Compound Butters

Our Best Compound Butter Recipes

That’s correct, we have multiple compound butter recipe ideas to share. It might come as no surprise that compound butter is common in French cuisine. Like a good sauce or condiment, compound butters serve to enhance the flavor of a dish. The queen of butter Julia Child said, “With enough butter, anything is good.” With Julia’s love of butter as our North Star, we’ve set out to offer a few of our favorite compound butters, which you can mix-and-match to your heart's (and recipe’s) delight!

What To Do With Compound Butter

We wouldn’t tell you how to choose your mix-ins at the fro-yo bar, and we’re not going to tell you what to do with your compound butter. But since adding things to butter is our favorite kind of math, we’d like to suggest the following equations:

• The best compound butter for steak: parsley + lemon juice (aka beurre maître d'hôte)

• Our favorite compound butter for chicken: garlic + thyme + lemon

• There’s a compound butter for turkey too: citrus zest + juice + roasted garlic

• And a no-brainer, we love compound butter for bread: garlic + butter (aka beurre à la bourguignonne)

• Compound butter for fish is a fresh idea: lemon + any fresh herbs

We Got Yer Compound Butter Ideas

Compound butter is often served right before a dish is served, sliced and served cold atop the humble butter vehicle. It’s also used as a finishing touch to sauces, or sometimes appears as a condiment that accompanies a main dish. There’s plenty of compound butter recipes, with herb compound butter and garlic compound butter amongst our favorites. If you’re making an herb-based compound butter, just keep in mind that the maximum amount a stick of butter can hold is about three tablespoons. This isn’t an exact science, so you’re feeling creative, we encourage you to explore the compound butter universe!

How To Make Compound Butter

Since there’s no wrong way to make homemade compound butter we offer a few starting points to get the ball rolling. Starting with a softened stick of unsalted butter and a sprinkle of sea salt, you’ll start to get creative.

1. In a small bowl, mix together the butter and salt, and add in the herbs, zest, juice, garlic or onions that called to your butter-loving self.

2. Transfer the butter mixture–now it’s a compound butter!-- to a piece of parchment paper. Roll the butter into a log, twist the ends, and put in the fridge.

3. After about an hour, the compound butter will have firmed up and you can slice it for use in recipes, on a piece of toast, or in a pot of rice.

4. You can extend the life of your compound butter by sealing it in plastic wrap, and placing it in the freezer for up to three months.

Tools You’ll Need

• A sharp knife for chopping herbs/garlic/onions

• A citrus zester

• Parchment paper

• Plastic wrap

• A small silicone spatula is helpful, but a spoon will work just as well!

Here Are Some Recipes That Would Be Great With Compound Butter

We think that compound butter is a simple way to give any recipe that je ne sais quoi. A few of our recipes that get even better with a little extra butter love include:

• A lemon-garlic compound butter + our Lemongrass Chicken Thighs

• Baked Cod with Parsley Olive Tapenade + lemon-shallot compound butter

• Caramelized onion and parsley compound butter + Steak Frites

• Rosemary Roasted Potatoes + rosemary-thyme-parsley compound butter

More Butter Please

We’re big fans of the compound butter club, and we’d love to see your creations! Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper.