Cowboy Butter Recipe
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This Cowboy Butter is the perfect way to bring a burst of flavor to steaks, chicken, chops, and even baked potatoes! Loaded with fresh herbs, garlic, and a nice kick of heat, this compound butter will take your summer grilling to the next level.
Why You’ll Love this Cowboy Butter Recipe
Table of Contents
I knew nothing about Cowboy Butter until my brother-in-law introduced me to it. He learned about this herby, spicy butter while working at a steakhouse in Texas. The restaurant kept their famous compound butter stored in the freezer, where coins could be quickly cut and placed directly on a piping hot steak before being brought to the table.
There’s a reason the butter was so famous! This combination of garlic, herbs, and spices is an instant flavor upgrade. We absolutely love it on Grilled T-Bone Steaks, but we’ve found plenty of other uses for it as well! Here’s why you’ll love it, too:
- Quick and easy. You can whip this butter up in just a few minutes!
- Ready when you are! This butter keeps well in the fridge or freezer, so it can be ready to go whenever you need it.
- So versatile. We’ve slathered this butter on Drop Biscuits, dolloped it on Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes, used it to finish Garlic Green Beans, and even smeared it on a bagel with cream cheese. The options are really endless!
- That spicy kick! The cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes really set this butter apart. If you love to add a little heat to your meals, this recipe is for you!
Key Ingredients + Susbtitutions
- Butter– This recipe was tested with unsalted butter, so we could dial in the salt exactly as we wanted. If you use salted butter, decrease the salt by 1/4-1/2 teaspoon. Use softened butter to make sure everything mixes together easily!
- Garlic– We found the garlic flavor was very overpowering when it was stirred into the butter raw, so we sauteed it in a little olive oil before adding it to the butter. That said, if you prefer to skip this step, you absolutely can.
- Herbs– We used fresh chives and parsley. Many cowboy butter recipes also call for dill or thyme. Really, almost any combination of fresh herbs is going to be delicious.
- Spices– Smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and red pepper flakes give this cowboy butter it’s characteristic heat! Feel free to adjust the spices to your tastes. We feel the amounts listed here will give a nice medium heat that works for a lot of palates, but you can increase or decrease it to your liking.
- Lemon juice– A little acid brightens up heavy foods like steak and rounds out the butter.
Visit the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients and amounts.
How to Make Cowboy Butter
Step 1: In a medium bowl, combine the butter with the herbs, salt, and spices, and use a fork or spoon to smash the ingredients together until well distributed.
Step 2: Scoop the mixture out onto a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap and shape into a log. Roll the plastic over the log, then twist the ends tightly. Chill for 2 hours, or until solid.
How to Use Cowboy Butter
Oh boy, this is the fun part! Of course, our first suggestion is going to be to add generous slices of cowboy butter to steaks. It’s great on a grilled steak, but will also work well on Cast Iron Ribeye Steaks.
We also recommend trying this butter on:
- Pasta or Rice
- Biscuits, especially our Honey Bacon Biscuits! Talk about a sweet, spicy, and savory flavor explosion!
- Baked potatoes or Creamy Mashed Potatoes– Our favorite side dish for a steak dinner.
- Seafood, like shrimp, crab, and lobster.
- Vegetables– Cowboy butter is especially great on Sauteed Green Beans, Air Fryer Asparagus (use it in place of the butter and garlic called for in the recipe), mushrooms, and corn.
- Chicken or Pork Chops– A pat of this butter on Italian Dressing Chicken will send you to the moon!
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
- Compound butter keeps well in the fridge for about two weeks.
- To freeze, place the wrapped butter in a freezer bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. The butter does not need to be thawed before using, as long as you’re putting it on very hot food!
Variations
- Make a cowboy butter dipping sauce by melting the finished butter in the microwave. This is especially great for dipping lobster or crab or drizzling over sauteed veggies.
- Increase or decrease the heat based on your tastes. You can omit the cayenne and red pepper flakes completely if you prefer. It will still be a delicious compound butter, even if it’s not quite cowboy butter.
- Swap the herbs. This butter will taste great with almost any fresh herb. If you’d like to serve it with Tex-Mex style dishes, use some cilantro. Fresh basil is great for dishes with an Italian flair. Use what you’ve got on hand!
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Cowboy Butter
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
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- 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.
- 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, but the garlic flavor will be quite strong without sauteeing it first.
- Adjust the heat in this recipe to your liking by increasing the cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes or omitting them completely.
- Swap the herbs for whatever you have on hand. Cilantro, dill, and basil are also great options.
- For a cowboy butter dip, melt the finished butter in a microwave in 20 second increments, until liquid. This is especially great dipped or drizzled over seafood, like lobster or crab!
- To serve: place coins of cowboy butter directly on hot steaks, add it to sauteed veggies or pasta, or smear it on baked potatoes or biscuits.