How to: Compound Butter Sauce

Slices of compound butter are used to flavor cooked foods.

Some of the sauces in the classic repertoire of recipes are laborious affairs, involving dozens of steps and a long list of ingredients. Others are as simple as one or two ingredients. Compound butter fits into the latter category, consisting simply of butter and one or more flavoring ingredients. When the butter is placed on a hot food, it melts and releases the flavoring ingredients, forming a simple but effective sauce.

Things You'll Need

• Butter
• Mixing bowl
• Wooden spoon
• Chopped parsley
• Lemon juice
• White pepper
• Fresh garlic
• Canned anchovy fillets
• Lobster coral
• Fresh herbs
• Parchment paper or wax paper
• Plastic film wrap

Instructions

1. Soften 1 pound of butter at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour, and place it in a mixing bowl. Work the butter with a wooden spoon until it is as pliable as modeling clay.

2. Mix in 1/4 cup of chopped parsley, 3 tbsp. of parsley and a pinch of white pepper to make maitre d'hotel butter. This is commonly served on grilled steaks.

3. Mince three to five cloves of fresh garlic, then mash them to a paste with the side of your knife. Knead the garlic into your pound of butter to make garlic butter for garlic bread, or other uses. Chopped parsley can be added as well.

4. Wipe the oil from two anchovy fillets and mash them to a paste with a fork, or the back of a spoon. Incorporate them thoroughly into the butter, to make anchovy butter for garnishing fish or vegetable dishes

5. Save the red coral, or roe, from two or three cooked lobsters and work it into your pound of butter. This type of lobster butter is used to garnish cooked lobster and other seafood.

6. Chop or mince fresh green herbs to incorporate into the butter. The fresh flavor of almost any herb can be preserved this way, making it a useful method for preserving any surplus you may have.

7. Roll any compound butter into a small, uniform cylinder once it is mixed. Roll up the butter in parchment or wax paper, then plastic film wrap. Twist the ends and tie them off with twist-ties or kitchen twine. Keep the butter frozen if it will not be used within one week.

Tips & Warnings

• Use unsalted butter, if possible, when making compound butters. Salted butter may occasionally result in an over seasoned dish.

• Compound butter that is kept in the refrigerator can go rancid relatively quickly, and should only be stored for about a week. Butter with herbs in it also represents a small risk of botulism, unless held in the freezer.

References

• "Professional Cooking"; Wayne Gisslen; 2003
• "On Cooking: A Textbook of Culinary Fundamentals"; Sarah R. Labensky et al.; 2003
• Fine Cooking; "New York Strip Steaks with Blue Cheese Butter"; Fred Thompson; June 2009
• The Nibble: Flavored Butter Recipes
• Food Network; "Compound Butter"; Alton Brown