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    Home » Blog Post

    Basil, Chive, and Mustard Butters

    July 23, 2014 12 Comments

    Easy compound butters using fresh herbs from the garden to make dishes a little more special.

    Recipe for easy compound butters using fresh herbs from the garden.

    Compound butters are a great little condiment to keep in the freezer, all wrapped in wax paper and tucked into ziplock baggies. They'll keep that way for a long time. Just slice off what you need and re-wrap and seal it.

    You can store them in the refrigerator too, but they won't have nearly as long a shelf life. But don't forget to label the type of butter and the date it was made.

    Recipe for easy compound butters using fresh herbs from the garden.

    Once I have them on hand, I can make my scrambled eggs or omelet just a little more special by melting some basil butter or chive butter in the pan before adding the eggs. Melted red pepper butter classes up simple savory pancakes or corn fritters, and mustard butter is a perfect accent for potatoes.

    Or put a little scoop of spicy garlic butter on top of your Carnivorous Maximus' steak. He'll thank you.

    Recipe for easy compound butters using fresh herbs from the garden.

    Want some more ideas?

    Use compound butters to finish a soup or a sauce. Toss with barely cooked corn until all melty and clinging to the kernels. Or just slather on top of a thick slice of bread.

    Once you have some compound butters around, you'll find oodles of ways to use them to dress up dishes for yourself, your family, and friends with almost zero effort.

    Print Recipe
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    Compound Butters : For Your Pantry

    Prep Time10 mins
    Total Time10 mins
    Course: Condiment
    Servings: 4 ounces compound butter
    Author: Susan Pridmore

    Ingredients

    Chive Butter

    • 1 stick unsalted butter softened (4 ounces)
    • 2 tablespoon minced chives

    Mustard Butter

    • 1 stick unsalted butter softened (4 ounces)
    • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
    • ½ teaspoon white wine or lemon juice
    • ¼ teaspoon minced garlic
    • Coarsely ground black pepper

    Basil Butter

    • 1 stick unsalted butter softened (4 ounces)
    • ¼ cup chopped basil leaves
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • 1 teaspoon white wine or lemon juice

    Instructions

    Chive Butter

    • Using a fork, thoroughly mash the butter and chives together on a clean work space. Scrape into the shape of a log and place towards the end of a sheet of wax paper. Drape the wax paper over the log, but don't roll it up yet. Gently roll the log back and forth until it's the same diameter all along it's length.
    • Roll up, fold the ends over, date it with a marker and identify what it is, and tuck into a zip-lock baggie. Freeze for up to 6 months.

    Mustard Butter

    • Using a fork, thoroughly mash all of the ingredients together, EXCEPT the pepper, on a clean work space. Scrape into the shape of a log and place towards the end of a sheet of wax paper. Drape the wax paper over the log, but don't roll it up yet. Gently roll the log back and forth until it's the same diameter all along it's length. Sprinkle some black pepper over the wax paper and roll the mustard butter log over it. Press the black pepper into the butter.
    • Roll up, fold the ends over, date it with a marker and identify what it is, and tuck into a zip-lock baggie. Freeze for up to 6 months.

    Basil Butter

    • Either combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade and whirl like crazy, or finely mince the basil and thoroughly mash all of the ingredients together using a fork on a clean workspace.
    • Scrape into the shape of a log and place towards the end of a sheet of wax paper. Drape the wax paper over the log, but don't roll it up yet. Gently roll the log back and forth until it's the same diameter all along it's length.
    • Roll up, fold the ends over, date it with a marker and identify what it is, and tuck into a zip-lock baggie. Freeze for up to 6 months.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Rita

      July 23, 2014 at 10:38 am

      Love this Susan! So easy, so simple, so my style. I freeze minced garlic and ginger to use for stir-fry. Here's the "how-to" link
      http://getcookingsimply.com/in-your-freezer-and-ready-to-go/

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        July 25, 2014 at 8:04 am

        Thanks Rita! I love the idea of freezing minced garlic and ginger - I'm off to check your link 🙂

        Reply
    2. apuginthekitchen

      July 23, 2014 at 5:18 pm

      I love compound butter and your recipes are wonderful. I have never ventured past herbs garlic and lemon, this reminds me I need to. Great ideas

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        July 25, 2014 at 8:08 am

        It's been such a treat to have these on hand!

        Reply
    3. cheri

      July 23, 2014 at 9:07 pm

      How clever Susan, this is a great idea to help in the flavor department in the kitchen. Very nice!

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        July 25, 2014 at 8:09 am

        Thanks Cheri! I find the flavor gets better and better too. After a few days even, the chive butter was so full of flavor!

        Reply
    4. lizthechef

      July 24, 2014 at 3:50 pm

      Fabulous - I'm going to do basil compound butter with our fresh corn for the rest of the season!

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        July 25, 2014 at 8:10 am

        Perfect!!!!! And I'm willing to bet you have a bunch of basil in the backyard!

        Reply
    5. Choc Chip Uru

      July 24, 2014 at 4:13 pm

      I want to try this butter on some bread, nice and grilled - WOW 😀

      Cheers
      Choc Chip Uru

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        July 25, 2014 at 8:11 am

        Ohhhhh, grilled bread with this would be fabulous!

        Reply
    6. Oui, Chef

      August 01, 2014 at 1:08 pm

      I'm a junkie for compound butters and love ALL of yours! So smart to have them on-hand for a multitude of purposes.

      Reply
    7. Terra

      August 03, 2014 at 11:33 am

      I have an addiction to butter. So of course I love this post. Love all the flavors combined, so delicious! Yum, Hugs, Terra

      Reply

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