply follow the instructions and then transfer to a mason jar, an airtight container or simply wrap it tightly in wax paper or parchment paper into a log shape and store in the refrigerator. You could place it in a small decorative bowl and wrap in plastic wrap before refrigerating, too.
I keep mine in a small mason jar in the refrigerator. I take it out of the fridge about an hour or two before it’s time to use it. This allows the butter to get soft and spreadable again so you can plop it on your steaks, roasts or anything else.
How to use…
I love adding it to this picanha roast.
This makes a fabulous compound butter for steaks. My steak and onions are already full of flavor but, this butter also compliments it a lot because of the mustard. It’s great!
Same with this ribeye steak marinade — the marinade already has mustard seeds, so it boosts the mustard flavor.
Add a dollop of it to steamed vegetables or even a baked potato for bonus flavor!
Quick tips and tricks to make the best compound butter:
- Work with softened butter. It’s easier to incorporate other ingredients into the butter if it’s not cold from the fridge.
- Use your favorite fresh herbs. They need to be fresh, though, because fresh herbs are vibrant and beautiful and delicious.
- Make it early. This recipe keeps in the fridge easily! Store the butter in an airtight container or form it into a log shape in wax paper, and keep it cold in the refrigerator until about an hour before it’s serving time. Remove it from the fridge so it can soften.
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Herb Compound Butter
Ingredients
- 4 ounces of unsalted butter, softened 1 stick
- 1 tablespoon of minced fresh chives
- 1 tablespoon of whole grain mustard
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/2 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon of fresh rosemary leaves, minced
- a pinch of red pepper flakes optional
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to medium-sized bowl.
- Stir with a spatula until combined.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and serve OR wrap in wax paper into a round or a rectangle and refrigerate until you want to serve it.
