Compound Butters 11/04/2009
Today I want to talk about compound butter. What it is is softened butter with other herbs and or spices mixed in. You can use them for special breads or to put on meat like chicken or fish and then bake them. I even put it on my veggies, like asparagus, broccoli, or brussel sprouts. BFF and I went to San Diego recently and had some with our bread basket at dinner. It was so yummy! Especially the basil butter.  Here are the ingredients: 4 Tab. of butter 1 Tab. of Poultry Grill and Broil 3-4 Tab. of Parmesan cheese 2 chicken breasts Cooking spray  Take the seasoning and pour it on top of the butter.  Take the herbs and smash them into the butter with a fork.  I grated up some Peccorino Romano cheese to add in too...just cause I had some. The tool there is a micro plane. It shreds up hard cheese to light and fluffy, easily meltable yumminess. You can also use it on lemons to zest them...which would be good in here too. I just didn't have any at this time.  After you spray the pan with some non-stick spray, put the meat (I did chicken this time) on the rack. I then picked up the skin and put the compound butter under it and replaced the skin. After which, I spread it on the skin too so it would crisp up while I baked it. 350 degree oven for about 1 hour. Use a meat thermometer to check for sure.  Here is the crispy yumminess fresh out of the oven. Like all meat...let it rest for a few minutes to get the juices to redistribute back into the meat. What I want to do is to spark your imaginations to try this with whatever you have. Like...a big handful of fresh basil with a stick butter. Use a food processor or blender to mix it thoroughly. Put the compound butter on a big piece of plastic wrap, fold it in half and roll it back and forth till it looks like a log. Twist both ends of wrap to condense it and put it in the freezer. Then open up the wrap and cut off slices to use on whatever you are cooking. You can keep several types of compound butter to mix and match on meat or veggies. Try it! You'll like it! |