Prepare your taste buds for a wild ride with cowboy butter! The rich blend of butter, garlic, herbs, and spices enhances everything from toast to grilled meat.
Although commonly used on grilled meats and vegetables, cowboy butter is a compound butter you’ll want to slather on everything. The reason? There are so many mouthwatering flavors rolled into one log of butter. The salt level is just right. The mustard and lemon add a bright tanginess to the butter, the chives add a nice oniony note, cowboy butter has a pleasant heat, and so much more.
Why You’ll Love Cowboy Butter
Delightful flavor fusion – Cowboy butter combines simple yet boldly flavored ingredients to create something that commands your taste buds’ attention. There’s something super satisfying about the blend of garlic, herbs, and a touch of heat.
Versatility – Whether you’re grilling steak, chicken, shrimp, or vegetables, want a tasty sandwich spread, or wish to elevate a grilled cheese sandwich, cowboy butter is the answer. It’s more than a condiment; the compound butter is a flavor enhancer.
Ease – Add everything to a bowl, mix, then shape into a log with the help of plastic or parchment paper – that’s it! You can even use an electric mixer if you don’t feel like mixing the butter by hand. What a fuss-free way to elevate your favorite dishes without complicating the recipe.
Cowboy Butter Ingredients Notes
- Butter: Unsalted butter is best. Leave the butter on the counter to soften if it was refrigerated prior. Otherwise, combining it with the other ingredients will be quite a task. To soften chilled butter fast, grate the butter using the largest holes on a box grater.
- Garlic: Grated garlic tends to add a more intense garlic flavor. If you prefer a subtler taste, finely chop, mince, or scale back the number of cloves used.
- Herbs: Parsley adds peppery freshness, and chives give the butter an oniony taste. Both add lovely flecks of green throughout.
- Lemon zest: Zest is used instead of juice to add that bright, lemony quality without the acidity. The mustard is tangy enough.
- Mustard: Speaking of mustard, I suggest coarse mustard because it gives cowboy butter additional texture and that signature sharp, tasty, earthy flavor.
- Cayenne pepper: Contributes to cowboy butter’s orange hue and brings a pleasant background heat. How much you add is entirely up to you. You may want to keep the heat in the background or move it to the forefront.
Refer to the recipe card below for a complete ingredients list with measurements.
How To Make Cowboy Butter
- Mix: Add the butter to a large mixing bowl along with the other ingredients – mix until well combined. You can use a large spoon, but I prefer a rubber spatula. The result is smoother, and the add-ins are distributed more evenly.
- Shape: Rolling the butter into a log is the most convenient way, as cutting slices off as needed is easy. Alternatively, you can roll tablespoons of butter into balls or transfer the cowboy butter to a dish.
- Refrigerate: Refrigeration is critical because it gives all the flavors time to meld. The longer cowboy butter sits, the better it gets.
Variations and Substitutions
Spice it up – Those who crave extra heat can add red pepper flakes or take it up a few more notches with a diced red chili or two. Keep the seeds and ribs intact if you want to feel the burn.
A sweet twist – Add honey or maple syrup for a sweeter cowboy butter.
Use salted butter – Salted butter is a simple swap and will work for this recipe; just don’t add any additional salt.
Herb selection – Experiment with different herb combinations. Give thyme, rosemary, or dill a try.
Turn it into a spread – Add a few tablespoons of oil to the mix to make spreadable cowboy butter.
Turn into a dip – All you have to do is melt it, and boom, you have an amazing cowboy butter dipping sauce.
What To Serve With Cowboy Butter
There are endless foods to serve with cowboy butter. A few of my favorites include:
- French fries – Dipping hot fries in melted cowboy butter is sublime—one of my favorite indulgent snacks.
- Any protein – Chicken, fish, shellfish, steak – you can’t go wrong. It’s delicious on top of salmon, and shrimp and lobster would be a whole new level of perfect dipped in this!
- Morning toast – A smear of cowboy butter on freshly toasted bread is so delicious. It melts into the bread as soon as it hits the surface.
- Baked potato – Cowboy butter, cheese, and bacon bits are all you need to make a very impressive baked potato.
- Asparagus – Roast the spears, then toss them in the butter. The result is *chef’s kiss.
Storage and Freezer Tips
Store cowboy butter in an airtight container and refrigerate. The compound butter will keep for 2 weeks. Avoid leaving it solely in parchment or plastic that you used to form into a log for too long since this will expose it to too much air and moisture. Keeping the butter in the plastic or parchment is fine, but provide an extra layer of protection by placing it into an airtight container to ensure the butter remains fresh.
Cowboy Butter Recipe
Prepare your taste buds for a wild ride with cowboy butter! The rich blend of butter, garlic, herbs, and spices enhances everything from toast to grilled meat.
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
- ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon coarse mustard
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1⁄8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a bowl.
- Mix with a large spoon or rubber spatula. Alternatively, you can use an electric mixer.
- Transfer the butter mixture to a large sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap.
- Roll into a log, pressing and shaping as you go.
- Twist the ends of the paper or plastic to secure and hold the shape.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Unwrap, cut into slices, and use as desired.
Try Cowboy Butter on these Steak Recipes!
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