Compound butter is am amazing thing for a few reasons, but some of you may be asking, what is compound butter? Simply put, it is butter (real honest to goodness butter, not that margarine stuff) mixed with other ingredients. I have been told, though never experienced, that in those fancy restaurants, the chefs love using and serving them.
Obviously I am not a fancy kind of girl, but I do love making and enjoying compound butters of various kinds. Yes, you can EASILY make this stuff yourself!! But why should you make some?
Compound butters can be used as an alternative to a sauce on food and it adds depth and flavor to anything it is added to. Throwing a bit of garlic butter on some sauteed mushrooms brings them alive (and I’m not even a foodie!) Serving cute shaped little honey butter pats on a brunch table makes you look so sophisticated and makes your toast taste like heaven. Trust me, if you have never tried compound butter, you should. If you have, you know how great they are. And the best part is there is no reason to buy them from the store anymore, because I am about to tell you how super simple they are to make at home!
The beginning to making any compound butter recipe is room temperature UNsalted REAL butter. The butter is the base of any recipe. It needs to be room temperature so that you can incorporate your other ingredients into the butter easily. One note to heed…… do not add HOT ingredients to your butter as it will cause it to melt and then separate as it cools. And always use fresh herbs, not dried, when working with herb butters.
Here are some of our favorite ways to make compound butters…
Honey Butter
2 sticks of butter
1/2 cup of honey
Simply blend them together, spread on toast, and close your eyes and enjoy!
Roasted Garlic Butter
2 sticks of butter
2 heads of garlic
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Cut the tops off the heads of garlic and place the heads on tin foil. Drizzle them with some olive oil and salt and pepper. Close the tin foil up to create a package and pop it in the oven on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
When the garlic is done, open the packages and let it cool. Once cooled, grab the heads by the bottom and simply squeeze out the garlic! Use a fork to mash the cloves up before adding to the butter. Combine the garlic and the butter in a bowl.
Herb Butter
2 sticks of butter
Herbs of your choice! Cilantro, parsley, dill, tarragon, dill, thyme, and other fresh herbs work well
Make sure you quickly blanched you herbs to reduce the possibility of bacteria. With herbs, it is all up to personal taste, so start with a little and add more as you go till you get a flavor you like!
Spiced Butter
2 sticks of butter
Spices of your choice! Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves work well.
Simply stir the spice into your butter. As with herbs, it is all about personal taste so start small and add as you go.
The Kitchen Sink Butter
2 sticks of butter
Anything you want!!!
Make sure what ever you add is fully cooked and cooled. Why not throw some chilies, mushrooms, anchovies or anything else your imagination can muster, like mustard! Do combinations of things, like cinnamon and honey! Why not some maple syrup (the real stuff of course!) Onions? Red wine? Rose petals? Be creative!!
Once you have your compound butter made up, there are various ways to store it. I simply put mine in mason jars in the fridge. You can also plop it on plastic wrap and roll it up into a log. The log makes it easier to slice off what you need, but most times, I am lazy and just throw it in a jar. You can also put it in shaped ice cube trays in the fridge to make decorative pats. You should use you butter in a timely fashion, or your can freeze it for about a month or so. Just think how impressed your holiday guests be when you place some compound butter on your table this year!
**Homestead Tips on Tuesday is a weekly series where we help you learn skills, tips, and trick to help you on your journey of homesteading. Many places post list of things you should/could do as far as homesteading skill, but I feel lists are at times overwhelming and can make people give up before they even start. So every Tuesday I share one thing for you to try or consider. I hope you join us every Tuesday and I would love to hear about your adventures with each weeks topic.**
I do love compounded butters as gifts at the holidays. I usually roll them into logs. Love the recipes you have suggested. I'll have to remember the decorative ice tray tip. Thank you for sharing them at Make It Monday.
I love giving homemade gifts…. especially baked goods, so these just seemed like a logical add on. Why give someone plain old bread when you can spice it up with fancy butter!
Such a great idea. 🙂
Awww thanks. I didn't invent the technique but I love it so much I just had to share it with the non culinary world LOL
I love honey butter from when I was little.
And now you can make you own!
Dude! I made cinnamon honey butter earlier today for the first time! What a timely post! I made some challah (Jewish bread) for the students in a class that I teach at our co-op and I thought to myself what would 8 years olds like with this bread…and before I knew it, butter had turned into honey butter had turned into cinnamon honey butter had turned into something WONDERFUL as my two girls and hubby taste tested it all at dinner tonight! Great post and I agree on every point and will have to take you up on some of your other recipes.
Isn't it fun to make these! Let your taste buds run wild!!!
Thank you for posting on Motivation Monday!
Thanks for popping by!
I have never tried making butter, but these all look so great! i am going to have to give it a go! pinned! Thanks for linking up with me at totally terrific tuesday! I cant wait to see what you bring tonight, and I have a surprise in store for everyone!
See you tonight!
Jess
http://www.liverandomlysimple.com
Do it. It is so easy and soooo yummy!
I have never heard of this but it sounds great! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!
Thanks for the pin 🙂
Compound butters are such a great way to add a bit of "fancy" without too much extra work! So many varieties too. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and sharing this on Five Friday Finds! I'm looking forward to what you share this week. 🙂
They really aren't too much extra work, are they. And that is why I love them…. oh and the taste LOL