How to Make Compound Butter

Simply put compound butter is a combination of seasonings and a bit of acid mixed with softened butter and allowed to get cold in the refrigerator to set. Probably the most famous of compound butters is a French butter by the name of Maitre d’Hotel butter. Every graduate of Le Cordon Bleu quickly learns that any meal can be enhanced by using compound butters.

Don’t let the fancy French name fool you. Maitre d’Hotel butter and any of the other members of the compound butter family are easy to make at home. You simply whip flavorings such as aromatics, seasonings and acid such as citrus or wine into soft butter with a rubber spatula, roll it into a log, cover, and refrigerate it until you are ready to use it. It can be made in advance and holds well in the freezer for several months. Compound butter is probably the easiest way to make a quick sauce and is excellent with grilled meats, chicken and fish, used as a sandwich spread, or to finish various sauces. The next time you fry an egg in butter, try Maitre d'Hotel butter in place of your normal butter. You'll really appreciate the taste difference.

My two favorite compound butters are Maitre d’Hotel butter, which is soften butter mixed fresh herbs and lemon juice, and a red wine flavored compound butter with minced shallots, fresh herbs, and dry red wine that we enjoy on grilled steak.

However, after searching the internet recently for compound butter recipes, I realized that the only limit to the flavorings you use in compound butter is your imagination. I found dozens and dozens of fantastic & unusual flavor combinations. I tried two exciting new compound butters that I found on the internet and there are others that I will tell you more about at the end of the post.

Today I’ve featured 3 compound butters – Maitre d’Hotel on the left, chipotle butter in the center and a curry butter with cilantro and mint on the right. If you would like to come up with your own flavorful combination , Michael Rulman, best-selling author, cooking authority and good buddy of Anthony Bourdain, suggests that you “think of it as you would a sauce – seasoning the butter with salt and pepper, adding an acidic component for balance and contrast (citrus or wine for instance) and appropriate aromatics – fresh herbs and shallots are most common.”   For more on compound butter from Michael Rulman, here’s a link to his blog.

I was offered an opportunity to try President premium European butter, made in the Normandy region of France, and that is the butter I’ve used in these recipes. President Butter is France’s #1 selling butter, where people consume more butter than anywhere else in the world. It is made cultured cream in the European tradition. President Premium butter is available in many supermarkets in the US, including Publix stores. We were anxious to taste French butter, because we were spoiled with the wonderful imported European butters available in the Bahamas when we lived there. We found President Butter to be rich and creamy and would highly recommend it.

The people at President sent three different butters to test – stick, spreadable, and a spreadable one with sea salt. I used stick butter in making the compound butters in this post. I will post more about the spreadable one next week.

Maitre d’Hotel Butter
Adapted from The New York Times Cookbook
Printable Recipe

1 stick best quality butter, softened to room temperature
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 - 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Using a rubber spatula, cream the butter and mix with remaining ingredients, adding lemon juice a little at a time and stirring until well blended. Turn the mixture out onto a piece of plastic wrap, form a log about 4” long, wrap closely in the plastic wrap and refrigerate for a least an hour. Slice into discs when ready to serve. Can be wrapped and frozen for several months. Great on steak or other grilled meat.

Chipotle Compound Butter
From Austin Food Lovers
Printable Recipe

1 stick best quality unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 tablespoon minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
Zest and juice of 1 small lime
½ teaspoon sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir with a spatula until well mixed. Turn mixture out onto a piece of plastic wrap and form a log about 4 inches long. Wrap closely in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a least 1 hour or until firm. Slice into ½ inch discs when ready to use. Can be wrapped and frozen for several months. Great on any grilled meat, especially pork

Curry Compound Butter with Mint & Cilantro 
Adapted from Celebration Generation
Printable Recipe

Cilantro & mint may sound like a strange combination, but the mint takes away some of the bite from the cilantro without tasting sweet. Give it a try.

1 stick best quality unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 tablespoon best quality curry powder (I like Madras)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir with a spatula until well mixed. Turn mixture out onto a piece of plastic wrap and form into a log about 4 inches long. Wrap closely in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a least 1 hour or until firm. Slice into ½ inch discs when ready to use. Can be wrapped and frozen for several months. Great on vegetables such as asparagus and green beans.

There is a world of mindboggling combinations of flavored compound butter recipes on the internet. I was particularly impressed with the creative ideas that I found on Celebration Generation. Just to name a few savory combinations - mushroom and rosemary,  jalapeno, cilantro, lime & a splash of tequila, basil pesto (she says is great on popcorn), & caramelized onions with dried mushrooms. There is also has an impressive number of ideas for sweet compound butters including cinnamon or maple syrup and brown sugar, pureed fruit, whiskey raisins, Grand Marnier & dried cranberries. I could go on and on, but click here to see for yourself.

If you prefer your compound butters whipped instead of in a log, here’s a link to a tasty quartet of whipped compound butters from 101 Cookbooks that includes recipes for smoked paprika butter, dry desert lime butter, raw Serrano, and dehydrated strawberry compound butter.

For a excellent step-by-step photo tutorial on how to make compound butter and a great recipe for herb butter, click here to Brown-Eyed Baker.

For better viewing, click on photos to enlarge.

This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, and Weekend Bites at Simple Recipes.    

Have a great weekend everyone.

Disclosure: I was given free samples of President's butter to try and I was not compensated for this post or my opinion. The opinions here are mine and mine alone.