How to Preserve Your Fresh Herbs in Compound Butter (+ 8 Recipes)

I think we can all agree that fresh herbs taste better than dry ones, right? I mean the flavor punch is undeniable. In fact, when I first started using fresh herbs in the kitchen it was an adjustment! Food didn’t taste the same. I used WAY too much and at times it was overpowering. But now, things are different. I learned moderation and how unbelievably better food tastes when you make it with fresh herbs! It kills me that I can only count on that crazy fresh flavor for half the year when the garden is growing! Sure I’ve got a few windowsill herbs going, but if I used them like I wanted they’d be stripped bare in a matter of weeks. And here is where my love for compound butter enters the scene. Because, well, butter. But also because I can get fresh herbs in my cooking whenever. I. want!

And you know what else I’ve learned? It makes seasoning food even quicker! Do the work once and it’s ready to go. I’ve saved a silly amount of time not digging through my spice cabinet looking for dry herbs. Just pull out the little roll of butter, slice some off, and done! Preserving fresh herbs in compound butter is my new obsession!

And it couldn’t be simpler. Really all you have to do is mix your herbs, spices, and/or flavorings into soft butter and save it. Using little glass jars would be perfect- each holds about a ½ a cup of butter. They would be easy to label and stack well in the freezer! Or you can simply roll the butter up in waxed paper.

While there are some really great recipes and flavor combinations to be found I’m a minimalist at heart. I want tried and true, standard recipes so I can grab and go. Most of the compound butters you’ll find in my freezer are basic butters great for chicken, beef, fish, pork, and vegetables.

But if you really want to take your compound butters to the next level then there’s nothing, no nothing, like making them with slow churned homemade butter! I know. It’s hard to believe butter could get better, but trust me, it can.

So you can imagine how crazy stoked I was when Churncraft wanted to send me one of their stunningly gorgeous butter churns to try out in my own home dairy! Crazy stoked, I tell you.

What’s more the awesome folks at Churncraft want you to try one for free too! So one of you lucky ducks is gonna get to win a Churncraft butter churn right here, right now! Ya’ll squealing with excitement yet?! GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED

But first, let’s talk about this bad boy some more…It is heavy duty! Which is great so it can’t easily be broken and doesn’t move around too much while you’re cranking. This churn is going to last! I found the churning to be… dare I say it? Smooth as butter. Really! I kept expecting to get tired or it to become more difficult to crank at the end, but I didn’t experience that and had to open it up to double check that we really did have butter. Actually, I found that if the handle was pointing towards me and I could turn it clockwise instead of cranking it away from you with your whole arm in the motion, you can churn a lot faster with less effort. Lydia said, “This is so much fun! Can we always make butter like this?” What more of a testimonial do you need?!

Until now we’ve always used the Kitchen Aid to make butter. It’s loud, terribly messy, and a pain to clean. I always felt limited to how much butter I could make at one time because I lived in fear of missing that split second when it turned to butter and the buttermilk started splashing all over the kitchen. I hated using a towel to cover it and stop some of the splash because if you don’t get to washing it right away, the laundry stinks like sour milk. The Churncraft butter churn was quiet, totally enjoyable, and so easy to clean!

Check it out! Isn’t that some beautiful old-fashioned butter making? You’re totally gonna want to put this on your wishlist! And when it’s time to checkout, make sure to use the coupon code, “REFORMATIONACRES” and get your self a sweet set of wooden butter paddles for free.

Churncraft Butter Churn

Open to US residents only. (Sorry!) Giveaway ends 11:59PM October 28th and the winner will be randomly chosen the next day. Remember to use an email address where I can reach you if you win! The winner will only have 2 days to get back to me before I choose a new winner so keep your eyes peeled. The winner will be announced within the giveaway widget on this page. 

And don’t forget to print out these awesome herbal compound butter recipes to use with your home-churned butter!

8 Compound Butters to Preserve Fresh Herbs

8 Herbal Compound Butter Recipes

Print Recipe

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Garlic & Herbs

Stuff it under the skin on roast chicken

• ½ cup butter
• 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon chives, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon crushed fennel, optional

 

Red Wine & Thyme

Drop a pat down on your steak or slice of roast beef

• ½ cup butter
• 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons red wine
• 1 teaspoon oregano, chopped
• ¼ teaspoon coarse black pepper

Rosemary & Sage

Try these traditional flavors on pork

• ½ cup butter
• 1 Tablespoon fresh sage leaves, minced
• 2 teaspoons rosemary leaves
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper

Lemon & Dill

Cook white fish in this butter for a few minutes on each side until flakey

• ½ cup butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon fresh dill leaves

Pancetta & Herbs

Great way to get that bacon flavor in your eggs or stuff a pat inside your burgers.

• ½ cup butter
• 4 ounces pancetta or bacon, cooked
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• ½ teaspoon fresh marjoram, chopped

Chipotle & Parm

Try it on sweet corn or any vegetables!

• ½ cup butter
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced (or ½ teaspoon chipotle powder)
• 2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt

Italian Herbs

Cook your onions and garlic in this butter as a base for pasta sauce.

• ½ cup butter 
• 2 Tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley , chopped
• 1 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
• ½ teaspoon rosemary leaves

Maple Spice

Not an herbal butter, but too good to leave out. Try it on winter squash, sweet potatoes, or biscuits.

• ½ cup butter
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 Tablespoons real maple syrup

Instructions

• For your compound butter of choice, prepare and mix the ingredients with soft butter. 
• Store in a glass jar or wrap it up in a roll of waxed paper. 
• Label and refrigerate until ready to use or freeze for longer storage. (All recipes using garlic must be used or frozen within a couple of days. ) 

Enjoy!

These recipes are just the tip of the iceberg! The only thing limiting you is your imagination and adventurous palette!

• Honey Berry Butter with crushed blackberries, strawberries, or raspberries (or all 3!) 
• Caesar Salad Butter with garlic, lemon zest, parmesan cheese, anchovies, worcestershire sauce
• Floral Butter with chive blossoms, nasturtiums, violets, calendula, even lilac
• Hazelnut Butter with ground nuts and cocoa powder
• Tomato Basil Butter with diced roma tomatoes
• Try it with mint, pesto, mushrooms, smoked garlic or onion, chai, your favorite spice blend! Or go really crazy and add these flavor combinations to your pork butter!

What is your favorite compound butter combination?