how to make herbed butter

Summer is here and that means it’s grilling season! There is nothing like grilling out on a hot summer night. I’m partial to grilling out red meat, I love a filet or hanger steak on the grill. I am still working on my perfect grilling technique for steaks, but I have the perfect steak topping down pat…herbed butter.

Herbed butter is a compound butter. I’m sure you are wondering what compound butter is, well it’s softened butter that has fresh or dried ingredients added to it. You can essentially make compound butter with anything you find tasty. If you are making a savory compound butter you can use salted butter. However if you are making a sweet compound butter you will want to use unsalted butter.

I’m sharing a savory compound butter so I use salted butter for my recipe. This herbed butter is best served with steaks, but I also love it spread on a butter cracker. Keep in mind it’s butter so it is an indulgent topping and you’ll want to go easy when snacking with it.

How To Make Herbed Butter

Herbed Butter

Print Recipe

Prep Time 1 10

Ingredients

1 stick salted butter
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped chives
3/4 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

soften the butter on the counter for at least one hour
chop the parsley and chives
combine all ingredients in a bowl, using a fork fold everything into the butter
mix well until the lemon juice is absorbed into the butter
form the mixture into a log
place in refrigerator to solidify for at least one hour prior to serving

Making the butter is pretty easy, but it does get a little messy. First you need to soften the butter and you need to do this the old fashioned way, on the counter. You can’t do it in the microwave, because once it melts the butter is ruined. It takes about an hour to naturally soften butter on the counter.

While the butter is softening you can prepare the rest of your ingredients. Chop up the herbs, measure out the garlic, seasonings and lemon juice. Cut a piece of plastic wrap and have it sitting on the counter. You will want to do this before combining the ingredients.

Once the butter is softened you can combine all the ingredients. Using a fork gently mix and fold in the ingredients into the butter. Avoid using your hands until the very end. Once everything is combined you will want to use your hands to form the butter back into a log. Then place the log on the plastic wrap you previously laid out. Wash your hands now and make sure they are not buttery. Use the plastic wrap to continue to form the log and seal it up. Place it in the refrigerator to solidify for about an hour before serving it.

Serving and Storing

The whole point of herbed butter is to have it melt on top of a freshly grilled steak. Having a head start on the butter won’t hurt. I like to take the herbed butter out of the fridge about 10 minutes prior to serving it. It gets a little soft and will melt nicely on top of the steak.

Fresh herbed butter can keep in the refrigerator for about a week. If you want to keep it longer I recommend freezing it. It can keep up to three months in the freezer. I pre-slice the butter into single serve pieces. I wrap them each in plastic wrap and then in foil. This way I don’t have to thaw a whole stick when I need it next. I take out as many individual pieces as I need.