The older I get, the more I realize that so many of the foods we eat every single day are so easy to make. When it comes to items that we eat every single day, I question why I haven’t made them from scratch from the beginning. I see no problems with canned foods but it really doesn’t take much longer to make things from scratch. I love knowing exactly what is in the food I’m eating versus buying a product stocked full of preservatives that aren’t necessary.
I’m embarrassed to admit but I remember baking one holiday and looking up ingredients to make homemade brownies. I assumed it was going to be a crazy amount of ingredients and a lot of work. After finding a recipe, I realized not only does it have a handful of ingredients, it’s all ingredients that we keep stocked in my house. Why in the world have I been buying brownie mix when I can make it easily? I don’t want to call it lazy because I truly didn’t know. After that experience, I started noticing more items that I would buy mixes for or items that were not as fresh and made the necessary changes to make them from scratch. It’s not always feasible and sometimes it is more convenient to use packages. There is nothing wrong with using the packages but I really think maybe people don’t realize how truly simple it is to cook from scratch.
While talking to my chef friend around Christmas, she mentioned she was making Compound Butter for a steak she would be cooking the next day. I had no idea people made their own compound butter and I was curious how hard it was to make. After talking with her, I learned it is super simple. Compound Butter is a great way to enhance flavor in various dishes.
How to Make Your Own Compound Butter
Compound Butter Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 tsp chopped fresh chives
- 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- 3 cloves garlic paste (store bought or self made – i’ll explain how below)
- 12 tbsp butter
- 1/2tsp salt
For the garlic paste:
- Chop garlic fine then use the side of a chefs knife (or the back of a spoon) to drag over the garlic
- Squeeze the juices out of the small pieces then re-chop
- Re-drag the knife over the garlic a few times until it becomes pasty.
For the compound butter:
- Set butter out to come to room temperature (chop into small pieces to fast track this part)
- Combine the chives, rosemary, thyme, garlic paste and salt, mix well.
- Once mixed use plastic wrap to form butter roll.
- Refrigerate over night.
Store Compound Butters for up to 5 days in the refrigerator, 6 months in the freezer. Instead of freezing a batch in one long log, you may wish to cut it into smaller lengths, and freeze separately.
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