What is compound butter?
‘Compound’ refers to something that is composed of two or more things. Compound butter is simply butter that has one or more mix-ins. These blended butters add delicious flavor to anything they’re paired with, either savory or sweet.
How to make compound butter
To make compound butter, let it soften to room temperature and mash or whip in any desired flavorings. On the savory side, you could add spice blends, herbs, citrus juice or zest, garlic, grated cheese, miso, mustard, and so much more. On the sweet side, opt for sugar, maple syrup, honey, citrus, chopped up candied ginger, marmalade, and more.
Although you can use either salted or unsalted butter, unsalted butter will allow you to control the amount of salt added to the butter. Once the butter has softened, you can mix in your flavorings with a fork or get it really whipped with a hand or stand mixer. When the butter mixture is thoroughly combined, use parchment paper to form the butter into a log, place in a ziploc bag, and refrigerate to harden the butter again.
How to use compound butter
Once you have compound butter on hand in the fridge, the possibilities are endless. Savory butters are excellent on all kinds of proteins including steaks, pork chops, fish and shellfish. You can also liven up a side dish with a pat of butter on vegetables, or spread onto rolls and cornbread. Sweet butters will add a special touch to scones, waffles, pancakes and muffins.
Compound butter kept in the fridge should be used within a week. You can also freeze the butter to make it last longer.
Compound butter recipe ideas
Savory
Some classic combinations for savory butters are garlic and herb butter for steaks or citrus butters for seafood. Could somehow point to the butcher bundles here as options for topping them.
Sweet
You can’t go wrong with a cinnamon sugar butter. You can also make a hot honey butter with honey and hot sauce, or honey and crushed red pepper flakes. Try it on your favorite chicken dish.
Try making your own sweet or savory butter at home to pair with the high-quality proteins in Blue Apron Butcher Bundles.
