FRENCH COMPOUND BUTTER RECIPES
In modern French cuisine, prior to 1950, compound butters had a much greater purpose then they do today. If you’ll visit The Three Sisters French Cooking Terms site listed on the blog roll you’ll see many French food recipes that instruct you to finish their preparation with this or that kind of butter…. well this page is a brief primer on how to make those required butters.
Compound butters are prepared by adding any number of flavorings to the whole butter by either chopping in the items or using a food processor. The following recipe is only an example and today’s cooks use compound butter for dessert as well as entrees. Spices, herbs and protein can be added to compound butters and they are especially useful when using herbs that otherwise would turn black after being cut and exposed to air.
MAITRE D’BUTTER
8 ounces butter
4 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon lemon juice
to taste salt and pepper
- Work the butter into the chopped parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper until smooth and pliable.
- You can either make a log of the butter by wrapping it in foil or parchment, or use a pastry bag to pipe rosettes. If you select a log then refrigerate (or freeze) till firm and then slice into rounds.
- Compound butters are placed on top of the item they are served with right before presentation so that they melt on the item.
The kinds of compound butters you can make are without limits. Use berries for French Toast or pancakes. Wasabi for broiled meats and sea foods, cranberries for turkey and the list goes on and on. Adding hard chilled butter to finish a sauce is called monter or monte au beurre which gives the sauce an added flavor and sheen, and when you’ve incorporated some additional flavoring agent into the compound it just increases the gustatory profile. So you could add truffles, lobster, shrimp, saffron, herbs or caviar to just name a few.
