I cannot remember the last time I made a compound butter. That is not a good thing. With the worldwide culinary palette to choose from, compound butters should be emerging from their quiet and restful time on the haute cuisine sideline. Over the weekend, we broiled fish on a bed of smoked butter. That is a beginning. What if we made a ramp kimchee butter to melt on fish or slow-cooked steak or pork? What else could we do with the smoked butter? How about grits, mashed potatoes, or creamed corn enriched with chorizo butter, pancetta butter, or blood sausage butter? Seaweed butter would also be interesting, especially to poach seafood or baste pan-roasted scallops. Spruce tip butter on French toast would be equally delicious. Similarly, black olive butter to glaze peas and carrots would add another flavorful element. And I am not that clever. I am sure there are endless variations on compound butter that I have not even come close to thinking of. What I am getting at is taking a look around your kitchen and seeing something differently.
About the Author
