What Is Compound Butter Anyway?

The word “compound” is defined as “a thing that is composed of two or more separate elements; a mixture.” Epicurean Butter’s flavored butters are exactly that—compound—because we combine high-quality butter with other high-quality flavors.

Chefs have long made their own compound butters to optimize flavors and to save time. Why chop garlic AND measure butter in the middle of a dinner rush when you could simply take a roll of pre-made garlic butter from the fridge when you need it?

And while our Roasted Garlic Herb Butter is a best seller, compound butter doesn’t start and stop at garlic or in the restaurant kitchen. Home cooks can take advantage of the time savings and gourmet tastes ranging from sweet, savory, tangy, and sour flavors. Really, anything goes with compound butter flavors. Many chefs even create compound butters with fish and meat like shrimp or bone marrow. 

Though, at Epicurean Butter, we stick to 13 sweet and savory flavors we know you’ll love.

Cooking with Compound Butter

Compound butter is commonly used in the French cooking technique, especially when it comes to creating sauces. Called “beurre composé,” the original French masters would bring butter to room temperature, combine finely chopped herbs, roll the butter tightly with paper, then store in cold temperatures. You can freeze or refrigerate compound butter. It’s easy enough to slice frozen butter.

Compound butters are also used to finish a dish—like Black Truffle Butter on top of a steak or a Maple Syrup Butter on top of pancakes—which is why the term “finishing butter” is commonly used to describe compound butter, too.

There’s nothing stopping you from baking or cooking with compound butter in other ways. It’s a flexible ingredient that certainly saves you time. If you are interested in experimenting with compound butter and want to go beyond the 13 butter flavors we offer, here are a few compound butter recipe ideas for you.

Compound Butter Recipe Ideas

- Don’t waste produce! Combine butter with citrus fruit zests, scallion greens, or even carrot peelings. 

- Is that butter or cream in your coffee? If you’ve adopted butter in your coffee, why not create a compound butter with agave or honey for the full coffee experience.

- Save those drippings. Make a compound butter with a little bacon or steak grease to use on top of baked potatoes or as a base for a sauce.

- Clean out the spice cabinet. If you’re like us, your spice cabinet is overflowing. Put those herbs and spices to good use. Create your own spice blends and get creative with compound butter.

What do you think? Have you experimented with compound butter recipes? Tell us about it on Facebook.