Butter is one of those things you don’t think could be made any more perfect. It’s smooth, creamy, and especially delicious when smeared on a piece of bread. There’s a reason as kids on multiple occasions we were caught eating it straight out of the butter dish with our little fingers. Butter makes just about anything better, and it is pretty perfect in its natural state. But just when you think butter can’t be any better, compound butter enters the picture.
We’ll never forget when we first had compound butter. We were at a nice restaurant and the waiter brought over a small plate with little pats of butter lined up resting like a string of dominos that had tumbled over. Although butter dishes are always exciting to us, because butter can truly do no wrong, this butter had a unique look to it. Each pat of perfectly sliced butter had flecks of green scattered throughout the creamy, white round.
As we spread the compound butter over our warm bread, the butter melted into the nooks and crannies leaving behind an aroma of rosemary and small specs of rosemary scattered on the bread. When we took a bite, the rosemary and other herbs lightly perfumed the butter making the warm sourdough and butter that much more delicious. It was a perfect bite. Herbs, butter, and crusty, warm bread. From then on, we love serving compound butter as a beautiful addition to our tables. Plus it makes warm sourdough bread and butter more delicious than you ever imagined.
Compound Butter:
We love making compound butter with all kinds of herbs: rosemary, parsley, chives, or whatever you have on hand! In this recipe we are using tarragon which is one of our all time favorites, but use whatever you like and just keep the proportions: 1 tablespoon chopped herbs to 1 stick of butter.
This tarragon compound butter is so delicious. It takes creamy butter and adds a bright, flavorful note to it. When spread on warm sourdough bread, there’s just about nothing better. The herbs flavor the butter while still allowing the butter and sourdough to shine through. Plus it only takes 2 ingredients and a few minutes so there’s no reason not to make it!
How to make the herb compound butter:
To make the compound butter, add a stick of softened butter and 1 tablespoon of chopped herbs (we are using tarragon in this version) to a bowl. Mix the butter and herbs together until they are evenly distributed. At this stage you have herb butter, but to make it a true compound butter, roll it into a log and place it in the fridge until it has hardened enough to be sliced.
To roll the herb compound butter in a log:
To roll the butter into a log, lay out a piece of saran wrap. The goal is to form the butter into a log with the plastic and twist the ends like a tootsie roll wrapper. To achieve this, tear a piece of plastic wrap about 8” long and 4” wide. Place the butter into the middle of the piece in around a 6”x1” log. Pull the long side of the wrap over the butter and roll to form it into a roll. (This step should be similar to wrapping a log of cookie dough). Once it is in a roll (around 6”x1”) twist the ends like the ends of a caramel or tootsie roll wrapper. The end result should be a tightly wrapped log of butter.
Place the butter into the fridge until it has set. The butter should be hard enough to cut. Slice the butter into pieces and serve!
Notes:
- Herbs: you can use any herbs you like depending on the type of herb compound butter you want to make. We like to use tarragon or chives or rosemary or a mixture! Really any herbs you have on hand will add flavor and brightness to the butter.
- Butter: we like to use salted butter for this, but you could also use unsalted butter and add your own salt to taste.
Uses for compound butter
- With bread: we like to serve the herb compound butter with bread to add flavor and brightness to the bread course. We especially love doing this during the holidays or for a dinner party.
- Cooking veggies or meat: Add herb compound butter on top of finished steaks or roasted veggies to add flavor. What doesn’t herbs and butter make better?
- Paninis: Add herb compound butter to the outside of bread when grilling a panini. The herb butter will create a beautiful golden crust that is packed with herb flavor.
Compound Butter
Ingredients
- 1 stick salted butter softened
- 1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
- optional Sprinkle salt
Instructions
- Chop 1 tablespoon of tarragon until minced
- Place tarragon and softened butter into a bowl and stir until evenly combined (optional add a sprinkle of salt)
- Lay a piece of plastic wrap onto a counter. The plastic wrap should be at least 8” long and 4” wide. This is what will be used to create the compound butter log
- Place the compound butter into a log shape in the center of the plastic wrap. Pull up on of the long sides of the plastic wrap and form a log similar to how you would form a roll of shortbread cookies
- Wrap the log tightly by rolling longwise. Once a secure log is formed, twist the ends of the plastic wrap butter similar to the ends of a tootsie roll
- Place the log in to fridge until hardened and slice into round pieces to serve
Entertainer’s Note:
Add herb compound butter on the table before guests arrive. It is so beautiful it doubles as table decor with bread baskets.
