How to make Great Flavoured Butters – 14 variations.
Flavoured Butters are one of the easiest ways of putting flavour onto a dish. I simply can’t think of anything else you can that make that will transform your cooking so quickly and efficiently. Imagine a simple jacket potato lifted by adding cheesy bacon butter. Boring cooked rice given a punch with lime, ginger, chilli, and coriander butter. Or a grilled chicken breast topped with harissa flavoured butter, amazing!
Flavoured Butters.
Best of all they are not difficult to make. If you have a small food processor they can be made in minutes, if you don’t, just a bit more elbow grease is called for. And once made they can live in the fridge ready for instant use. Chefs refer to these butters as compound butters and the scope is endless.
Using these butters means you can add multiple flavours to a dish in one go and in measured quantities. Once you know how much you like, it’s going to be the same every time without fail.
I have built these recipes based on 125g (1/2 a pack) so each block of butter will give you the chance to make two variations.
How to use Flavoured Butters.
I use these butters in two main ways.
Firstly, by letting the butter melt over a cooked item, which could be a steak, grilled fish, or the humble jacket potato. As the butter melts over the hot food, it bastes it with rich butter and the chosen combination of flavours. You will be amazed how it can make a quite simple dish seem exotic and ‘chefy.’
Secondly, a flavoured butter can be mixed into a dish. Rather than adding each flavour separately, they all hit the dish together and POW. out comes the flavour. Try mixing some of my lime, garlic and ginger butter into cooked rice and see what I mean!
Flavoured Butters, storage.
All these butters freeze well. I use three months shelf life as a guideline. The finished butters can simply be rolled in greaseproof paper forming small logs about 3cm in diameter then frozen. Slices can then be cut off the frozen log as required.
If I intend to use the butter on top of say a steak, I would then make individual portions of butter. Line a small tray or plate with a plastic bag then using a piping bag fitted with a star tube pipe rosettes of butter onto the plastic. When the tray is full, pop it into the freezer until the butter is set. The rosettes can then be stored in a freezer safe box until needed.
Method for making Flavoured Butters.
Most of these butters can be made in the same way.
Make sure your butter is a room temperature and of a spreading consistency. Start with the hard ingredients you are using like garlic or ginger and chop or grate them as finely as possible. Pound these into the butter first with any salt been used then add in any liquids like oils or fruit juices.
If you are having difficulty blending in the liquids your butter may still be too firm, Warm the mix and try again. Finally add in delicate item like fresh herbs and fold the butter together.
Flavoured Butters, Controlling the flavours.
The look and flavour of the butter can be quite different depending on how you mix the butters. Finely chopping items like chillies or fresh herbs then folding them into the butter will give more delicate flavours. Pounding or processing the same ingredients into the butter will extract more flavour and let those ingredients dominate the finished butter. And of course, the butter will turn the colour of the ingredients, in this case red or green.
If you are going to use the butter very soon, spoon it into small ramekins ready for use or serving. If the butter is for later use freezing is ideal.
Take a sheet of greaseproof paper about 25cm in width and spoon the finished butter in the centre forming a line about 12cm up from the bottom. Bring the bottom edge of the paper up and over the butter, pressing the paper in to form a cylinder. Aim to produce a roll 3cm in diameter, then twist the ends together like a Christmas cracker. The butter should be fine in the freezer for up to three months.
How to make Flavoured Butters – 12 variations.
Savoury Flavoured Butters.
Roast Garlic, and Parsley Butter.
Don’t be put off by the amount of garlic, it’s really mild and mellow. Try this one pushed under the skin of a whole chicken before roasting.
- 125g unsalted butter
- 1 head of roast garlic
- good pinch of salt
- black mill pepper
- 30ml olive oil
- 2tbsp chopped flat parsley
Garlic pesto butter.
This makes a great alternative filling in a chicken Kiev.
- 15g basil, leaves only
- 1 clove of garlic
- 30g pine Kernels
- 125g unsalted butter
- 4tsp olive oil
- 60g parmesan cheese (finely grated)
- black mill pepper
I use a mortar and pestle for this. Crush the garlic in the salt then add 1/3 of the pine kernels and crush them in. Work in the soft butter, then add the oil, shredded basil leaves and cheese. Mix to bruise the basil slightly then wrap.
Anchovy and Rosemary Butter
Brilliant on grilled Lamb, or use on the B.B.Q.
- 125g unsalted butter
- 20g anchovy fillets in oil, roughly 10
- zest and juice of ½ a lemon
- 1 small sprig of rosemary
- ½ clove of grated garlic
- 8turns black mill pepper
Roasted red pepper butter.
Good for grilled fish and poultry.
- 125g unsalted butter
- 40g roasted and skinned red peppers
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1tsp lemon juice
- ½ clove of grated garlic
- pinch salt
If you are roasting you peppers at home, rub each one in oil, then cook on a tray in a 240˚c oven for 15 minutes. The skin of the pepper should blacken if this is not happening take them outside and use a kitchen blowtorch to finish the job. You can of course buy them in jars.
Snail Butter.
I’ve put this one in as a bit of fun. Back in the days of grand hotels Snails roasted in the shell was a trendy starter. This is the recipe for the butter that was pushed into the shells, prior to cooking and flavour the meat.
Don’t go rushing into the garden to try it out! The snails used were specially reared and their systems cleaned out before been shipped out to kitchens.
- 125g unsalted butter
- 15g new season garlic (finely chopped)
- 20g flat parsley (finely chopped)
- 8g dry white breadcrumbs
- 1tbsp pernod
- ½ tsp salt
- 1/8tsp freshly ground black pepper
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 2 drops tobacco sauce
Lime, Ginger, Chilli and Coriander Butter.
One of my favourite butters. Use on top of grilled fish or mix into cooked rice or cous-cous.
- 125g unsalted butter
- 1 ½ tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
- zest and juice of 1 lime
- 1 ½ red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped.
- 1 clove of garlic, finely grated
- 2tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp Thai fish sauce
- 10g coriander leaves
Chilli and lime Flavoured butter.
Similar to the previous butter, but a little milder without the fish sauce and ginger.
- 125g unsalted butter
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- zest and juice if 1 lime
- 1tbsp chopped coriander
- pinch
Cheesy Bacon Flavoured Butter.
Let this one melt into a baked potato, or spread onto hot cheese scones.
- 125g unsalted butter
- 4rashers dry cure streaky bacon
- 30g mature cheddar cheese, grated
- ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
- Black mill pepper
- 2tbsp chopped chives.
Harissa Flavoured Butter.
Great for cooked rice or cous-cous. Also makes a good spread for the likes of a club sandwich.
- 120g unsalted butter
- 2tbsp harissa
- Pinch sea salt
Sweet, Dessert, Favoured Butters.
Use these butters on hot scones or muffins. Great to give a lift to pancake day as well.
Cinnamon Honey butter.
- 125g unsalted butter
- 1tbsp soft dark brown sugar
- 40g runny honey
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Raspberry Flavoured Butter.
- 125g unsalted butter
- Pinch sea salt
- 70g raspberries , fresh or frozen
- squeeze of lemon juice
- 2tsp dried raspberry powder
- 2tsp icing sugar
Maple syrup and Walnut butter.
- 125g unsalted butter
- 4tsp maple syrup
- 1tsp ground cinnamon
- 40g chopped walnuts
- pinch salt
Spiced butter.
Try this on a toasted hot cross bun.
- 125g unsalted butter
- 1tbsp light soft brown sugar
- 2tsp golden syrup
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- Pinch ground cloves
- Pinch grated nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- Pinch salt
Chocolate butter.
- 125g unsalted butter
- 50g dairy milk chocolate
- 1tbsp cocoa powder
- 2tsp grated dark chocolate
- 4tsp icing sugar
- pinch salt
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water then let cool. When cool, but not set fold the chocolate into the soft butter then beat in the sugar and cocoa powder.
Do give some, or all of these a try, and let me know how you get on.
F.A.Qs.
Why do your recipes use unsalted butter, then add salt? Why not just use salted butter?
Unsalted butter is the natural product make by churning fresh cream and nothing else. By adding salt to the butter it lengthens its shelf life so its unlikely to be as fresh as unsalted butter. Adding the salt also help the butter hold together so its possible to use lower quality cream to manufacture it. And finally we can simple control how much salt is in the butter.
Learn more about Butter ‘HERE’
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
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