Butter Makes Everything Better!
Homemade Herb Butter Has SO Many Applications!
For those of you that followed my cooking on Facebook, one of the most commented on, and most widely questioned steps in certain recipes, was my use of homemade herb butter. Ya’all, I’m fluffy and will NEVER apologize! LOL!! There is “no shame in the cookin’ with butter game”!
Herb butter is delicious and can be used in so many recipes! *Laurie’s Shopping Tip: DON’T be tempted to buy herb butter at the meat counter! It’s highway robbery at 50+ cents a pat! You can make your own for a fraction of the cost.
*Laurie’s Myth Buster: The decision of whether to choose butter or margarine depends on the specific dietary needs of the individual. For those of you that remember the 70’s, the medical community decided that butter was not healthful due to its “bad” saturated fat content. There was push for food scientists to create margarine from plant oils, which they considered to be more healthful. We were “sold” on the idea that margarine had less fat and less calories. However, research eventually found that trans fats — which margarine contains — raise “bad” cholesterol levels and reduce the “good,” cholesterol. There is no 100% healthful option when it comes to butter or margarine. However, a person can choose the most beneficial option for their diet and needs.
Long story short … NEITHER are great for you! But we’re all going to die sometime, right? As a cook, if I’m going to use this yumminess in a recipe, I’m going to choose the B.O.M.B = REAL butter!
Herb Butter Recipes
Ingredients for Onion, Garlic & Parsley Herb Butter
This butter is good for steaks, pork, potatoes and veggies but can be used for almost anything!
2 lbs. unsalted sweet cream butter (room temperature)
1 large yellow onion (finely chopped)
2 Tbsps. olive oil
15-20 cloves roasted garlic (see instructions below)
3/4 c. Italian parsley (finely chopped)
1 tsp. onion salt
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. sea salt
Directions
Step 1: Heat sauté pan to medium high heat. Add olive oil and “sweat” onions, stirring often, until soft and translucent (about 7 minutes).
Step 2: Drain onions in a strainer and pat as much moisture out of them as you can with paper towels.
Step 3: In a mixer (or by hand) mix butter until smooth. Add cooled, cooked onions, roasted garlic, salts and parsley and continue to mix until well blended.
Step 4: Follow rolling and freezing method below.
Ingredients for Mushroom, Garlic & Green Onion Herb Butter
This butter is good for steaks, pork, fish and poultry, but can be used for almost anything!
2 lbs. unsalted sweet cream butter (room temperature)
1 lb. button mushrooms (finely chopped)
2 Tbsps. olive oil
15-20 cloves roasted garlic (see instructions below)
1/2 c. green onions (finely chopped)
1 tsp. onion salt
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. sea salt
*Laurie’s Shopping Tip: If your grocery store has a bulk produce section, buy your mushrooms there. They are less expensive than the prepackaged ones and you can pick out the freshest mushrooms.
Directions
Step 1: Heat a covered pot to medium heat. Melt butter and reduce heat to low and add mushrooms. Cover pot with lid and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes.
Step 2: Drain mushrooms in a strainer and pat as much moisture out of them as you can with paper towels.
Step 3: In a mixer (or by hand) mix butter until smooth. Add, cooled, cooked mushrooms, roasted garlic, salts and green onion and continue to mix until well blended.
Step 4: Follow rolling and freezing method below.
Roasting Garlic: In a previous blog entry, I gave instructions on roasting garlic. For today’s herb butter making adventure, I needed A LOT of garlic, so I purchased already peeled, raw garlic. You can get it at most stores or from Sam’s Club. Simply lay raw garlic cloves in a baking dish, cover with olive oil, cover pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Turn off oven, leaving the pan in the oven, and allow the garlic to fully cool.
*Laurie’s Tip: I leave the garlic in the pan in the cold oven overnight so the garlic flavor fully infuses the oil. When it was time to make herb butter, I strained the garlic, reserving the oil. Now I have garlic-infused olive oil for later!
Herb Butter Rolling and Freezing Instructions
Step 1: Place a 14” long strip of cellophane wrap on the counter.
Step 2: Scoop butter out of mixer and using gloves, form a 10” long by 1” high mound of butter on the cellophane.
Step 3: Wrap the long edges of the cellophane up and around the mound and gently roll the butter on the counter to form a rounded log.
Step 4: Twist ends of the cellophane to seal, set aside and repeat process until all butter is rolled.
Step 5: Place butter logs on a baking sheet and freeze overnight.
*Laurie’s Note: You can keep the log whole in the freezer, but I take the logs out and cut them into 1/4” pats and place pats in individual snack-sized baggies. That way, you can quickly get out a single pat whenever you need it!
Other Combinations:
Citrus Butter: This butter is great for poultry, fish and on veggies! Combine 2 lbs. unsalted sweet cream butter (room temperature), 2 lemons (zested), 1 naval orange (zested) and 2 tsps. salt.
Lemon-Pepper Butter: Excellent on chicken, with pasta, and a variety of dishes. Combine 1/2 cup softened butter with 1 tsp. pepper and 1 tsp. lemon juice.
Honey Butter: Blend 1/2 cup honey with 1/2 cup softened butter for steak house rolls in your own house!
Cheddar Butter: Mix 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, and 1/4 tsp. garlic salt. Blend through with a food processor or blender. Serve with warm bread.
Spicy Popcorn Butter: Mix 1/2 cup softened butter, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper and 1/2 tsp. Lawry’s Season Salt. Serve over hot popcorn.
If you have toast lovers out there, you can do a Cinnamon and Sugar Butter. Spreadable on toast, English muffins, pancakes, on scones or French Toast.