Compound butter is one of god’s gifts. It delivers flavor and mouth-feel to a multitude of dishes and should be a regular ingredient for supper clubs menus.
One of the challenges that every chef faces, is the fact that flavor gets cooked off under the high heat of any cooking process. It is particularly bad with the high heat of grilling. You can try to add flavor with marinades, rubs and even salt and pepper, but the reality is that a lot of what you are trying to add, gets lost or changed during the cooking process. The beauty of compound butter is that you get to add it after cooking, so that the flavor is not lost. Additionally, you get the added benefit of adding it as your cooked meat (or vegetable) is resting. The fat from the butter combines with the juices of your meat enhancing the overall flavor. It’s a wonderful thing.
There are all kinds of compound butters, but I have a standard that I use all of the time.
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter (1/2 cup) softened to room temperature
- 2 cloves garlic sliced
- 1 shallot minced (1/4 cup)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons of freshly chopped herbs (Chive or scallion for beef/pork. Dill for fish)
Process
- Sauté garlic and shallot in olive oil under low heat for five minutes until translucent
- Add all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined
The beauty of this ingredient is that you can make larger quantities and store in the freezer for months. Pull it out and use it liberally on all sorts of things. Friends and family will think you are a culinary genius.
I use compound butters all the time but it was a central ingredient in one of my most favorites events. We had 75 people at my mom’s in Westhampton at a kickoff party for my daughter’s wedding weekend. The main course evolved around using compound butters with grilled strip steak, local swordfish and eggplant. There is a seafood wholesaler on the North Shore of Long Island where we can get a whole loin of freshly caught swordfish. The fresh fish was a thing of beauty. Combined with grilling with our hero compound butter led to a memorable culinary event.
Check out the video
It doesn’t matter if you are cooking for a supper club dinner party or a quick weeknight supper, compound butters will make your dish better. And remember, you can put it on shoe leather and it would taste good.
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