Homemade Herb Butter
I love herb butter! In Germany, if you order steak in a restaurant or steak house you’ll get herb butter to go with it. When I was in the US for the first time and we went to a steakhouse I was soooooooo disappointed to learn they don’t serve herb butter with their steaks. The meat was fantastic but still it took away some of my joy because I was expecting herb butter.
Herb butter is so easy to make and so quickly done, and yet I so very rarely make it. This time it just happened because I had an abundance of herbs I needed to use up. But what with having my own herb plantation on my balcony I think I will make it more often this summer.
The beauty of herb butter is that you can use any herbs you like. With this one I went easy on the sage as I didn’t want it to be dominant. Next time I make this I will use a little rosemary and lots of lemon thyme, with some chives thrown it. Already looking forward to that…
Homemade Herb Butter
250 g butter at room temperature
handful tarragon leaves*
handful flat leaf parsley*
10 sage leaves
1 garlic clove, crushed
coarse salt, freshly ground
*When I say a handful I’m talking about leaves only, no stalks, and not a loose handful either. If you own measuring cups, a 2/3 cup of tightly packed leaves should do.
Make sure to take the butter out of the fridge in time so it will be soft to the touch, but not melting, when you use it.
Finely chop the herbs in a food processor, then mix into the butter together with the crushed garlic. [Either use a garlic press to crush it, or if you use a food processor, throw it in with the herbs.]
Season with freshly ground salt, but do so sparingly. About 3 turns with a salt mill should do. The taste – both of the salt and the garlic – will develop while the butter sets in the fridge. Refrigerate, and take out about 15 minutes before serving.
Note: You can either place your herb butter in a dish, if you’re going to serve it to go with bread, or place it on baking parchment, roll it into a sausage, tie the ends, refrigerate, then slice into rounds before serving.
Hm, now that I think of it, herbed butter is pretty uncommon in the US, but we do have it. I also see it a lot in recipes, especially ones by Martha Stewart.
I will definitely be making this since it’s the perfect time with all the herbs around!
I need to use up my herbs, too, and am looking forward to making the other version I mentioned, with lemon thyme…
Your homemade herb butter sounds delicious. I haven’t been able to take a look at your blog in a few weeks and it’s really looking wonderful. Your photography is even more lovely than I remember it being. Fantastic work
Thank you so much, Fiona! I think I’m actually blushing here…
A big ditto from me. America needs to get on board with the herbed butter!!!
Thanks! And you can be the ambassador for herb butter
Love herb butter – freshly home made! The stuff in the steak houses is often too salty. However, I love that you’re using “handful” as a measure as well. I often do this and just vary between “my tiny hand” and “a man’s hand”
You’re right, actually – the stuff in the steak houses often is too salty. Guess they want you to spend more money on water to compensate for the salty taste
. I use the ‘handful’ measure because I really can’t be bothered to stuff the herbs into a measuring cup, because then you need to tell people whether it was loosely packed or tightly… Especially with herb butter I think you need to make it up as you go along, then add a little of this or that as you’re tasting.