Yeehaw, Let's Make Cowboy Butter!

Your ticket to incredible grilled steaks + veggies

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I waited far too many years in my life to make compound butter. It sounds intimidating, but it’s really just butter + fixins, and it takes about 5 minutes to make.

Cowboy Butter takes the best parts of compound butter (the fresh herbs! the garlic!), and amps it up with cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes. It’s butter with a point of view, and the uses for it are almost endless.

Wherever you might use plain butter, cowboy butter offers a significant upgrade. Smear it on drop biscuits or dollop it on a baked potato. Add a scoop to sauteed green beans or swirl it into scrambled eggs. Melt it into a dipping sauce for crab legs or drizzle it over roasted mushrooms. Stir it into breadcrumbs to top air fryer asparagus. Or do the obvious, and put a fat coin of butter on top of a piping hot grilled t-bone steak, as God intended.

Grab the recipe for the butter below, and visit the full cowboy butter recipe post for all my tips and substitutions.

Cowboy Butter Recipe

Makes: 8 servings

Prep time: 5 minutes

Chill time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• ½ teaspoon olive oil

• 2 large cloves garlic, minced

• 1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened

• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

• 1 Tablespoon chopped chives

• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika

• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

• Juice of ½ a small lemon (about 1 teaspoon)

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.

2. Place the butter in a medium bowl and top with the garlic, along with the remaining ingredients. Use a fork or wooden spoon to smoosh the butter together with the remaining ingredients until well distributed.

3. Scoop the butter mixture onto a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap and use the plastic wrap to help shape the butter into a cylinder shape. Roll the log up and twist the ends tightly. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, or until solid.

Notes

• Store cowboy butter in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

• You can skip step 1 if you prefer. We found the garlic flavor was the loudest voice in the room if we added it raw, and we wanted it to be a bit more mellow. This extra step is optional though.

• Adjust the heat in this recipe to your liking by increasing the cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes or omitting them completely.