Cooking Lesson #722: Cowboy Compound Butter

…from the Perspectives’ Kitchen

How you doin’? I’m a butter eater…no kidding with all my cooking and baking I go through 3 to 4 pounds of butter a week. Several years ago Perspectives created an extensive line of compound butters for the Vons Companies.
 
What exactly are compound butters? Compound butters (beurre composé) are mixtures of butter and other good ingredients. They are used to enhance the flavor in various dishes, kind of like a sauce, but much easier. It is softened butter, whipped together with a combination sweet or savory ingredients. While the concept is simple, the potential flavor combinations are complex and endless. I refer you to Survival Guide: Cooking Lesson #149 on Compound Butters.
 
You can pair baguettes, scones, rolls, pancakes, waffles or cornbread with sweet compound butters flavored with orange or lemon zest, maple syrup, honey or cinnamon. Savory compound butters can include garlic, shallots, parsley and lemon (Maître’d Butter) perfect for steaks or even ground lobster shells, butter and lemon zest in Lobster Butter as an enhancement for seafood.
 
A compound butter is made by just whipping additional elements, such as herbs,  spices or aromatic liquids, into butter. The butter is then reformed, usually in plastic wrap or parchment paper, rolled and frozen until it is firm enough to be sliced. These butters can be melted on top of meats and vegetables, used as a spread or to finish various sauces.
Recently, I started to see references to Cowboy Butter, a newer flavor concocted to enhance cooked steak. I’ve seen lots of photographs of home cooks dipping their beautiful slices of beef into "cowboy butter," I had to try it for myself. Cowboy butter, a compound butter made of garlic, herbs and spices, has become a social media sensation, with more than 67 million views extolling the melty, buttery delight to date.
 
 
Cowboy Butter has a decidedly savory, garlicky, oniony vibe from the minced garlic and fresh chives. The other fresh green herbs give it earthy notes, and the salt, spices, and citrus give it the perfect bold finish. It’s also got some smoky highlights from the addition of paprika, chili powder and even an optional shot or liquid smoke. It is perfect for steak but it is also for dipping any protein into it, from shrimp to chicken to pork—and would also be amazing to spread onto warm bread or stirred into mashed potatoes.
 
Basically, any savory use you can think of for butter would only be enhanced by  subbing your standard stick for this homemade deliciousness, including using it as a topping for sautéed or roasted vegetables or grilled corn on the cob.

Like any compound butter, it’s totally okay to store cowboy butter for another meal. Leftovers can be kept in a sealed container for two weeks in the fridge or will last up to six months in the freezer. Watch out Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Gene Autry, or my favorite, Hopalong Cassidy!
 
Active Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 2 hrs 10 mins
 
Ingredients 
1/2 cup (4 ounces) softened unsalted butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus
1/2 teaspoon fresh juice
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (from 1 [1/2-ounce] package)
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke (I prefer Wright’s brand)
 
Directions

1. Using a food processor pulse together the butter, garlic, parsley, chives, mustard, lemon zest and juice, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, thyme, chili powder, crushed red pepper and liquid smoke until well combined.
2. Transfer the compound butter mixture to a large sheet of plastic wrap or parchment paper, and roll into a log, shaping as needed.
3. Holding both ends of plastic wrap, twist the log until taut and uniform in shape.
4. Refrigerate for 2 hours for flavors to meld and for mixture to firm up.
5. To serve, remove the butter from the refrigerator and cut into slices.
6. Top steaks, seafood, vegetables or spread directly onto bread.

ChefSecret:  Some people on social media claim Cowboy Butter is the best steak sauce they ever tasted. To use on steak, melt and use as a dipping sauce.

Quip of the Day:  Q. Did you hear about the cowboy who died with his boots on? A. He didn’t want to stub his toe when he kicked the bucket!
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to  Feeding America, Tunnel to Towers, Union Rescue Mission and/or American Red Cross.

#Butter #CompoundButter #Steak #Chicken #Vegetables #2024Recipes #URM #T2T #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup  
 
                                                                                                           ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2024

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