If there’s one “discovery” that immediately transformed my steak from mediocre to restaurant-quality, it was this garlic-infused steak butter with herbs.
After gatekeeping this for years, I think it’s about time that I share this secret recipe with fellow home cooks like me!
Try this once, and you’ll never go back to topping your steaks with regular, store-bought butter again!
🧈What is Compound Butter?
Compound butter simply refers to butter that’s been flavored using seasoning, herbs, or both.
Some types of compound butter are as easy as mixing minced garlic into softened butter, but others, like this recipe, incorporate more ingredients to create richer and more complex flavors.
🧑🍳 Core Components of Garlic-Infused Steak Butter With Herbs
Unsalted Butter: Both salted and unsalted butter can be used for making homemade compound butter. But I love using the unsalted variation as it allows me to control how salty I want my compound butter to be.
Roasted Garlic: Roasting the garlic instead of using it fresh gives this compound butter a more mellow taste with rich, nutty flavors. It also maintains the smooth texture of the compound butter.
Herbs: This recipe uses a combination of fresh parsley and fresh rosemary, but you may use other fresh herbs, such as oregano and cilantro.
Lemon Zest: The freshness and tanginess of lemon zest balances out the richness of the steak.
Salt and Pepper: Use this iconic seasoning duo to season the compound butter according to your liking.
🥣 Ways to Use Steak Butter
This steak butter recipe doesn’t just taste amazing on top of steaks.
You can also use it for other cooked meats, baked veggies, and even on slices of baguette to create a no-fuss garlic bread!
My rule of thumb is if a savory dish works well with regular butter, this compound butter will make it even better!
🧊 How to Store Steak Butter
You can store your fully-wrapped steak butter in the fridge or the freezer.
When kept in the fridge, this compound butter will last for about a week. Beyond that, the fresh herbs will likely start spoiling, so I highly recommend labeling your compound butter with the date you made it.
However, when frozen in an airtight container, this steak butter can last up to two or three months.
I usually freeze mine and let several slices thaw in the fridge overnight if I plan to use them the next day.
Easy Steak Butter with Roasted Garlic & Herbs
This compound butter is the shortcut to having amazing steaks every single time! It also goes really well with roasted vegetables, toasted bread, and grilled chicken, so we always keep some in the fridge!
Ingredients
- ½ cup of unsalted butter (softened)
- 1/2 head of garlic
- 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley (finely chopped)
- 1/2 tablespoon of fresh rosemary (finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon of lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt (adjust to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. While it heats up, cut a garlic head in half horizontally. Drizzle olive oil over the exposed cloves of one of the garlic halves, then wrap that half in aluminum foil. Roast it in the preheated oven for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the cloves are soft and golden brown. Set aside the other half for another use.
- In a medium bowl, squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins. Mash them for a bit, then add in the softened butter, followed by the chopped parsley and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper, and add the teaspoon of lemon zest for that added freshness.
- With a fork, mix everything together until the butter compound looks uniform throughout.
- Place a 12 x 12-inch piece of parchment paper on a clean surface. Spoon the butter mixture onto the paper, positioning it close to one edge, and shape it into a log. Fold the edge of the parchment paper over the butter and start rolling it up tightly, forming a smooth, even log as you go. Keep rolling until the butter is completely enclosed in the parchment paper.
- Twist the ends of the parchment paper to seal the butter log and refrigerate it for at least a few hours.
- Whenever you need steak butter, unwrap the parchment paper, slice off the desired number of rounds, and place them on top of your steak during the final minute of cooking to baste or immediately after removing the steak from the heat. This steak butter will melt beautifully and enhance the flavor of your steak.
- Keep the remaining steak butter in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
Image credit to ©thetoastykitchen.
Featured image credit to ©stateofdinner.
