Compound Butters for Grilling Season
Behold, a slice of Crying Tiger Butter, an excellent way to amplify a simple plate of grilled shrimp or steaks.
Compound butters are a great way to up your grill game. They add a boost of flavor to your grilled meats, veggies, or seafood. Easy to throw together, customizable, and stores well in the fridge or freezer!
There are two primary methods for making compound butter. You can whisk the flavor agents directly into softened, unsalted butter. It’s important to use unsalted butter because you can control the amount of salt that goes into the final product. The second method is a melt and stabilize method. Essentially, you cook your flavor agents in butter for a minute or two and then transfer the melted mixture to a bowl over an ice bath. As the hot butter mixture cools, you continue to whisk the butter over the ice until it becomes smooth and fluffy. Then, you can roll or store in an air-tight container.
The best part about making compound butters is deciding your flavor combinations! Today, I am including ingredients for two variations - Crying Tiger and NOLA BBQ Shrimp. Crying Tiger Butter essentially includes all of the ingredients for the sweet, sour, and salty Southeast Asian dipping sauce. This one is great for slicing and applying to steaks that are still warm and resting from the grill. The butter oozes over the warm steaks creating a delicious sauce at the bottom of the plate. Next, comes a compound butter incorporating the spicy, savory flavors of NOLA BBQ Shrimp. Here, I take a shortcut and use blackening seasoning to achieve the same flavors as they have a lot of overlapping spices including black pepper, oregano, thyme, and cayenne. Sauté some head-on shrimps in this delicious concoction and soak up the leftovers with toasted bread. Whatever you decide, the sky is the limit!
Ingredients for Crying Tiger Butter
2 sticks, unsalted butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 Serrano chili, deseeded and minced
2 scallions, white parts only, minced
2 tablespoons, gochugaru or Korean chili flakes
2 tablespoons, cilantro, minced
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
Juice from 1/2 lime
Pinch of Kosher salt
Ingredients for NOLA BBQ Shrimp Butter
2 sticks, unsalted butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons, blackening seasoning
2 teaspoons, Tabasco
1 teaspoon, Worcestershire
Zest from 1 lemon plus 1/2 of it’s juice
Special Equipment
Small sauce pot
Two mixing bowls that nest within each other
Each recipe makes 1 cup of compound butter each
Directions for the Compound Butter
Melt both sticks of butter in small sauce pan over low heat. Then, add all of your flavor agents. Cook on low heat for two minutes while whisking.
Transfer the cooked butter mixture to a small bowl. Then, place that small bowl into another bowl that is fill with water and ice. Whisk the butter mixture over the ice bath. Be sure not to push too hard, otherwise water will seep into the butter mixture. Continue to whisk until the butter has become soft like Play-Doh. You want it to be pliable but not stiff.
Transfer the soft butter to an air-tight container or to a sheet of plastic wrap. If using the plastic wrap, roll the butter up and twist the ends. Continue to roll into itself so it becomes a nice, taut log. Allow to cool completely in the fridge before slicing. If you are using an air-tight container, allow the butter to soften a bit before scooping with a spoon.
The butter will last in the fridge for a month and in the freezer for six months as long as it’s air-tight.
NOLA BBQ Shrimp Butter generously heaped on top of split lobster tails before being broiled for give minutes.