How To Make Flavored Butter

Herb butter. Credit: EME/Pixabay

Flavored Butters Add Spice to a Meal

Flavored butter is an excellent way to enhance a meal. They can be adapted for roast meats and fish. They also taste great on bread, especially if it's homemade and fresh from the oven. Below are some ideas to get you started in making your own.

Rosemary Garlic Butter

One of my favorite ways to use herb butter is with roast chicken and turkey. I whip up a small batch and rub it inside and outside the bird as well as under the skin. I then cook the poultry just like I usually do, and it turns out juicy and full of flavor.

I honestly don't usually follow a recipe but throw in what spices I'm in the mood for. Here's a quick recipe for rosemary garlic butter for a small roasting chicken (about 3 to 4 pounds):

• 3 tablespoons softened butter
• 1 large head of roasted garlic or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon crushed rosemary

Blend ingredients and rub on chicken or turkey, then cook as usual. You can adjust the spices to taste and use your own combination. Sage is another one that tastes excellent with roast birds.

Cinnamon Honey Butter

My husband and I once ate at a Texas Roadhouse restaurant. They had very tasty cinnamon honey butter to go with their warm bread. I decided to make my own to go with some breakfast biscuits. Here is my simplified version (variation suggestions below):

• 1/2 stick of butter (salted or unsalted)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Scant 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Whisk butter in a bowl until fluffy. Add honey and cinnamon and stir. Spread on fresh bread or toast. I love cinnamon so can be heavy-handed with it. You might want to start with less and then add more to taste.

I've seen other recipes online that try to come closer to the Texas Roadhouse recipe that include ingredients like sweetened condensed milk, confectioner's sugar, brown sugar, and corn syrup. You can visit Thrifty Fun and Recipes Discovered for discussions of other variations on this delicious spread.

Try Your Hand at Flavored Butters

The combinations to use in flavored butter are practically endless. Baked fish with lemon zest and dill butter, a touch of molasses or real maple syrup, or cajun spice butter are just a few that I can think of off the top of my head.

What about you? Go ahead and let out your creative cook and enjoy your next meal with a dollop of flavored butter (cholesterol levels permitting, of course).

*This post is from my article originally published on Hubpages.

© P.J. Deneen