Learning how to make Compound butter is easy - and it's SO customizable. Flavour with spices, fresh herbs, zest, finely chopped vegetables...
Originally published July 26, 2012. Updated on 7/1/2021
I've been spending a lot of time thinking/working on my upcoming corn cookbook. It still feels weird to be on contract with a publisher (or, as I call it.. "Minnesota Historical Society Press owns my ass til December"), but I'm having fun with it.
My corn freak husband is, as well - any excuse to move more corn through our kitchen is GREAT, by him!
In preparing foods to photograph for this cookbook, I had to make a bunch of compound butters.
Oh, I love compound butters - they're a great thing to have on hand, and SO versatile. Truth be told, I went a bit crazy with it... so here's a blog entry to share!
Learning how to make compound butter is an extremely simple thing - you take a soft stick of butter, and mix STUFF into it. Spices, fresh herbs, zest, finely chopped vegetables... whatever.
Literally - WHATEVER... if you can think of some sort of flavorful aromatic, odds are you can make a compound butter with it.
This post isn't so much a recipe, as it is a springboard for your own ideas and recipes.
What is Compound Butter?
The casual nature of that description doesn't really do justice to compound butter's place in cuisine - it's a very basic part of fine French cooking.
Compound butters were made ahead of time to add flavor to almost any dish.
Melted compound butter would serve as a substitute for a sauce, while room temperature butters would be served alongside steak, vegetables, seafood.
Anchovy butter was (is?) quite popular, along with flavors such as truffle, tarragon, garlic... even wine.
Beyond historical use, compound butters are great in any modern kitchen. Given that compound butters can be made either sweet or savory, the possibilities are endless.
How to Use Compound Butter
- Melt some as a sauce. I recently created a rice/bean-based gluten-free flatbread type... thing. (I know, the name REALLY sells it...). Fresh off the griddle, ripped up and dipped into a melted, curry-flavored compound butter? Amazing.
- Use compound butter on hot ears of fresh corn.
- Spread on bread, alone, or as part of a sandwich.
- Melt over popcorn! Seriously... probably our favorite use for it. You'll never want to use powdered popcorn seasonings ever again!
How to Make Compound Butter
How do you make it? Simple!
Take a stick or two of butter, allow it to come to room temperature - you'll want it nice and soft.
Stir in whatever flavoring agents you like (see below), mixing and matching as desired.
I like to go 2-3 tablespoon of solids (fresh herbs, zest, whatever) or around ~1- 1.5 tablespoon of powders per stick of butter, as a rough guide... but there's a lot of room to play.
Make sure to pack a lot of flavor into it (½ teaspoon of, say, curry powder will NOT cut it!).
Also, I try to vary colors to make it look pretty - for instance, mint and cilantro in with the curry powder!
Whip it until everything is well distributed.
Refrigerate for about 10 minutes, or just long enough for it to firm up slightly - but still be workable.
Dump it out onto a section of plastic wrap and roll it into a log. (Alternatively, mush it into an appropriately sized ramekin or another vessel.)
Chill until firmly set.
Try to use the butter within one week, if stored in the fridge. If you'd like to hang on to it for longer than that, it can be stored in the freezer for about a month.
Now, as far as what to put in it...
Compound Butter Flavour Ideas
For a sweet compound butter (Awesome on French toast, hot cinnamon buns, grilled fruit, etc...), I like to use berries, along with either honey or maple syrup.
You can mix cinnamon and brown sugar.. maple and brown sugar.. pureed fruit (mangoes!), citrus zest, etc.
Try finely chopping dried fruits, soaking them for a day or so in some booze, and using that. (Whiskey raisins, amaretto and dried apricots, Grand Marnier and dried cranberries, etc). Yum!
For savory, you can really run wild.
Basically, any fresh or dried herb or spice is fair game, as well as other items: crumbled bacon, dried mushrooms, anchovies, mustard, pesto, crushed peppercorns, etc.
From left: Mushroom & Rosemary, Jalapeno/Cilantro/Lime (with a splash of tequila!), Chipotle-cilantro, orange zest & tarragon, basil pesto, curry with cilantro and mint.
Some other ideas:
- Dijon mustard compound butter is particularly amazing on roasted corn on the cob.
- Caramelized onion.. with or without dried mushrooms.
- Finely chopped canned chipotle peppers, along with some of the adobo sauce they came in.
- Curry powder with mint and cilantro is amazing.
Compound Butter As a Gift
Oh, and be sure to consider sharing the love - logs or little ceramic pots of compound butter make great hostess gifts!
Compound Butter Logs
Compound Butter Pots
Press your still-soft compound butter into a ceramic ramekin, right after mixing it up.
Use the back side of a spoon to create a pretty swirl on top of the butter, chill till firm.
Place chilled ramekin in the middle of a large piece of cellophane, draw all of the sides and corners up, and secure on top of the ramekin with a bow - ribbon or twine.
If you're already a fan of compound butter, what are your favorite flavors?
If you're new to this, what do you think you'd like to try out?
More Seasoning & Condiment Recipes
Looking for some healthy recipes for tasty ways to add a little something extra to your dish? Here are a few ideas:
Basil Pesto
Berbere Seasoning
Canadian Popcorn Seasonings
Chow Chow Relish
Cilantro-Mint Chutney
Diana Sauces (Replica Recipes)
Hop Extracts
Seasoned Salt
Roasted Garlic
Vanilla Extract
Homemade Mayonnaise
Furikake Seasoning
Honey Dill Dipping Sauce
Honey Garlic Cooking Sauce
Hoppy Dill Pickle Relish
Montreal Steak Spice & Marinade
Olive Salad for Muffalettas
Porter's Yogurt & Ice Cream Topping
Roasted Beet Ketchup
Smoky Dry Rub for Wings
Sushi Sauce Recipes
Tangerine Thyme Dry Rub
Thai Cilantro Pesto
Share the Love!
Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!
Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense.
Well, the published nonsense, anyway!
How to Make Compound Butter
Ingredients
- 2 sticks Butter
- Flavourings of Choice
Instructions
- Take a stick or two of butter, allow it to come to room temperature - you'll want it nice and soft.
- Stir in whatever flavoring agents you like (see below), mixing and matching as desired.
- I like to go 2-3 tablespoon of solids (fresh herbs, zest, whatever) or around ~1- 1.5 tablespoon of powders per stick of butter, as a rough guide... but there's a lot of room to play.
- Make sure to pack a lot of flavor into it (½ teaspoon of, say, curry powder will NOT cut it!).
- Also, I try to vary colors to make it look pretty - for instance, mint and cilantro in with the curry powder!
- Whip it until everything is well distributed.
- Refrigerate for about 10 minutes, or just long enough for it to firm up slightly - but still be workable.
- Dump it out onto a section of plastic wrap and roll it into a log. (Alternatively, mush it into an appropriately sized ramekin or other vessel.)
- Chill until firmly set.
- Try to use the butter within one week, if stored in the fridge. If you'd like to hang on to it for longer than that, it can be stored in the freezer for about a month.
Notes
Nutrition
Reader Interactions
Comments
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mrdodd
Thank you so much for posting this. I've been playing with ideas for compound butters for a little over a month now. However I was struggling with the ratios, and this gave me the direction I needed.
Sarah Krenshaw
The Mushroom & Rosemary looks amazing! Good luck on your cookbook. 🙂
Jessica
I make chive butter. I make TONS of it and freeze it by the tablespoon. I had several gallon ziploc bags full in my freezer. I put it in corn, scrambled eggs, use for grilled cheese, put in soup, on grilled meats ect. I’m excited to use all of my other herbs to make more different flavors. Awesome post!